Tips for large water slide decals

Hello all! Im almost ready to apply the decals to my Mega Der Red Max. I have used waterslide decals before with good results but I have never tackled any the size of these! Any tips for applying larger waterslide decals you can pass on to me? Id hate to muck these up because to me they are about 95% of why this rocket is so cool!

Let them soak until they're ready to release. Large decals can easily tear or deform if you try o slide them off he backing too early When they are ready spread water on the area you're applying to. Keeping the decal wet will allow you to position it without it sticking. Once it's in position and the excess water is blotted away (if done carefully you can use a piece of an old t-shirt to coax water and air bubbles out) use Micro-sol to fix it in place for good.

You could cut them up into smaller, more manageable pieces.

esoterikbass said:

Hello all! Im almost ready to apply the decals to my Mega Der Red Max. I have used waterslide decals before with good results but I have never tackled any the size of these! Any tips for applying larger waterslide decals you can pass on to me? Id hate to muck these up because to me they are about 95% of why this rocket is so cool!

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Dont worry if you "Muck" them up. I got your back LOL

stickershock23 said:

Dont worry if you "Muck" them up. I got your back LOL

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Haha thanks! I actually thought of your decals right after I was wondering how Id get these big ol things on without ruining them. I feel better knowing a have a back up plan!!

Green Jello said:

Use a paint brush to smooth them out.

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+1 on the paint brush. It is a lot gentler on the decal than your fingers.

Use a moistened brush to position the decal as well as a way to "burnish" the decal down.

And if you make a mistake with positioning, wet the brush and and use it to wick the water under the decal so that it is "re-lubricated". Then you can reposition the decal.

Not a joke ,but spit does indeed help place smaller decals. :wink:

But bigger decals can be cut and applied in sections ,works very well, just keep them registered in order to match to each other.This I would recommend with large and long decals.

Food for thought

Paul t

Thanks for all the tips. I will hopefully get a chance to work on it this weekend. Just need a little quiet time to concentrate!

Well I did it! Got all the decals on with no problems. Except the biggest coolest one! Totally botched it! I Came so close to cutting it into three smaller sections then thought to myself "Meh! I got this!" It even went good for the 3 inches or so then :sad:! Thought to myself there is no way I can show my cyber face on the rocketryforums after this! But I came back here to do a service as a bad example/warning to others!

Cut bigger decals into smaller easier to manage pieces!

stickershock23 You will be hearing from me! :grin:



(Feel free to toss in a "We told you so" if you must)

Maybe you could fix it with a Sharpie and some White Out?

Thought of that but its pretty much the same condition over the whole decal. The rest of the decals came out nice. So Im going to try and replace it. Cant have this one funky decal reminding me of my goof up!