WTF?! Very disappointed in Testors blank decal sheets

[Larryhagmansliver]

Before yesterday, I had never used them, and all seemed well until you actually slide the decal off the paper.

I was attempting to do a license plate and as soon as I slid them off, they shriveled up into a tiny little round scroll that could not be straightened back out.

What gives?

[Nitrozilla]

Same thing happened to me on my LA Dart. Nothing I did would get them to lay down. I had to have a board member print them out on different paper and they worked fine. Can't give you the brand because he found his paper on evilbay. My advice? Use anything but Testor's. Also, Bel Decal.com carries the same paper as Testor's and it failed the same way.

[Larryhagmansliver]

Did you use the decal fixative? Testor's has a decal bonder for fixing the image once printed. It's basically a low grade clearcoat. I assume you have a couple sheets of the Testors left so try this-

After printing the image, use Testors glosscote to fix the image to the paper. Give it at least a day to dry and you'll find your decals to be much more agreeable. Testors clearcoat will yellow with age so if that's an issue with the decal you're using just let it fully dry and coat it with futureshine after applying.

If you want to find a higher quality decal paper I suggest using "Expert's Choice" by Bare Metal Foil co. It comes in clear or white, and is made for both inkjet and laser printers. It's also easier to print on being a standard 8 1/2 x 11. It's more cost effective as well compared to Testor's. Hope this helps.

Another thing you could try is spraying the testors with a coat of flat white prior to printing and then the clear bonder after.

Yes, I did use their spray bonder which brings up another gripe. It says to let it sit for 2 hours and I let it sit for 24.

I bought their custom decal maker for $10.50, then a package of the extra paper for $10.50, so I've got $21 plus tax tied up in something that I can not even use.

All of it is garbage!

The program is on a mini-cd, so if you want to put it on a desktop instead of a laptop computer, you're outta luck. Additionally, all the program lets you do is select from prewritten templates. The "full sets" are really corny looking (except for maybe the flames), and they give you 4 lousy state license plates to choose from. As soon as you click the "Import Picture" option, it redirects you to a website where they have the stones to try and sell you another program that is an upgrade to this ######.

Ok, now that I'm sufficiently disgusted, I'm going to write this company and demand my money back.

Edited August 17, 2011 by Larryhagmansliver

[scalenut]

try not leaving the decal in the water , just get it wet than put in on a non absorbent surface.

If the paper tries to curl , lay an exacto knife on it

[Chuck Most]

Yeah- sounds about right. Testors decal backer is about as good as 95% of their spray enamels. And I don't mean that in a positive way.

[59 Impala]

I have had no problems using Testors decal paper. The clear or the white. Here is a picture of the 67 Chevelle that I printed the large decal on Testors paper and had no problem.

I also use Testors enamels in an air brush and have no problems either. Just my 2 cents. Dan

[Longbox55]

I havent had any problems with the tesotrs decal paper ether, other than the cracking when printing black, though that's a common issue with any inkjet decal paper.

All 3 of these were done using Testors decal paper, the Sure Thing program (I did get the upgrade program), and were printed using a Hewlet-Packard Deskjet F335.

BTW, the Monte Carlo is painted with Testors bottle paint on the lower portion.

[Aaronw]

Testors decal film is very thin. This makes it a challenge to apply, but it conforms very well and nearly disappears on the model.

If it curls on you it is almost impossible to salvage so you have to be very careful when putting the decal on.

[Larryhagmansliver]

Ok, so for those of you are not experiencing any problems - what is your technique when applying them? Seems to me it should be the same as any other waterslide decal, but if I'm missing something please let me know. I'd hate for the stuff to go to waste

[59 Impala]

I use it the same way that I use any other water slide decal. I do spray two coats of their bonder on the decal when it dries. I don't do anything special and the decal on the Chevelle is mostly black ink on the clear paper. The decal "Strip Rat" is all one decal. Maybe by using two coats of bonder makes the difference I don't know. I do let the decal set in the water until it moves on the backing paper and then instal it on the body. Again, nothing special. Hope this helps ya out. Dan