Water Slide Decals

I've used "Kit" water slide decals for years but never made my own.

I bought some Testor's decal paper and the instructions state to print the design and then apply a coat of "Decal Bonder" over the top of the ink once the ink has dried.

What are you folks using for the "Decal Bonder" and can you offer up any tips or tricks in regard to good results with these types of decals?

Also, would you use the waterslide decals for the wing / rudder red painted details as shown below, or would you paint those?

As always.. thanks in advance.

I bought the Testors decal bonder spray with the paper at Hobby Lobby. Did the job for me.



Test print the image on regular paper/draft quality
Tape a sheet of decal paper on a regular size page, aligned based on your test print
Print on highest quality setting
Next day, hit it with 2 light coats of the bonder
Another 24 hours and they're ready to go

I haven't used the Testor's paper; with other brands you just clear-coat the decals. I use the Krylon UV-resistant.

You're going to have a challenge with that design because you're working on a dark background. Self-printed decals are not opaque, so I'm not quite sure how you're going to do all that. So I think I'd probably go with masked paint for the red stuff. For the text on the dark green background, you might be able to get away with a dark gray print. You should definitely experiment on a test piece before applying to the actual model.

One other way to handle the red parts would be to paint some decal paper your desired color, then cut out the required pieces (hard, but maybe easier than creating a mask) and apply. Chris Michielssen used this technique once before on his blog, I haven't tried it but have considered it for some future builds.

neil_w said:

I haven't used the Testor's paper; with other brands you just clear-coat the decals. I use the Krylon UV-resistant

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I think I'll try the Krylon also. Thanks for the tip on painting decals.

Have I mentioned lately that I love this forum..

lakeroadster said:

I think I'll try the Krylon also.

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+1 on the Krylon Acrylic Clear, although I use a light coat of the Krylon Workable Fixatif and allow it to dry first.

James

James Duffy said:

+1 on the Krylon Acrylic Clear, although I use a light coat of the Krylon Workable Fixatif and allow it to dry first.

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I am keen to understand the difference between Fixatif and regular clear coat, and what the advantage would be of using a coat of Fixatif before clear coat.

The Krylon Fixative seals the ink from "running" let it dry 24 hours. Then a few light coats of Krylon UV clear gloss. This prevents the decal from yellowing. You can get both of these at Michael's Craft stores, look for their coupons

Thats interesting, I have never used the fixatif only the Krylon Crystal Clear and never had an issue. A light coat of clear then a medium coat or two to get a thicker decal for ease of handling.

rharshberger said:

Thats interesting, I have never used the fixatif only the Krylon Crystal Clear and never had an issue.

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That is exactly why I asked the question. Just the clear seems to handle things just fine.

A light coat of clear then a medium coat or two to get a thicker decal for ease of handling.

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I seem to have settled on one medium coat, just enough to ensure coverage. I'd prefer the decals to be as thin as possible (within reason), and less clear coat give the Micro-Sol more of a chance to get through.

One thing to keep in mind with home (inkjet) printed decals is that if you're using a clear decal paper, your colors will not be as vibrant as you think. The inkjet inks are made to be printed on a white substrate (paper) and are somewhat translucent. To get around this, you can use a white decal paper, but you'll need to trim the decals very close to the color to avoid having a white outline on them. This method works best with blocks and larger solid areas of color, but rules out intricate text. Black usually looks fine, but anything with a color would be more difficult to make look right. Generally, if the rocket you're putting the decal on is painted white, colors look fine but on a darker color rocket you'll notice the color issue.

jeffk813 said:

One thing to keep in mind with home (inkjet) printed decals is that if you're using a clear decal paper, your colors will not be as vibrant as you think. The inkjet inks are made to be printed on a white substrate (paper) and are somewhat translucent. To get around this, you can use a white decal paper, but you'll need to trim the decals very close to the color to avoid having a white outline on them. This method works best with blocks and larger solid areas of color, but rules out intricate text. Black usually looks fine, but anything with a color would be more difficult to make look right. Generally, if the rocket you're putting the decal on is painted white, colors look fine but on a darker color rocket you'll notice the color issue.

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Replying this and Neil's earlier post and thinking of repairs on Neil's Iris Rocket

I like the idea of painting white color decal paper the rocket background color and printing the image desired on the paper then cut out the decal and apply. Assuming you used a white primer on rocket the colors should match and the edges of the decal should be imperceptible.
Sounds like best of all worlds.
Anybody actually try this recently?

Roadster for the red decals could you just paint label paper your background red color and just cut out the shapes of the red decals and stick them on? The shapes aren't too complex

BABAR said:

I like the idea of painting white color decal paper the rocket background color and printing the image desired on the paper then cut out the decal and apply.

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I don't know if I understand what you're suggesting here. Two sticking points:
1) printing on painted decal paper? Inkjet printer will not be happy with enamel paint as a printing surface.
2) If the background color is not very light, you're back to being unable to print on dark background.

In other words, it doesn't seem like this solves anything, unless I'm missing something.

BABAR said:

...I like the idea of painting white color decal paper the rocket background color and printing the image desired on the paper... Anybody actually try this recently?...

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Yes, I tried, NO, it does not work. You have to have a special type of coating to ink-jet print on, and the typical spray paints we use can not be printed over. The ink just sits on top of the paint and does not soak into anything.

BABAR said:

Roadster for the red decals could you just paint label paper your background red color and just cut out the shapes of the red decals and stick them on? The shapes aren't too complex

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YES! this is an excellent technique for color matching tricky parts to otherwise mask and paint. Just paint the decal paper the color you want and cut the simple geometric shapes out of the painted decal paper by hand. (don't need to apply clear coat, the lacquer paint is the same stuff) Maybe a little tricky for the smaller bits. An alternative for simple geometric shapes, like the Red wing bars, is Trim Monocote.

Also, as mentioned above, If you print the red decals on the ink jet and apply them to a darker painted color like the olive drab green, they won't show up as red. You might have to put two layers of decals on top of each other to cover the background layer. Ink-jet printed decals are really designed to go over a white or very light color, they don't print opaque.

This might help if you are looking for X-wing decals to print.

Here's a crazy thought: paint clear decal stock with pigmented White Out (or equivalent). That's designed to take ink.

Beyter yet, use a laser printer. If you don't have one, like most of us, go to a library or Staples or somewhere.

KSoldier said:

This might help if you are looking for X-wing decals to print.

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Thanks..

I guess I never updated this thread...

I ended up painting everything... then made decals on our printer for the "US Army" text, the "Wright Field" spears and the "XWA" on the vertical stabilizer.

Looking at the pic, looks like you incorporated the launch lug not only into the design but into the paint scheme. Is the yellow at the front the inside of the lug? I am guessing you have one on each side? That’s some nice planning and execution.

I'm glad someone suggested painting the decal material and then cutting it out and applying. That's a great idea, never thought of that.

Now I need some clear decal paper, since all I have is white backed.

BABAR said:

Looking at the pic, looks like you incorporated the launch lug not only into the design but into the paint scheme. Is the yellow at the front the inside of the lug? I am guessing you have one on each side? That’s some nice planning and execution.

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Thanks. Dual "Launch Lugs / Laser Cannons"...

Yes they are yellow inside

Obviously you need to print decals for complex things like text, logos etc., but for a cheap and dirty way to use any color and have perfect stripes:
Save the backing paper from a large peel off sticker. Put clear packing tape on it. (The kind that the post office sells is perfect, or use 3M, not cheap dollar store crap.) Spray paint the tape and let dry. Cut it with a circular blade cutter for straight lines or use exacto or whatever you like. The tape peels off the backing perfectly.

I do wish I could afford white toner though...VERY expensive...and only available for a few select laserjets. BUT cheaper than an M-motor

For you rich kids: https://www.ghost-white-toner.com/

lakeroadster said:

Thanks. Dual "Launch Lugs / Laser Cannons"...

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Hats off to BABAR for noticing.

Hats in the air for lakeroadstar for the brilliant design.

jqavins said:

Here's a crazy thought: paint clear decal stock with pigmented White Out (or equivalent). That's designed to take ink.

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When I need white on a decal, sometimes I'll just print it clear and paint white behind the decal.

That thing is just begging to get into the air....

neil_w said:

That thing is just begging to get into the air....

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Point well taken. I assure you my internet friend... it'll either go... or blow.. in 2020.

It's only been about about 37 years since I actually launched a rocket...