Improving one's chances applying old dry transfers

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I find myself having to use some rather old dry transfers (fortunately still sealed) as they are the only place I can obtain some specific lettering I need. I’m not looking forward to this…

I’ll be applying them to decal film, rather than directly to the model.

Would anybody have any tricks that would improve my chances of success in using these old transfers?

Thanks, all,

Steve Hunter

2

From another forum …

Two main reaons that dry transfers won’t work very well are:

1.) Humidity. Dry air and materials are very important. Don’t breathe on them(wouldn’t have guessed that one) and stay out of the kitchen or damp basement.

2.) Age, oxidation or dirt/dust on the transfer. This includes, but in not limited to, fingerprints(huge offender, mainly skin oils) and dust, which you might not even see).

  • Can be taken care of with a soft paper towel moistened(not wet) with Xylene or Xylol - the recommended solvents for this particular job. It removes oils and dust and even seems to revive the adhesive(which is wax). I’d steer clear of any other solvent, worrying t
3

Luckily, the lettering I have is unopened (as is the decal paper) so dirt, etc shouldn’t be an issue. Old age is another matter, LOL, none of us work as well as we age! I’ll definitely start by experimenting with portions of the set that are expendable, saving the important road names for last. I’ve heard that in extreme cases, nuking a dry transfer sheet may improve the chances of it releasing from the backing sheet, and adhering to the intended surface. Has anybody here attempted this? Steve

4

Steve Hunter,

Well first off…I have never nuked them, never even heard of it and have been using them long before nuke machines were invented. As long as the one’s You have are still sealed and were kept out of heat/ extreme moisture/direct sunlight, You should be OK. I found I got the best results when applying to gloss enamel paint, like Model Master and even Tamiya Acrylic gloss. To burnish I use a Medium Micro nylon brush with the tip cut off and then round with fine sandpaper, also use a old Dental tool from my Dentist which is stainless steel angled round ball tips. The biggest thing in using the transfer’s is being able to position them somehow so they absolutely cannot move when applying, one slip and they will crack and it’s almost impossible to get them to go together again…so practice a little if You have some to spare…when stuck on the part You are doing, take the backing paper and burnish again over the transfer it will not stick to that backing paper. A couple of pic’s with the numbers on the trailers are dry transfers from Woodland scenic’s, on gloss MM paint. The other decals are Laser printed very thin vinyl, custom made, 1/87 scale decals.

Take Your time and remember try not to have them move when applying. Good Luck!

Take Care! [:D]

Frank

BTW: If You mess up and need to remove a portion of the transfer, I use Denatured Alcohol with a Micro Brush, very carefully, don’t take too much time in one area, because the DNA will start to take the paint off.

5

I have no experience applying dry transfers over decal film, but recently applied some that are 25 years old and they went on just fine, but they’d been stored in a dark dry even temperature place. Some dry transfers can react adversly to some clear coat finishes, contacting the Mfg., or dealer if possible, might be prudent.

Regards, Peter

6

Hi, Peter:

I’ve been applying dry transfers to decal paper for years since I’ve found it to be a more reliable method of getting them straight and in the correct location. That part isn’t a concern.

I had hoped to try applying them (starting with unimportant bits of lettering as a test), but haven’t had time. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow…

I know the sets I have were stored carefully in a dark box in a controlled environment, so hopefully I’ll be lucky and they will be as good as new. Once I have a chance to try them, I’ll report back!

Steve

7

I have nuked them to get them to work again.

8

[quote user=“zstripe”]

Steve Hunter,

Well first off…I have never nuked them, never even heard of it and have been using them long before nuke machines were invented. As long as the one’s You have are still sealed and were kept out of heat/ extreme moisture/direct sunlight, You should be OK. I found I got the best results when applying to gloss enamel paint, like Model Master and even Tamiya Acrylic gloss. To burnish I use a Medium Micro nylon brush with the tip cut off and then round with fine sandpaper, also use a old Dental tool from my Dentist which is stainless steel angled round ball tips. The biggest thing in using the transfer’s is being able to position them somehow so they absolutely cannot move when applying, one slip and they will crack and it’s almost impossible to get them to go together again…so practice a little if You have some to spare…when stuck on the part You are doing, take the backing paper and burnish again over the transfer it will not stick to that backing paper. A couple of pic’s with the numbers on the trailers are dry transfers from Woodland scenic’s, on gloss MM paint. The other decals are Laser printed very thin vinyl, custom made, 1/87 scale decals.

Take Your time and remember try not to have them move when applying. Good Luck!

Take Care!

Frank

BTW: If You mess up and need to remove a portion of the transfer, I use Denatured Alcohol with a Micro Brush, very carefully, don’t take too much time in one area, because the DNA will start to take the paint off.

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9

Well, I did my experiment today, and it was a limited success- I accomplished what I hoped for.

Initially, I tried some of the non- essential letters on the sheet (the manufacturer’s name). A couple of flakes came off but that’s all.

Then, I nuked the two sheets that had been sealed for the last 25 years and tried again. With patience, I managed to get the entire road name portion to come off and apply to the decal paper, although little of the small dimensional lettering I tried would apply properly. Perhaps it’s because the road name is a larger section that resists tearing better, I don’t know.

Since I had seen some improvement, I tried a third set that has been open for the last quarter century. With that one, I nuked it for two minutes (high setting on our microwave, but the power level varies on different machines). The road name came off just like new on this set, but again, the small lettering broke up badly. Maybe I’ll try a different set that I don’t need, nuking it a bit longer, say five minutes, to see what happens.

Would the longer nuking help? Would it just damage the lettering? Not sure, as by this time I had accomplished my goal- namely, recovering the road name from ancient dry transfers.

For the record, these were HO scale CDS #52 dry transfers, which I purchased at least 25 years ago. At that time, it was probably ten years since they had last been printed. These transfers were probably older than many of the participants on this forum, LOL.

Although Ozark Miniatures purchased the CDS line a number of years ago, it appears they haven’t reprinted this set (if any?).

This was the simplest source for the highly condensed "CANADIAN NATIONAL road name I needed to fit a narrow panel on my model.

Thanks, all! I look forward to seeing any other ideas that may be out there!

Steve