Friday, November 6, 2015

Decal Tips

Daniel (rocketn00b.blogspot.com) commented on the QCC Explorer decal post -  
"Looks perfect. I'm not bad with decals, but I never get them on perfectly. I don't know how you do it, man ..."
Hi Daniel,
It's simply a LOT of practice over the years. Every decal sheet seems a little different. Some require longer soaking times. Some clear coats are thicker than others. Home print decals are another story.
I've said this before - If your surface isn't smooth and glossy, your water slide decals won't adhere well or look good.

Here's some water slide tips.
1. Soak the decal for a while, (30 seconds to start) and take it out of the water. Let the decal (and backing) sit on a paper towel for a minute or so.
2. Never try to slide the backing off until it slides off easily! If the backing doesn't slide off, soak for another 30 seconds.
3. Wet the surface area where the decal will be placed. This allows you to move the decal around after setting it onto the model.
4. Don't slide the backing completely off. Slide it back with with about 1/4" of the decal film exposed, overhanging the backing paper. That 1/4" is placed down first on the model When the first 1/4" is in position, then slide back and remove the backing. The entire decal is then left on the model.
5. Before removing excess water and air bubbles, sight from the sides and from the top and back of the model making sure the decal is aligned and centered.
6. I find it easiet to remove air bubbles and excess water by rolling a Q-tip over the decal from the center out.
7. After the decal is dry, hit it with a clear coat. I don't spray overall clear acrylics anymore, they get sticky in humid weather. I apply a little Future clear over just the decals, applied with a Q-tip.
Dip the Q-tip in the Future, wipe off the excess (there is more on the Q-tip than you think) then roll the clear on the decal. Concentrate on getting a good seal on the edges.

There you go - I hope some of this helps out.

2 comments:

  1. What's your experience with soapy water to soak the decals? It was explained to me that this would reduce the surface tension and the water wouldn't bead up and would give the decal a more even layer to slide on until you got it in place.

    I use it and also make sure my fingers are dipped into the soapy water before I slide the decal off the backing paper. It seems to help keep my fingers from pulling on the decal when I don't want to.

    However, a lot of people on the forums have gotten pretty upset in the past whenever anyone suggests dish soap in the decal water and insist that it doesn't help any. No surprise that they're upset, but I decided that unless someone can show me where it hurts then the worst I can do is waste a little dish soap. But I do think it helps. Do you?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Joe!
      I used to add a drop of dish soap to the soaking water. It made sense that it would help the decal slide on the model surface. But, the soap could also break down the adhesive on the decal.
      With or without the soap I haven't noticed much of a difference. I'll stay on the safe side and not use the soap.

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