grosbeak

Over the years I've built more plastic model kits than I can count and I've gotten very familiar with water transfer decals.

With an aim to making some of my own decals for the Pulse 125 I'm building, I picked up a package of Testors clear 5.5" x 8.5" decal paper (#9201) and a can of decal bonder at my LHS. I laid out the graphics I wanted and after some test pages and some fiddling with paper orientation in my inkjet printer, they came out looking very good.



I gave them a single coat of decal bonder tonight.



Tomorrow I'll try a small test to see how they hold up. If the test decal passes, they all go on. If it runs, another coat of bonder and another test.

exeter_acres

My Feedback: (2)

I've used them in the past with fine results.... I sprayed the sheet with thin coats of clear coat before cutting out the decals... and than seemed to help

AmishWarlord

My Feedback: (5)

Hey be sure to test out the ink in your printer.

I had bought some cheap ink cartridges off ebay for 1/4 the cost that HP asked for theirs. The color photos I made from them faded in the house in a few months and one that I used as a cover on a note book left in the car out in day light faded blank in two days!!!

Take those decals and leave them in the sun to see how your ink holds up to the UV.

UV blockers in the clear coat help also.

golf4two

Epson photo inks seem to not fade as readily as others. I have some that are a couple of years old that are still in fine shape.
Make sure not to soak off the decal adhesive before applying. Since you seem to be experienced at applying decals I'll not get into the Do's and Dont's.
If to be used on a Nitro plane, be sure to fuelproof the entire decal with either clear spray (LustreKote works well) or balsa-rite for film.
In all cases, be sure to apply some kind of sealer around the edges to prevent pealing. (balsa rite, clear laquer, nail polish, etc., as appropriate for the fuel source.)

Regards,
G42

grosbeak

I applied some of the decals tonight and I couldn't be happier with the results.









Per the instructions, I cut out each decal and immersed it in clear water for about five seconds. It was transferred to a paper towel for another ten to twenty seconds while the decal loosened from the backing. Remembering back to my scale modeling days, I dabbed a little water on the plane where the decal was to go and slid the decal on - the extra water gives more positioning time. After it was in position it was gently daubed with dry paper towel to remove the excess water. In short, they went on just as easily as any other water transfer decal I've used in the past.

In summary, these decals were created on Testors clear decal paper with an Epson NX420 3-in-1 printer. They were sealed by three light coats of Testors bonder, with at least two hours' drying time in between. There was no smearing, smudging or running at all.

Tarasdad

The results look great! I want to get some of the laser compatible decal film and give it a try myself.

skeeter_ca

That's awesome! That is exactly what i'm looking for to add some pictures to my plane.

skeeter

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

Micro Mark has a nice product also, I've used their system on several planes

http://www.micromark.com/decal-paper.html

grosbeak

Thanks, folks. For reference:

The decal paper is Testors #9201, Great Hobbies TES9201.

The decal bonder is Testors #9200, Great Hobbies TES9200.

Both were in stock at my LHS which is, you guessed it, Great Hobbies. They deserve props too for all of the help they've given me since I started in the hobby just over a year ago.

I should add that when I went down later to check the plane, two decals were peeling. As it happens I wanted to remove both of them anyway. I applied some more decals last night with the following changes:

- Acetone to prep the surface (I've been handling this thing for months now and there's bound to be a lot of skin oil and other grit on it)
- Decal off the backing as soon as possible to avoid leaving too much adhesive behind (that's a hunch)
- No more water on the airplane surface to keep the adhesive from washing away (another hunch)

I'll check them again tonight to verify the results of my new approach.

LesUyeda

"I had bought some cheap ink cartridges off ebay for 1/4 the cost that HP asked for theirs."

I did that with one of my Epson's; once. The "look alike generic" promptly plugged up my print needles, and I ended up buying a new printer, because it was less expnsive than repairing the print head.

Les

skeeter_ca

Would you recommend fuelproofing the decal before or after you apply it the the plane? If afterwards would that seal the edges good enough?

skeeter

j.duncker

My Feedback: (2)

Do a test before hand with your proofer on a sample decal. Not all are compatible. Ask me how I know this.

Spray works better than brush.

grosbeak

An update...

Some of my decals have peeled and some have not - the method of application doesn't seem to be a factor. So I'm taking things up a notch.



This is Micro-Set Decal Solvent Stock# MI-1 - Great Hobbies stock # MSIMI1. According to the manufacturer:

also...



This is Micro Coat Gloss Stock# MI-4 - Great Hobbies stock # MSIMI4. According to the manufacturer:

My plan is to apply the former to the covering, apply the decal, then apply the latter to the decal.

tunakuts3d

The text doesn't say anything about being fuel proof. Being durable , hard, whatever do not always equate to being fuelproof. I would recomend a test on some samples first. I think these products are intended mainly for themodel railroad people.</p>

AmishWarlord

My Feedback: (5)

I think he's trying to get the decals to stick beter.

Anyone know what brand of decal paper is the best yet?

grosbeak

1. This is a gas-powered plane so I'm not overly concerned about fuelproofing the decals.
2. I agree that that a sample test is a good idea.
3. These products were designed for model railroading but I think it worth a try.


Yes, that's what he's trying to do. He's trying to coat the decals after applying them too, to help keep them from peeling.

dhal22

Where did you get the graphics? I have a multicolored decal that I would love to reproduce.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

Looking at a couple pics on your flicker acct. It seams to me you've over-coated them,, that may be why they are pealing,, You only need a light coat to seal the ink to the decal film. If you coat it too heavy that coating could continue to shrink an pull the edges with it.

Good luck

golf4two

Scale only has a good point about the coating. I printed mine on no-name brand decal paper from the plastic oriented hobby shop. Pinned the printed paper to a sheet of ceiling tile so it wouldn't wrinkle. Several mist coats of LustreCote (nitro plane) and let that dry for 48 hrs. Trimmed out decals. Cleaned Monocote with alchohol. Wet decals down and waited 'til they slid easily. Positioned then squegeed with one of those advertising phony cardboard credit cards you get in the mail. Cleaned up around the edges with moistened paper towel. Let them dry ONLY FOR ABOUT AN HOUR OR SO (or they'll most likely start lifting later). After about an hour (surface of decal is dry), I then ran the edges with BalsaRite for film to seal. Mine have been on for almost two years now.....no lifting even when cleaning up that nasty old Nitro fuel residue.

The flag is about 4X5, AD 4 wide. Others Futaba, Saito & club logo smaller. Stars and Pegasus are cut from 'Cote.

Not saying this is the best way, just that it has worked time and again for me. I've done this with six different planes.

Regards,
G42

grosbeak

I got most of them off their respective websites - the others I created myself.


You might have something there. I gave them three light coats - perhaps only one was needed. I'm experimenting with the Micro Set and the Micro Sol now - if that doesn't turn out well I'll try a new sheet with one coat.

grosbeak

The Micro Set instructions tell you to...

1. Brush Micro Set on the surface to which the decal will be applied
2. Wet and apply decal
3. Brush Micro Set onto the decal
4. Wait several minutes for the decal to soften, then blot with a moist paper towel

Test # 1 (on a large registration ID decal) followed the instructions. After step 3, the decal began to wrinkle. I gave it about five minutes and then blotted it with a moist paper towel - most of the wrinkles remained.




Test # 2 (on a large club affiliation decal) eliminated step 3. There was some wrinkling but not as much.




Test #3 (on a smaller initials decal) used all of the steps, but I changed step 4 from several minutes to overnight. There was minimal wrinkling.




Some of the wrinkling may have been due to the three coats of decal bonder I sprayed on the decals before applying them. I've heard that one coat should be sufficient - I'll try that in another test.

AmishWarlord

My Feedback: (5)

Um, actual decals on an actual plane are not a "Test"

Testing should be done on painted scraps not planes.

No one likes to see a plane covers in failed test.

Now burn that plane and build a new one for the next batch of decal test.

grosbeak

I gave a new sheet of decals one coat last night - a quick test this morning before work proved successful.

My next test (scheduled for tonight with the one-coat decals) will follow these steps:

1. Apply Micro Set to relevant area
2. Wipe off Micro Set
3. Apply decal
4. Wait an hour
5. Dress the edges with Micro Gloss

I'm hoping this will provide the adhesion benefits of Micro Set without the wrinkling.

Of note - my one ounce, four dollar bottle of Micro Set smells suspiciously like vinegar. Interesting, since I've heard that Micro Set and vinegar do pretty much the same thing. So if I can get Micro Set to do what I want it to do, I'll start testing with vinegar.


Thanks G42 - Since I already have Micro Gloss I'll use that instead of BalsaRite for film to seal the edges.

AmishWarlord

My Feedback: (5)

Sounds good, so it was the three coats of gloss that caused the wrinkles.

grosbeak

I don't know - it was originally suggested to me that overcoating could be responsible for the peeling I experienced earlier on. I'll know more after the next test.