I finally got around to trying the Evan Decal paper I bought a couple of months ago and am a little disappointed in the results. The decal does not require an overspray of clear sealer and has a white background which is what I wanted. My issue with it is that I can’t get the edges to ‘blend’ after they are dry and then coated with a clear sealer. I can see the edges so much that it looks like the paper ‘stickers’ I made for a temporary/test decal. I want to cover the UP lettering on the tender and cab numbers, which it does quite well, just that the decal is so thick it will need many coats of clear. Is this something that others have run into or am I just having a ‘bad batch’ of paper. My old Testors decal paper made great decals and I may have to go back to it.
I tried Evans decal paper and realized that my money was poorly spent, as I also found the thickness problematic. That is why I recommend the Decal Papers.com product, which has a thinner aspect, but does require a gloss clear coat overspray. The overspray is not necessarily very thick (3 steady passes over the printed sheet is sufficient) and the resulting decals, when soaked and released from the paper backing are reasonably thin enough to be comprable to commercial ones- and a bit more reliably durable in handling and application. They take Solvaset well and conform to surface variations well. I find them on Ebay at a discount regularly, as I get a 10 pack every 6 months or so.
I’ll have to try them, I don’t mind the clearcoat step, I just thought it would make the process a little less time consuming. I can still use the Evans paper for some building signs.