tcorrell02 4 Posted February 20, 2017 Ok our rv is old, 2004. The graphics are shot. I would love to replace them and would need to keep the same shape as I'm sure there has been some fading of the gelcoat outside of the graphics. The problem is shaping the graphics to replace the existing ones because they are in such bad shape. Just played around a little and tried to vectorize a pic of one of the graphics and it traces EVERYTHING. And I mean all the cracks. Any help with a suggestion would be great. I have attached a pic so you have an idea what I'm working with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted February 20, 2017 old timers would have traced it on paper and scanned it in - now days most popular is to use knifeless tape and wrap vinyl - no need to trace or cut that way 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted February 20, 2017 I did one a couple years back. Had the owner take it to an auto body shop and buff it with some heavy cutting compound to remove the heavy oxidation and it wasn't very noticeable where we missed the original. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Primal Decals 621 Posted February 21, 2017 If you could send me a couple images of each section where the design splits that are of clear quality,resolution and good lighting ill see what i can do..Just make sure they are straight on shots and not angled etc. You can also send me a full image of each side where the graphics are as well...If you have any questions about sending large files if needed just drop me a message. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Primal Decals 621 Posted February 21, 2017 I did this in about 10 min...Just to show it can be done.I can teach you how to do this ? Pretty simple.And this was my first time doing this ever. And they are pretty near exact to the design < not perfect cause i did it so quick.. Get a hold of me .Im not asking for anything but if you want to offer anything that will work for me ,But not required,Im sure karma will come back my way when i needed it.I like to help when i can. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tcorrell02 4 Posted February 22, 2017 On 2/21/2017 at 3:14 AM, Primal Decals said: I did this in about 10 min...Just to show it can be done.I can teach you how to do this ? Pretty simple.And this was my first time doing this ever. And they are pretty near exact to the design < not perfect cause i did it so quick.. Get a hold of me .Im not asking for anything but if you want to offer anything that will work for me ,But not required,Im sure karma will come back my way when i needed it.I like to help when i can. Amazing, what program was this done with. if it is vm, was it cut or xpt or what? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted February 22, 2017 One thing to remember if you are using the photo method is you need to take a pic from a square (straight on) angle. If you are at an angle as the current pic is from the final product will be skewed and on something that large it will be off quite a bit. The second issue you may run into is depending on your cutter, you may have tracking problems on graphics this long. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
signyouup 178 Posted February 22, 2017 If there is a big difference between where the decals are and the rest of the RV cut the decals a little oversize so alignment won't be as critical.. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tcorrell02 4 Posted February 22, 2017 49 minutes ago, signyouup said: If there is a big difference between where the decals are and the rest of the RV cut the decals a little oversize so alignment won't be as critical.. I had already planned on oversizing them a little just to help myself! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Primal Decals 621 Posted February 22, 2017 I started with Photoshop and adjusted contrast and brightness(which makes the lines sorta fill themselves in to hide the cracks and then used vector magic for my tracing and then brought it into ai and edited it a little to give you a rough idea..Very easy to actually once i figured it out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Primal Decals 621 Posted February 22, 2017 7 hours ago, Wildgoose said: One thing to remember if you are using the photo method is you need to take a pic from a square (straight on) angle. If you are at an angle as the current pic is from the final product will be skewed and on something that large it will be off quite a bit. The second issue you may run into is depending on your cutter, you may have tracking problems on graphics this long. Very true on length,But if it were me i would break the design up just like in the image,Anywhere the design is broken or split from a seam (if you understand that) just make it on a new art-board or page.They will line up perfect.And like i said earlier and wildgoose said ,You need a straight on image otherwise it will be be off a lot. but a little can be worked with. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darcshadow 1,626 Posted February 22, 2017 Since the design is simple swishes, it's be pretty easy to recreate/manual trace with no need to edit the photo before hand. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
