1972coronet Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I was pursuing Keith Marks' site last night and I noticed that he's got a decal set for the obscure 1976 Dart Sport "Dart Lite" ; also included are decals for the "Spirit of '76" version . The set looks great! It has the interior's seat and door panel inserts , as well as decals for the gauges and for all exterior 'emblems' . While I've heard nothing but good things about Mr. Marks' products , I'm interested in knowing as to whether or not anyone's used this set in particular . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 There are two tricks in using Keith Marks decals... 1: They are VERY thin. Make sure to dip the decal in water for no more than 2 to 3 seconds. This will be more than enough time to slide it off for placement. Fingers should be damp, not soaked, when handling the decal for placement. Any excess water can tear the decal. 2: Being done on laserjet paper, they have no defined borders. Unlike Revell, MPC, and others, Keith's decals have no clear definable border to show where the decal ends. This means you need to cut the decal close for a clean fit, OR you can leave enough space for the tweezers to grip the decal, slide it off from the paper, and then trim off what is not used. Everything else applies with the exception of Micro Sol and Micro Set (if you happen to use these...). Micro Set can be used SPARINGLY without trouble but be very careful with Micro Sol. The thin decals can tear apart easy enough, using Micro Sol can weaken them further if over used. Other than that, they're a cinch to use and make a muscle car look awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1972coronet Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 There are two tricks in using Keith Marks decals... 1: They are VERY thin. Make sure to dip the decal in water for no more than 2 to 3 seconds. This will be more than enough time to slide it off for placement. Fingers should be damp, not soaked, when handling the decal for placement. Any excess water can tear the decal. 2: Being done on laserjet paper, they have no defined borders. Unlike Revell, MPC, and others, Keith's decals have no clear definable border to show where the decal ends. This means you need to cut the decal close for a clean fit, OR you can leave enough space for the tweezers to grip the decal, slide it off from the paper, and then trim off what is not used. Everything else applies with the exception of Micro Sol and Micro Set (if you happen to use these...). Micro Set can be used SPARINGLY without trouble but be very careful with Micro Sol. The thin decals can tear apart easy enough, using Micro Sol can weaken them further if over used. Other than that, they're a cinch to use and make a muscle car look awesome! Thanks for the heads up on them and for your opinions / advice . The whole undefined image borders thing reminds me of how MPC's decals were back in the old days ! Those used to frustrate the hell outta me when I was a kid ! The first MPC kit I built was the '75 Pinto Sportabout ; and when I went to apply its decals , I just trimmed them with a 1/2" border . NOT !! That wasn't good enough ... plus , MPC's decals were brittle and fragile even when they were NEW ! Granted , I was 5 years old when I built that '75 Pinto ; however , "once bitten , twice shy" truly applied , as it took me years before I added decals to another kit again ! Never-the-less ... I'll give the Marks decals a shot . I'm glad you made mention of their sensitivity to setting solutions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc @ MPC Motorsports Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 That advice holds true for pretty much any computer-printed decals ... waxing them WILL destroy them. I've never tried clear-coating Keith's decals, either, but, the only clear I'd feel even remotely comfortable using over them would be Future. Brushing a coat of Microscale Liquid Decal Film on Keith's decal sheets prior to use also makes them much easier to work with. Here's a link ... http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MI-12&Category_Code=FINPROD&Product_Count=6 If you use Liquid Decal Film on Keith's decals and apply them with Micro Set, you can clear with Tamiya TS-13. Just use light coats at first before any final wet coats and allow 30 minutes between all coats. I use this method with Keith Marks, Fred Cady, Slixx and any other decals, kit or otherwise. Scale Motorsports CF decals... Keith Marks... Fred Cady... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drodg Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 http://public.fotki.com/drodg/1975-dodge-dart-hang-ten/ I just saw this topic and I built a Dodge Dart Hang Ten about 18 months ago and used Keith's decals. I posted the link. They went on well, I normally buy two sets from him just to make sure I have a back up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCat Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I love Keith Marks Decals... I have bought at least 13 of them. Yes they are thin and you have to cut near the decal to apply, but if you be careful they will go on smoothly and they will look GREAT!!! Here's some of the ones I bought and applied: 1969 Camaro SS DX-1 Decals 1970 Chevy Nova Yenko Deuce Decals Some more... 1969 Camaro ZL-1 Prototype Decals 1969 Camaro Yenko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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