MOD stickers from Lowe's

[DIR-Atlanta]

The recent discussion on purchasing SS snaps from Lowe's prompted me to post this. I was in my local Lowe's last week and noticed that they were selling die-cut stick-on house numbers, for 68 cents per letter. Those seemed perfect for making MOD stickers, so I bought a few and decided to try them out.

First a little background - I have a good friend and occasional dive buddy who runs his own graphics company. Specifically, he creates fleet graphics for transportation companies (trucks and airplanes and things like), and can make almost any kind of stick-on vinyl image that you want. For close friends who are divers, he will also occasionally make MOD stickers from leftover vinyl stock that he can't use for anything else.

I don't really consider myself a "nickel rocket" when it comes to dive gear, but finding suitable DIR stuff in Atlanta can be tough. None of the dive shops here cater to tech divers, and it is practically impossible to get anything like this locally. Yes I know I can order from EE et al, but I prefer to have local alternatives whenever possible, in case I need something on short notice. So I decided to buy the Lowe's stickers and compared them to the ones my friend makes. The results can be seen in my SB photo gallery.

The professionally cut stickers come as a set that is already pre-aligned, which is nice. I tried to be as careful as I could lining up the individual stickers from Lowe's, and I guess the results turned out OK. I still need to try them in the water, and will report back how they work out. Would be interested to hear if anyone else has tried these, and what their impressions were.

 

[The Kraken]

Those look good!!!

Great ideas are always appreciated here on ScubaBoard.

Thanks for passing along the concept.

the K

 

[Cave Diver]

The professionally cut stickers come as a set that is already pre-aligned, which is nice. I tried to be as careful as I could lining up the individual stickers from Lowe's, and I guess the results turned out OK. I still need to try them in the water, and will report back how they work out. Would be interested to hear if anyone else has tried these, and what their impressions were.

I've used those stick on letters from Lowes to mark tanks for years. They've stayed on just fine.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Cool -- let us know how they work out.

I don't have anything from them yet, but have heard many good things about DiveSigns. Located across the pond in England so they certainly aren't "local" but from what I have seen they make some pretty nice stuff.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

I've used those stick on letters from Lowes to mark tanks for years. They've stayed on just fine.

I have occasionally used the "regular" stickers (i.e. not die-cut) and just cut around the letters or numbers to remove the reflective backing (which I don't really care for in a cave environment). That's kind of tedious for things like zeroes though, since you have to remove the inner part as well. I don't recall ever seeing the die-cut numbers before - maybe they are a newer item in my particular area. At any rate, I will be trying them out the next time I go diving, and will let everyone know how they work.

 

[Cave Diver]

I have occasionally used the "regular" stickers (i.e. not die-cut) and just cut around the letters or numbers to remove the reflective backing (which I don't really care for in a cave environment). That's kind of tedious for things like zeroes though, since you have to remove the inner part as well. I don't recall ever seeing the die-cut numbers before - maybe they are a newer item in my particular area. At any rate, I will be trying them out the next time I go diving, and will let everyone know how they work.

Ooops, yes you are correct. The ones I used were the regular, not the die cut.

 

[RTodd]

Can of spraypaint and 3" stencils. Where the numbers get changed frequently, duct tape and permanent marker.

 

[Rick Inman]

Can of spraypaint and 3" stencils. Where the numbers get changed frequently, duct tape and permanent marker.

I've got both stencil painted and stickered (non-die cut, from Walmart). The paint actually seems to scratch off faster than the stickers, and looks crappy. Is there a process other than just spraying on the paint?

 

[PerroneFord]

I've been using these for years. If you look at any pics of my AL tanks you'll also see I use die cut letters for my name on the backgas tanks.

I will caution users NOT to buy the reflective background letters like I did the first time. They are a BEAR to peel off for VIPs! Even with heat, and chemical methods.

 

[b1gcountry]

I have 3" house letters for MODs on my deco bottles (see my avatar) They work well, but the black for the letters wears off and scratches if you are dragging them across anything. I'm going to try putting some clear packing tape on top next time.

Tom