Decals

[David Hooper 1Participant @davidhooper1]

Hi everyone I hope that you are all well. At long last The U S S Whitehall is nearing completion,i just have to put the supplied decals on,would someone please advise me as to the best way to achieve this. The said decals are on a sheet so how do i get them off and are there any tricks that will enable me to get it right. Many thanks. Dai H

[David Hooper 1Participant @davidhooper1]

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

On the assumption that these are traditional transfer decals, you need to cut them out (fairly precisely, but not necessarily to within a tenth of a millimeter), after which you soak them in water for a short time, until the actual decal comes away from the backing paper.

You then transfer the still-wet decal to the appropriate place and, while it is still wet, carefully adjusts it to sit just so.

The plastic kit crowd also likes to use decal fluids such as Micro-Sol and Micro-Set (**LINK**) to further improve the process; I have tried these myself for the few decals I've done in recent years, and would be inclined to agree that they are rather useful.

There are any number of tutorials, both for transfer decals in general, and for decal fluids in particular on YouTube, so some time spent there might be a worthwhile investment.

Mattias

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I agree with Mattias, do some reading up first to get a better understanding of what you are doing. A word of warning: I don't know how old your kit is but when I came to apply the decals on my Revell Queen Mary 2 kit which I bought some years ago I found that when I soaked them in water the decal itself disintegrated.

I thought that was it but I found a suggestion online to apply transparent varnish to the top of the decal and allow to dry before soaking it. This worked very well and I managed to use nearly all the most important decals.

Fortunately I had used an unimportant decal to start with when I discovered the problem.

Colin

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

I try to soak the decals just till they are just loose on the backing, then holding the backing sheet in tweezers move the decal onto the model with a clean wet paint brush. If the area of the model is also damp this allows you to position the decal with the wet brush. Use the edge of a tissue or paper towel to remove excess water and carefully tamp dry with the towel. Leave to dry fully before overestimating.

Tim

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Leave to dry fully before overestimating.

Ah! The magic of predictive text! Did someone tell me that the guy who invented it has just died and that his funfair is next Monkey?

Waterslide decals (we used to call them transfers – remember?) do have a finite shelf life and I've often used Colin's suggestion of giving them a couple of clear coats first.

DM

[TelstarParticipant @telstar]

Hi You can get Decal paper, and print your own transfers. But if you go down this road, you must give them at least two coats of clear (I use acrylic spray cans) before putting them in water, inkjet ink is water soluble and runs if wet.

After fixing in place another couple of coats of varnish helps protect the finished job

Tom

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

Since getting a low end of the range colour laser printer (Samsung CLP360), I scan in the original decal sheet and then print to self adhesive vinyl for laser printers. Using the right type, (you can get clear or white) it is possible to print light colours for a dark surface. Cutting out the unwanted bits can be very fiddly, although, since it is effectively home made and you can print as many as you want, you get more chances.

I haven't had any fade yet, and they haven't washed off. Inkjet decals do need a protective coating, and, depending on the ink, can fade. The red component does, anyway. The ink, being translucent, does show the background colour through.

Making your own duplicate decals has the advantage that you always have the originals, so you get multiple chances if you need them.

[David Hooper 1Participant @davidhooper1]

Hello to you all,many many thanks to all those members that have replied to my post about decals it was all very useful information and I can assure you it has been taken on board (no pun intended!!). As I have saved it all I will be able to go over it and use your advice. Once again many thanks. Dai H.

[John Arnold 3Participant @johnarnold3]

I am wondering if it matters if solvent based or acrylic varnish is used on the transfer (I suspect the model I am building is also old and that the transfer might disintegrate when soaked in water). I am thinking that perhaps if an acrylic one is used soaking in water might compromise it?

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

John

I have always used Humbrol or an artist solvent based varnish.

I don't soak the transfers though, I dip them in a saucer of water then put them on the side out of the water. I test that they are ready to use by using a clean paintbrush to move them on the backing sheet.

Tim

[John Arnold 3Participant @johnarnold3]

Tim

It been years since I applied a transfer and then I just used a finger to slide the transfer off the backing paper. Thanks for the tip using a paintbrush and not leaving them soaking in water.

John

[John Arnold 3Participant @johnarnold3]

Tim

Humbrol market a solvent based varnish as well as an acrylic varnish. Do I assume correctly that you used the solvent based one since you also mention artist solvent based varnish?

John

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

John

Yes it's the Humbrol solvent based varnish.

Tim

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