Water Slide Decals

[ADW 123]

I would like to hear from any one who knows how to attach the decals from the kits only using water/fingers (no chemicals etc. to aid)

I found that decals are much more likely to go on poorly due to fewer coats of dope/paint to seal the tissue. the water from the decals seeps through and makes it go un taut, and i find that it ends up looking bad. i have really ruined a few really great models due to my inability to attach decals like pro.

needless to say, I am looking for a method that is sucessful on flying models with only a couple of coats of dope to seal.

Help apreciated.
Alex

[SteveM]

Yup, you just need a good seal on the tissue then dab off the excess water once the decal is in place.

[Arlo DiPasquale]

I second what Steve said. On all my planes, I attach the decals with just water. In addition, make sure the water you soak them in is really hot. I have found that when the water is cooler, they do not adhere as well.

[wmikedavis]

I agree with the former posts and I use a 3/4" flat paint brush to push the excess moisture out.

[SteveM]

I think some decal makers suggest using lukewarm water and that may be to soften the decal. I use water at room temperature.

Around there room temperature is lukewarm. Our Canadian friends are looking at a bowl of water frozen solid and wondering how you do it.

You might also consider using more dope and less thinner for sealing the tissue unless that would increase the weight and that's not something I have any idea about.

You could also try applying the dope a little heavier in just the places you plan to place decals.

Places such as Micro-Mark have lots of various decal accessories and even paper so you can print your own decals. I know nothing about the various chemicals and what not that they sell, but you might find some of their items useful. I have used their decal paper with good results as you can see on my Albatross that David posted somewhere around here.

[Phugoid]

I use pretty well much the same method as David, but I use tweezers rather than the hemostats (I had to look them up to see what they are!) I too use water at room temp -20 ish Celcius ish and don't really have issues. I too live in a relatively cold climate (not quite as cold as our Commonwealth friends!), and this time of year the water coming out of the tap is pretty cold, unlike Davids I guess - however an hour or so in a saucer and it's at room temperature anyhow.

Andrew

[wingnut]

This method is not working well for me. More info [ur=http://balsamodels.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2242&sid=f38af37510d926d3b98d61502420da66l]here[/url], but basically I'm following this method to the letter and results are not so good. I dipped decal in water, let sit for roughly 30 sec, dipped again, let sit about 30 sec. I brushed just enough water to be damp, not much at all. Set the decal, lightly blotted with towel. Everything looked good, decal looked to be firmly attached, very little slack in the tissue. I did a couple more since it was going good, then made dinner and participated in social things. Came back about 5 hours later to this:

This decal wrinkled up like I'd observed before...



this decal (and the one next to it) didn't adhere well (was wrinkled as well until I lifted the edge with my knife)


So is there something I'm doing wrong? I'm feeling a bit frustrated as I know you guys get great looking stuff. Is there something I'm missing, or any ideas? Thanks for the input

[ADW 123]

Had the same problem. Only with the ones that i fly, because i only use 2 coats of dope on them. add a little more dope to the decal area (make sure to make is a smooth coat) but also ensure you do not get the decal dripping wet before it goes on. another good thing is to attach the decal, without pressing too much, and for too long. try to put your fingers only on the frames so then you do not press the tissue in. When it dries you can get results like the one you got if you do. How many coats of dope did you add?

[wingnut]

Well some good new over the weekend! On kind of a whim, I gave the decal surfaces another coat of gloss clear, this turned the tissue that kind of translucent that I see on a lot of model pictures, and the surface felt significantly smoother. And voilà, the decals stick wonderfully now using this method, no sagging damp tissue. I still used the decal set on a couple of the radical fuse curves, because the plain water wasn't clinging that great, and this too worked wonderfully. I'm rather pleased with the results. The bottom of the wing and one side of the fin have poor decals, but the rest look pretty decent. I managed to at least salvage the wrinkly ones with the micro scale products, so it's workable even if it looks a little sad. (I've got a few issues with the finish on the model, but that's chalked up to inexperience/poor planning on my part)

So this makes me wonder: as I said I used two coats of 50/50 Midwest aerogloss clear/thinner, followed by a spray gloss coat where the decals go. Now when I see pictures of models, the finish looks significantly different than my own (more glossy/translucent), and the claim on them is 50/50 dope/thinner. But I'm speculating maybe the aerogloss comes "ready to use"? It seems kind of thin compared to other dopes I've seen (pictures of...aerogloss is the only type available locally). And I'm thinking maybe I'm thinning it "too much" by mixing it 50/50 with thinner. I think I read somewhere on the interwebs that scigs uses aerogloss, if you are reading might you confirm/deny that? I will experiment with it at some point. I was thinking of trying out nitrate, or just switching to the krylon method.

I figured since the stuka doesn't have a reputation for flying anyhow I'll get my technique in practice with it, so hopefully the others will do alright. Almost done with the stuka, so completed pics will follow soon.( I know you are all waiting with bated breath )