Two Manufacturing questions

Sharks

You know what, I am sitting in my garage, comparing OG graphics to transfers. I couldn't explain why i hated transfer compared to screens. And I have the answer! And I think it's major point for consideration for a high quality reissue for skate 1!
Ogs have proper wood grain wash colours and proper solid dips. Skateone reissues have no colour on their bottom ply. They put the color on the transfer. And of course we end up with ugly poorly made results like the Underhill. A proper wash with this graphic is the way it's always been. Putting white transfer on a black base is so bad!
Also the future primitive reissues - i have green and orange - great colors but they totally look like stickers on the boards. Especially the green which mimics a dip but the transfer is so transparent you can still see the pale wood beneath.
Lastly - comparing my natty mcgill og to the natty reissue irongate - the mcgill is proper wood. The iron gate has this nylon layer and hense a luster that makes it look - again like a sticker.
And considering I just ordered and received my band stickers where you peel off the bottom and top layers so you are just left with the graphics, I can't imagine why pp can't do the same - screen the transfers on the flat surface but remove the fucking cheap sticker layer and leave the graphic only on the deck. This way we have proper screen printing effect. And what happened to dips and washes? Bring them back please! Efficiency is one thing. Sacrificing quality for profit - another.
Am I right?

cwalker3

I agree, but I do give them credit for making changes over the years. Wheel wells, painted rails, proper shapes, *matching* painted rails, and hopefully now colored top graphics.

I do think their screen-transfer process wears better than other companies' standard heat transfers. PP graphics are not prone to chipping off en masse.

McShredorDie

I agree with a lot of the points above but at least Powell's transfers last and aren't as bad as Santa Cruz's garbage. They make the absolute worst reissues on the market right now.

That idea about removing the sticker layer seems like a great compromise. Don't have to do it by hand but still give it a good look.

WakeInFright

I don't understand how the heat transfer process works, but that sticker layer you speak of may be a clear coat of paint so the graphic is the entire transfer

SK8ER

I have plastic skate racks in my garage that I rest my decks and my daughters decks on. They have Welcome decks and the heat transfer is not bothered by the plastic racks, but the PP heat transfers get scratched and cut by the plastic racks. PP heat transfers are too soft.

Sharks

@cwalker3 , not only do i give them credit but I have thousants of dollars worth of purchases from them in the past 10years. Still, to me PP has always claimed to chase the highest quality possible. And that's something to consider. Otherwise unfortunately reissues will never get to the highest qulity and will always be good enough rather than excellent.
@McShredorDie , agree - Santa cruz reissues look really cheap and poor.
@WakeInFright , it's like a flat sheet of sticky thin nylon from what I've seen on the vidos. They still screen all the layers onto it in backwards order so when they stick them on the board it's all good except for the nylon-y layer that remains on top now and was on the bottom before. What's worse is when they count on painting that nylon to make it appear as a coat of paint which totally makes the graphics look like easter egg stickers.
@SK8ER, are Welcome also transfers? They don't look it. Maybe they use a diff technique

WakeInFright

I thought they peeled off that nylon layer?

skully

@WakeInFright , watch this:

WakeInFright

Thanks champion again, yeah I saw that when it came out skully. That nylon layer does peel off, whilst only the paint stays on the board!

Sharks

No. i swear there is a nylon layer remaining. I can prove it with photos for u

WakeInFright

I have that green Lmfp too, and I don't reckon that it has a nylon layer. Maybe a clear coat of paint or something....
Maybe GAP could chime in on the debate!

SK8ER

How do they make treaded wheels? The tread never disappears....

brigade_bill

more than likely it is the mold

WakeInFright

Is the factory full of damp and poor ventilation bb?

brigade_bill

lol i dont think so

Sharks

Here
godfuckingdamnitpieceofshit imagepostingfuckingaaaargh. Nothing works with posting images. I need to switch my computer on.

Sharks

Here. See the nylon over the holes.

[Deleted User]

I'm pretty sure that is a clear coat that is applied to the base of the board before the transfer gets crunched on. @3:40 in this video George says this.

WakeInFright

That's exactly right Mudbutt. And for the record I reckon their transfers hold up as fine as their screened graphics. My gripe has only ever been about wood quality. The reishes razor tail and delam faster than og's imo. And I still reckon they put the background colour on the transfer, so a natural deck would get a clear coat!

SK8ER

Seriously....how do the make the tread on treaded wheels?

brigade_bill

seriously it is more than likely the wheel molds as i said before

Sharks

Another question : why did slicks disappear? I never stopped skating but totally stopped following trends for a while there. What happened?

brigade_bill

probably just not that popular and the skate market goes in trends just like any other industry

myren

Cause they where heavy and would cut you when the plastic started peeling off.

BackInAction

Real/Krooked are still making slicks. I picked one up last month and am quite happy with it. It is slightly heavier, but not really any more than a deck with rails, which is what I was running before. It seems like a real improvement over the slicks of the early 90s, but I'll let you know more as it ages.