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Hercules Gas Tank Decal Template

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I recently painted a Hercules gas tank, or at least started the process …the tank needs to be clear coated but letting paint dry a long time is never a negative in my mind. That led me to think about future gas tank finishing projects …

Thinking I had several gas tank decal sets available, I tried using the oldest N.O.S. decals I had first on the project, I soon found out the decal was so very old and brittle that it wasn't just hard to apply but individual letters disintegrated while applying it to the gas tank. Fortunately I had 1 newer vinyl style decal from DC Plastics and that was good and I was satisfied wth the result.

However, I knew I will be needing more decals and have not been able to find a source for more. I contacted DC Plastics and their reply was that they had no more and were not producing them at this time. I decided to scan the remaining decal I had and make a plan for the future. I first scanned, then carefully traced the outline more clearly for each letter, and I also discovered I had to adjust the letter spacing as the quality of the old decals, even though they were New Old Stock left much to be desired. And I'm sharing below the resulting PDF to download and print out if it will help anyone. I've provided 2 styles, a Lite.pdf and a Dark.pdf, the only difference being the "Lite" version is a lighter line which won't affect the decal edge if you choose to cut out individual letters to apply, and so it is less likely any printed line would be visible on the individual letter. If you choose to cut the letters out and use the template as a paint mask as seen in the included video below, you will probably find the "Dark" version easier to use. The video has been done by a painter friend I know who has a great deal of experience in model aircraft and yes, motorcycle painting, along with other skills. It will explain how this template can be used to paint the Hercules gas tank graphic on. I also believe you can apply each letter individually after first applying the lower lines/arrows as a guide. I may make a video of how I would do that in the (likely distant) future.

Download Lite Template
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Download Dark Template
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VIDEO - Making a paint Stencil