I’m having some trouble with a custom set of decals I made. The long road name decal on the side of the engine is not wanting to stay on at all. Picture of the offending decal:
Kind of a bad angle, but the decal is attached securely except on the top and bottom edges, seen peeling. Is there any way to get them to stick, or would I be better trying with a new decal?
What’s the decal made from? Home made? Store bought?
Rotor
How long did you soak them?
It’s home made, the HobbyCal ones (you can find them on the Walthers site). I let them soak a good minute or so. What bugs me is that I did a test of the exact same decal from the same piece of paper on a junker loco, and it worked just fine. I have a few smaller decals that also worked.
You have to apply decals to a GLOSSY surface. I see a very flat finish to your model.
To help you in the future, you should brush on decal set to the area where the decal will live, and then brush on decal sol when you have it where you want it. Keep applying decal sol (letting it dry between coats) until it conforms to your loco’s surface. Then you can top coat.
David B
The decal film doesn’t appear transparent enough. Could just be the angle of the pic.
I would try MicroSet first to allow it to snuggle down and conform to the details of the shell. If it is still too stubborn, use Walther’s Solvaset which is more aggesive at softening.
It is possible that you may have soaked the decal much too long losing the “glue” where it is peeling at the top. Might be worth a shot before making a new set.
Did you use any decal setting solution?
It almost looks like the decal lost it’s sticky. [%-)]
Is that the white, or clear decal film?
Rotor
I put down MicroSol before and after for this one. I did one on the other side with only one coat of MicroSol afterwards, and it worked overall better. Maybe I did just let it soak too long.
And yes, it’s the white background kind, but I’ve got some Dullcote to get that all taken care of. [;)]
I’ve never seen a decal soaked too long - the whole point of soaking them in the first place is to remove the glue that holds them to the paper. For large decals like the one in question, soak it in the water until the backing paper falls away - I pick them up with tweezers, then drag the bottom face of the decal over the edge of the glass to remove any excess glue, re-dipping into the water as necessary. A little MicroSol applied where the decal is to be placed helps and you can also apply some to the back surface of the decal while it’s still in the tweezers. After it’s in place, I use Walthers Solvaset, which softens the film more than does MicroSet. For your semi-stuck decal, apply the Solvaset to the underside of the decal edges first - it should be drawn under the film, and as it dries, will draw the decal closer to the surface of the model.
Wayne
Another guess…maybe some of the paper stuck to the decal? Maybe not soaked long enough? Maybe the decal got wet and glued itself to the paper?
Doctor…I agree if using setting solutions. If not, the sticky holds them on. That’s why I asked if he used setting solution.
I built a lot of models before I learned about decal solutions. I won’t decal another model without it, though.
Rotor
I’m 99% sure no paper got stuck to the backing. I just removed it (it started to bubble up in the middle after drying) and tried again. This one’s going a little better.
As Wayne said use some Walthers’ Solvaset and repeat until the decal snuggles down, it can take 10 or more applications. Each time it dries, check for air pockets and pop them with a fresh blade, repeat until done.
Decal manufacturers recommend soaking decals until the glue is gone. You don’t want the glue on the model as it does not help tthe decal adhere and can cause staining and white spots under the decal. The glue is only meant to hold the decal to the carrier paper. Decals stick to a model’s surface by evacuating the air and softening them to “meld” to the surface at a microscopic level, that’s why decals should not be applied to a dull or flat painted surface. At a microscopic level the surface looks like sandpaper.
BTW & FYI Microscale does make that decal set for $4: http://www.microscale.com/
Does the painted surface have a rough (like very fine sandpaper) or flat not glossy texture?
I’ve had the same problem with “curling” of the edges of long, thin decals like this. I use MicroSol, applied with a small paintbrush. Brush a bit underneath the offending area the first time, and then brush outward from the center with more MicroSol to set it down. As others have said, this may take several applications, but it can be salvaged.
I’ll agree that a gloss or semi-gloss surface is important to getting good decal adhesion and appearance. However, I get this curling problem even with a mirror-smooth finish. But, careful treatment should get this one back and make it lay down.
In retrospect, I can’t believe it never occured to just put some more MicroSol coats on- it worked like a charm when the new one also peeled up a little. Thanks to everyone for your help. [:)]