Dry transfer decals for rockets?

Ideally I'd get water slide decals for every application, but they are scarce at the few LHS near me. Dry transfers, however, are in abundant supply for the crafters, model railroaders and Pinewood Derby fans. There are a lot of colors, fonts, signs and logos available.

They seem less than ideal for rockets because they must be rubbed onto soft materials like cardboard and balsa...has anyone used dry transfers to good effect, and have any tips to share? Thanks

I use dry transfers for my NAR #'s and I have seen some scale modelers actually make dry transfer decals for scale models. On body tubes you can use dowels inserted into them to give them strength, They work fine on fiberglass and plywood fins. Soft balsa fins are another matter. If you use hard balsa it'll work though.

I've used dry transfer letters rubbed onto clear decal film with pretty good results. Usually, it's been when I've needed white lettering (e.g., "US ARMY" on olive drab).

Go with sticker shock. Everything else is a hassle.

chris m said:

Go with sticker shock. Everything else is a hassle.

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I know everyone speaks highly of them and I'd go with them for a big, ambitious build where I have time to plan ahead. In this case though, I'm just looking for easy embellishments for my Estes LPR park-flyers; something with which I can improvise according to my mood.

jbuscaglia said:

I've used dry transfer letters rubbed onto clear decal film with pretty good results. Usually, it's been when I've needed white lettering (e.g., "US ARMY" on olive drab).

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Could you please recommend the brand and source for the clear decal film? Is it self-adhesive, or is there a waterslide version of that available?

dwinings said:

I use dry transfers for my NAR #'s and I have seen some scale modelers actually make dry transfer decals for scale models. On body tubes you can use dowels inserted into them to give them strength, They work fine on fiberglass and plywood fins. Soft balsa fins are another matter. If you use hard balsa it'll work though.

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Good to know. The fin wood in the Estes kits these days is that tough tung wood, which I like to paper over. If that's not tough enough, I suppose I could try to harden the paper skin with thin CA.

One more question: what do you use to protect the transfers? would a clear acrylic spray coat be sufficient?

mrichhcirm said:

Could you please recommend the brand and source for the clear decal film? Is it self-adhesive, or is there a waterslide version of that available?

One more question: what do you use to protect the transfers? would a clear acrylic spray coat be sufficient?

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It was waterslide. I picked it up at my local hobby shop. It's been a number of years, but I believe the brand was Microscale.

I don't think I ever coated dry transfer letters with anything, but they've held up pretty well over the years. I suspect that the acrylic would be OK, but I'd recommend testing it first.

Before the hobbyist availability of Sheet Inkjet and Laser printable waterslide decal papers. Dry transfer lettering was and still is to a much lesser extent used on custom Scale models. but I have to say if you have access to a computer and standard Inkjet printer creating your own Waterslide decals is by far quicker and in the long run cheaper then dry transfer lettering.

Over the years I've used all kinds of On-line sources for sheet size (8.5 x 11) clear and white decal papers. but I have to say the Very best quality and shipping has always come from Micro-Mark. Their Decal papers always arrive damage free with no dog ears or folded sheet damage I've experienced with most of the on-line suppliers. www.micromark.com has my highest recommendation for both laser and inkjet printable water slide decal papers.

Do Note! all inkjet inks must be clear coated before cutting apart and must leave about 1/16" of border around the print to prevent water ruining the decal. I print ALL my own decals now using this paper and Krylon #1306 Workable fixatif (1st sealing coat) followed by Krylon #1305 UV Resistant Clear.
Please note that Krylon #1301 Crystal Clear and most other Rattle can Clears contain 0% UV inhibitors meaning they Yellow very quickly when exposed to sunlight or any UV source. Choose a UV resistant clear final coating for your printed decals.

Another good product if you can find them locally is Micro-Scale clear liquid decal film and Micro-Scale setting solution. I've not used their decal paper but if it is as good as their liquid products they should be very good.

Back to Dry Transfer lettering. As Dan mentioned they can be applied directly to any painted surface curved or flat by using a mandrel inside the tube to support the surface. use a circular motion starting from the center of the letter with the burnishing tool, rounded end dowel or what have you. I always apply some sort of protective wax or polymer coating rather then Clear coats. Clear coats ALL become brittle with a little age chipping and flaking with Handling and/or landings which also take a bit of the Transfer or decal with it. NU-Finish Polymer or Pledge w/ Future (for Tile) are much better "Protective Coatings".

Hi All,

Over the years, I too have tried various decal application techniques. I've done water slide both for Ink Jet and Laser Jet (no color, black only). The results were OK, but required lots of effort. One day I had an idea, to print on standard printer paper, cut out with an x-acto knife the printed area only and then coat the back of the paper with 77 spray adhesive lightly. Since printer paper is show white, this obviously works best on white painted rockets, but if you want to take your time with the x-acto knife, you can apply these on another colors if all of the white areas are removed. I get them lined up and press down and adhere them to the rocket. Once I like it, I then cover the entire decal with the clear packing tape you find on rolls for taping boxes shut for shipping. I leave about 1" around the perimeter of the decal. It leaves a nice shiny appearance. For other trim I used Monokote trim sheets or paint . I've flown the Patriot, shown below, at least 40 times and it still looks good. The Alpha 4" scratch build I've flown a few times with an H-128 and the decals also still look good and there is not any peeling at all, the tape will never come up.

On the Alpha decal, I made it the following way. I had an old Alpha kit from years ago. I scanned the decal which was about 3.75" long. I then enlarged it using Adobe to about 16 " long. I then printed it using the tile technique. I had two sections which I taped together from behind. I then did the 77 adhesive trick and covered it with packing tape.

I wouldn't suggest this for a $2,000 super scale project, but for day to day rockets, it's cheap, easy to do and looks pretty good.