Decal tips. What am I doing wrong?

[TonyW]

 

That truck is putting up a fight for sure. 

Looking at the last pictures, it seems to me that the decal is maybe a bit too thin, and not having much mechanical strength to it.

I've had that with the decals on Revells Hertz Mustang, the decals bind up and wrinkle all too easily. I got around that by paint spraying the gold stripes in the end but that won't work for your decals. What might work is to add a bit of strength to the decals with a clear coat over them before use. I usually do that with any old decals I use, as you never know how they are going to perform. The clear helps a lot in keeping the decals together, and it adds a bit of body to the things.

You need to trim clear coated decals before soaking them.

 

Good luck.

 

Tony.

[Mike C.]

Thanks Tony. It's definitely putting up a fight. Anybody have any suggestions on how much time to soak and how much time to sit on the paper towel before attempting to slide off?

[Mike C.]

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[Mike C.]

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[Mike C.]

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[NOBLNG]

4 hours ago, Mike C. said:

Thanks Tony. It's definitely putting up a fight. Anybody have any suggestions on how much time to soak and how much time to sit on the paper towel before attempting to slide off?

I am definitely no expert on decals, but I try to get the decal to slide on the backing a bit while under the water. Then I remove it. I also trim 3 sides as close as possible to the decal. The last side I leave a tab of backing paper attached and just lightly score the outline of the decal with a hobby knife. That way I have something to grab with the tweezers to slide the paper out.

[Mike C.]

So should I stick with 1 minute soaking and 30 seconds resting times?

[Raoul Ross]

I feel for ya, Mike For what it's worth, here's my procedure which has always werkt for me.

Warm Water, yes. Trimming close is good but not necessary.  Wait until the decal is just starting to float on the paper but don't let it come off the paper! Pull it out with plenty of water hanging on the paper/decal and set the edge as close as possible to the position you want it to start at. I use my finger to gently pull the decal off the paper and into the beginning of the position you want it. While gently pushing the edge of the decal down, slide the paper from under the decal making sure there's plenty of water. Then use a Q-tip (brand, the best IMHO) to move it to the position you want or even better use a toothpick *gently*, which won't wick away the water. While still leaving as much water as you can, keep positioning it to get it where you want. Then I use a folded-up piece of paper towel (2 to 4 layers) to press it into position which wicks the water off. If it's not right, and before it dries (actually you have a few minutes so don't rush) put more water on the decal to loosen it up and move it where you want, again with a toothpick or Q-tip (which will wick off the water again). Finally you can  roll the Q-tip across the decal to push the excess water from under the decal. The important thing is not to rush!

Hope that helps! 👍

Edited September 7, 2022 by Raoul Ross

[Raoul Ross]

Also, how have you been 'holding' you're model? I bought a circuit board holder which has been of infinite help with applying decals.

Edited September 7, 2022 by Raoul Ross

[ACR-E Doug]

I do F1 models most of the time.  I always use put down Micro Set first then the decal followed by Micro Sol, if they really don't want to lay down well then Solvaset will be applied. I use soft paint brushes to work them down and keep them wet at all times.  On decals that have compound surfaces or folds I almost always use a hair dryer.  If you have the new issue of Model Car you can see (page 50) the Haas F1 car that i did, I had over 60 carbon decals to apply and used heat on everyone. Look at the "HAAS" name and that has multiple compound surface, would have been really hard  to do if I did not use heat, and while using heat I keep it wet with Micro Sol and keep brushing it many times back and forth.  Don't be afraid to do this several times, on the carbon front wings I probably applied heat and Micro Sol 4-6 times per decal. Give heat a try and I think you will see how well it works.

[Mike C.]

Thanks for the help, guys. I don't have quite an elaborate holding method as the airplane, but I am using the toothpick to position the decal and I brush on both more water and the micro set solution then the decal more decal solution and when everything is all set, I follow up with the micro sol with a Q-Tip while pressing out the air bubbles. Then I let the entire thing air dry for a few days before spraying it with clear. Fingers crossed. I won't ruin my last side graphic.

[Miatatom]

I use a dedicated small paint brush to dip water onto the decal and move the it around. Usually use the tip of the bristles on the edge of the decal. I mostly build race cars so decals are part of every build I do.