I may have asked this question here before but I don't remember what thread it would have been in. So, please forgive me if I'm repeating myself.
With only a month left of summer and the temperature and humidity levels at or near ideal in my area, I decided to start painting a number of locomotive shell projects that I've had on my to-do list for a while. One of the projects is painting & decaling an undecorated Stewart EMD FT A-B set into a NYC "cat-whisker" FT A-B, as shown below:
These were originally purchased by the NYC in June '44 and were the short-lived predecessor to the better-known lightening stripe; which, IIRC, were first introduced on the F3s.
My question has to do with decaling. Is it possible to apply a decal over another decal? If so, can they be applied at the same time, or does the underlying decal need to be "seated" with Micro Set/Sol first (so that it snugs up to the surface) before the top decal is applied? Or, will one decal over another really accentuate the irregularity of both decals on the shell surface and look bad?
IIRC, the NYC herald on the front nose is red with white lettering. So, any stripes directly underneath the herald will NOT be visible through the decal. That's not to say that this method is best and removing the striping directly underneath is the most preferable method in making this work. If the latter is true, is there a good method for cutting out an oval shape in the decal before apply it to the shell?
Thanks for the help...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Don't know personally, but Cody and others have done articles where they have patched cars and locos by changing the numbers and so forth. They have used MicroScale Trim Film to do the patch, and then applied the road numbers on top of the Trim Film. So it can be done, at least on a small scale.
Yes you can layer decals -- many paint schemes call for lettering on top of a colored stripe for example. I would not attempt to "mosaic" the decals to achieve your goal even assuming it is practical or possible to do so.
Decals have a thickness and layering means more thickness of course. Extreme close up photography might well reveal the layering but so too would it reveal and cutting and pasting alternative. Indeed extreme close up photography reveals all use of decals. Fortunately most decals today have thin film.
What I do NOT know (and here is where finding a C Grivno video might help) is whether ideally the first layer is sealed and then the second layer applied, or should the second layer be applied and only then the final sealing should take place. In either event the first layer should be entirely dried I would think. I did not seal before the second layer but having said that, the result could have been nicer.
This might be worth practicing with a junker model and some spare decals but to really learn from it they should be of a brand and thickness of decals that is like the final product you propose to use.
Dave Nelson
I have done this before. I set the first decal and let it dry for a day . ( that way the decal you put over the top doesn't make the first one move.)
There IS a bit of a ridge after your done, but you can spray 2 coat's of Glosscote over it and it will dissapear .
It's hard to tell in this picture ( taken on the Mount Hood Model Engenier's layout ) But the nose of my Trainmaster is a decal, followed by a layer of Sky Blue paint, followed by a second decal.
This is a "Spotting feature" of my loco's and rolling stock on their club layout.
( As far as I know, I was the only one to add the Blue to the club logo.)
Here's a shot of the rear. ( in this picture she's the trailing unit.)
And in this really hard to tell shot, my transfer caboose with the same process. Decal, Sky blue, decal. ( It's in the bottom right hand corner of the picture.)
^ ^ ^
Rust...... It's a good thing !
Tom,
.
Sorry for my late response. The title "Layed Decals" threw me.
Anyway... YES YES YES... you can layer decals.
I had the STRATTON & GILLETTE herald letttering printed in five colors, and the striping printed in three colors.
This allows me lots of color combinations on the herald. Some of these have five layers of decals on top of one another.
As you can see, this not only gives me flexibility in the herald colors, but also the symbol or text in the center.
I do not seal in between the layers. After I am done with the decals I apply a coat of Testors 1260 Dullcote, and that is all.
As always, I cannot cheerlead for "Daco Strong" decal setting solution loud enough. That stuff makes all the decal film between the layers completely disappear.
You should not have anything to worry about.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Thanks, Kevin. And the title of the thread has been adjusted. Caught it right before reading your response.
Similar to Kevin, many of my paint schemes are done with layered decals.
The red stripe is a decal, then the white lettering and herold are applied over that decal - after it dries.
Sheldon
The heralds on some of my freelanced home road boxcars...
...and reefers...
...were layered dry transfers. That required a clear overspray of the first-applied black background, to ensure that application of the herald wouldn't lift the background or fail to adhere to it.
Wayne
I've done it on some of the heralds for my free-lance railroad. The regular heralds are white on a clear background, but in some situations I've used a red Virnex rectangle underneath it. I usually do them one after the other while still wet, but it could be done separately (let the first dry then add the second).