How to cut close to the edges of decals on a decal sheet?

[bh1701]

I hope my question makes sense.

I have some decals from Keith Marks. The decal layer on the blue transfer paper covers the entire decal sheet. I need to be able to cut individual elements from the sheet. I want to be able to cut as closely as possible to each element.

Would decal scissors be the best tool to use? If so, any recommendations on the best ones to get?

...or are there other methods you'd recommend using?

Thanks,

Bart

 

[Can-Con]

Can't say about cutt'n them bot the first thing I'd do with Keith's decals or any other ALPS printed decals is put a coat of clear decal film or other clearcoat of some kind to protect the artwork as you use them.

Found out the hard way how easily unprotected ALPS decals fan be messed up.

[bh1701]

12 minutes ago, Can-Con said:

Can't say about cutt'n them bot the first thing I'd do with Keith's decals or any other ALPS printed decals is put a coat of clear decal film or other clearcoat of some kind to protect the artwork as you use them.

Found out the hard way how easily unprotected ALPS decals fan be messed up.

Thanks for the tip. Good to know!

Bart

[Fat Brian]

You can use a metal ruler as a straight edge, turn it over or remove the little cork grippy pad so it lays flat on the decal sheet. A French curve will help with curved areas.

[bh1701]

2 hours ago, Fat Brian said:

You can use a metal ruler as a straight edge, turn it over or remove the little cork grippy pad so it lays flat on the decal sheet. A French curve will help with curved areas.

Brian,

Would you use an X-Acto knife with a sharp #11 blade to then cut the decal out?

Bart

 

[Bills72sj]

I have good eyesight and a small DEDICATED pair of scissors for cutting decals. I make many of mine so they always need to be cut out

[Fat Brian]

5 hours ago, bh1701 said:

Brian,

Would you use an X-Acto knife with a sharp #11 blade to then cut the decal out?

Bart

 

Yes, preferably on something super smooth like a large piece of glass.

[Dave G.]

Xacto to me is just so sharp. I prefer the single edge razor blades. You can buy a 10 pack at the hardware store usually. Or 100 at Amazon. I wrap the upper part of the blade in blue painters tape, and just grip it from there, no blade holder. Been doing that for 50 years or more.

I used to make my own stencils in 1/1 using the razor blades.

Edited January 27 by Dave G.

[bobss396]

I use surgical blades myself. You need a hard surface. A cutting mat is too soft, i used a sheet of thin fiberglass for years.

[Dave G.]

10 hours ago, Bills72sj said:

I have good eyesight and a small DEDICATED pair of scissors for cutting decals. I make many of mine so they always need to be cut out

I do the same as you for kit decals, the few decals  I ever use that is.

 

[oldcarfan]

19 hours ago, bh1701 said:

I hope my question makes sense.

I have some decals from Keith Marks. The decal layer on the blue transfer paper covers the entire decal sheet. I need to be able to cut individual elements from the sheet. I want to be able to cut as closely as possible to each element.

Would decal scissors be the best tool to use? If so, any recommendations on the best ones to get?

...or are there other methods you'd recommend using?

Thanks,

Bart

 

It takes patience, but cut as closely as you can. I bought a pair of those cheap dollar store reader glasses in the strongest lens they had. It helps a lot. I bought some good quality fingernail scissors both curved and straight from Amazon and they work well. They might be Fiskars, I can't remember.

Speaking of Keith Marks decals, are they opaque? I bought some from a different seller on eBay a while back and they let the paint colors show through.

[bh1701]

2 hours ago, oldcarfan said:

Speaking of Keith Marks decals, are they opaque? I bought some from a different seller on eBay a while back and they let the paint colors show through.

Once I use them, I may be able to answer your question. Until then, I am sure others on the forum may have some experience with them.

Bart

[Can-Con]

3 hours ago, oldcarfan said:

It takes patience, but cut as closely as you can. I bought a pair of those cheap dollar store reader glasses in the strongest lens they had. It helps a lot. I bought some good quality fingernail scissors both curved and straight from Amazon and they work well. They might be Fiskars, I can't remember.

Speaking of Keith Marks decals, are they opaque? I bought some from a different seller on eBay a while back and they let the paint colors show through.

Gary, those decals you bought were probably made on a regular printer. Keith uses an ALPS printer which prints solidly. You can't see the paint color through them.

[Chariots of Fire]

One point on the ALPS printer.  The colors have to have an opaque background first.  So a layer of white is put down first and then the colors go on top.  That is probably why the decals sort of disappeared when they were put on.  No background.  Solid colors like white, black. gold, or silver do not need a background coating first.

I use an ALPS all the time and use clear decal film to print them.  A good pair of scissors will do the job just fine and you can get really close.  It is ok to leave the barest of the clear film around the decal because the clear will disappear once the decal is coated.  Testors clear is good for coating but it needs to be applied in either a spray or one stroke of the brush.  Any more than that and the decal color will soften and streak leaving a mess.

[robdebie]

A tip from a fellow user of Alps decals: I recommend lightly sanding the edges of the cut decal. It softens the sharp cut edge, and makes it look better on your model, with less of a visible step.

Rob

[oldcarfan]

3 hours ago, Can-Con said:

Gary, those decals you bought were probably made on a regular printer. Keith uses an ALPS printer which prints solidly. You can't see the paint color through them.

 

Thanks, I need to look up his product line!

[peteski]

Like Charlie I also prong my deals on the Alps printer and they are printed on a sheet with decal film covering the entire sheet.  My technique for trimming the clear film is slightly different.  I do not clear-coat my decals before application (I do clear coat my models after I apply decals), but yes, the Alps decals are quite fragile.  The ink (which to me is waxy, a bit like something drawn with a Crayon) is fairly easily scratched, so when I know I'll be resting my hand on the sheet, I cover that area where my hand will be resting with an inexpensive (thin) fold-n-seal sandwich bag.

If the decal image has a regular shape (like rectangle or triangle) I simply cut the image out of the sheet and trim it using scissors.  But for irregular shapes my method involves leaving the image on the sheet and gently tracing the surface close to the image using a hobby knife with a fresh blade, with just enough pressure to cut through the clear film. Since the clear film is very thin, very little pressure is required.  I leave the image on the compete sheet for trimming because it is easier to manipulate the while sheet than it would be if I roughly cut the image out first.  Once I completely scored around the image, then I use scissors or a hobby knife to roughly cut the image out of the decal sheet.

Next I place that piece in water until the decal is ready to be applied.  I fish it out of the water and place the wet decal paper on my finger(s).  Then using a pair of very sharp pointy tweezers I pinch the clear film outside of the traced image and pull it off the wet paper.  Once the unwanted clear film is removed I can now slide the trimmed image applying it onto the model. 

It is very important to make sure that the tracing cut is fully completed around the image because if it is not, then pulling off the unwanted clear film the incompletely trimmed film will also snag the image. It is also important to make the cut as light as possible so the trimmed image will not snag on the scored paper.

Edited January 31 by peteski