Adding decals to freight cars

[jbu50]

Hello again. Although I have been a model railroader for close to 30 years one thing I have never had a chance to do is to add decals to an unpainted boxcar..So I am looking for some tips and suggestions. The boxcars will be painted and lettered for RailBox. I believe the paint needs to be glossy to give the decals something to stick to. But then it all needs to be dullcoated? Is that correct? I also plan to weather the cars once the decals have been applied. Do I do that before the dullcoating or after?

Any other tips would be appreciated.

[dstarr]

Well, I  was going to say "This is a well discussed subject. Do a search on "Decals" and some good threads ought to show up."

  Well I tried the search myself, and nothing useful showed on the first page of results.  So much for the search function.

So, here are my few well chosen words on decal application.

Cut the decals out of the sheet.  Trim closely around the decal and round the corners

Soak decal in luke warm water until it gets slippery, the film loosens from the paper backing. 

Place decal on surface.  Slide paper backing out from underneath the decal film.  Decals stick well on gloss paint and flat paint.  I get excellent results applying decals over Auto Primer which is the flattest paint ever made.  Don't allow the decal to double back upon itself, twist itself into knots, or wrinkle up. Keep it flat.   Nudge it into position with a sewing needle or the point of a #11 Xacto knife.  Blot up any excess water drops to keep it laying flat.  Allow to dry long enough to hold it inplace,  Say 5-10 minutes,

  Apply decal setting solution. I always use Walther's Solvaset.  It softens the decal film and allows it to snuggle down around surface details, rivets, etc.  Don't move a decal after applying setting solution, the softened film will tear.  Don't apply so much you float the decal out of position.  Let dry overnight.

  The dried decal will show some gloss and when viewed from the right angle you will be able to see the edges of the decal film.  Apply a coat of Testor's DullCote over the model and the decal film will blend into the paint and become invisible. 

[jbu50]

Thanks Dave. I didn't even see that search community link until you mentioned it. There are a great many posts on decaling aren't there? But as I read through, them one thing stood out clearly. Some advocate gloss paint and others advocate satin or flat paint. So who is right? T

[dstarr]

jbu50

Thanks Dave. I didn't even see that search community link until you mentioned it. There are a great many posts on decaling aren't there? But as I read through, them one thing stood out clearly. Some advocate gloss paint and others advocate satin or flat paint. So who is right? T

Perceived wisdom in the model railroading community is decal over gloss.  This is the majority opinion.  It goes so far as to have people spray a coat of clear gloss over flat paint, decal on the gloss, and then DullCote over the decals and the clear gloss.

    I decal right over flat paint like Floquil or Pollyscale, or the even flatter auto primers with excellent results.  No gloss coat.  The decals sink down onto the flat paint and the film becomes invisible .  I always use decal setting solution, it may be that this is the secret to decalling over flat paint. 

[dti406]

I totally disagree with David regarding applying decals to flat paint, after a period of time the decals will begin silvering behind the decal since there are microscopic holes in flat paint that the decal will not adhere to. 

I personally use Scalecoat II as it dries with a gloss finish out of the bottle and is ready for decaling without any further preparation.  In addition I used a weak solution of decal setting solution under the decal when it is first applied to help it adhere to the car.  After it is completely dry I will go back over the decal with full strenghth setting solution being carefull not to disturb the decal.

Even if I am going to use a semi-gloss finish on the car or locomotive, I will first dull coat the model to hide the decal film, then gloss coat the model so it has a consistent finish along with completely hiding the decal film.

Rick J

[gandydancer19]

I was also in the hobby for a long time before I learned the “right” way to decal.

Make sure the surface is a high gloss, then apply the decal to it. The glue on the decal paper is not there to make the decal stick to the model but to allow it to be removed from the paper carrier. Decals are silk-screened over clear lacquer, glossy in most cases, then over-coated with clear lacquer again. So by having a glossy surface, the decal will disappear on the model paint better.

Using Solvaset will make the decal snuggle down on the model surface better. Depending on the surface details, you may have to apply Solvaset more than once or twice after applying the decal.  If there is an area that still is not snuggled down, p***k the decal in that area with a pin and apply more Solvaset again. 

Once it is all dry, over-coat it with clear flat. Then apply the weathering and spray with clear flat or the final clear finish desired.

[dbduck]

What GandyDancer said!!

[gmcrail]

Here's the method I use, which seems to work well for me:

1.  Begin with a glossy or satin finish.  Flat paint has talc in it to scatter the light striking it so that the light does not reflect uniformly back to the eye.  In short, it's a rough finish.  and the decal film is thicker than the depth between particles, so it will not snuggle down properly.

2.  Cut out the decal.  If using a commercial decal set (Microscale, etc), the individual decal is often on its own film (check the sheet closely).  If so, cut around the outside of the film.  The individual film will have a tapered edge, and will be harder to spot on the model.  If the sheet is all one piece of decal film, then cut as close to the edge of the printed part of the decal as possible, with a new #11 blade.  If possible, tilt the handle of the knife towards the inside of the decal as you cut.  This will give the decal film a tapered edge, thus again making it harder to see on the model.

3.  Dip the decal in lukewarm distilled water. If the decal is large enough, (e.g.: a large herald) you can allow it to soak until the decal film is loosened.  Otherwise, lay the decal on the end of your finger with a drop of water added (I use tweezers to pick up the drop - capillary action) . 

4.  Brush some Microscale Decal Set on the surface to which the decal is to be applied.

5.  Slide the decal onto the model, and position it into its final location on the model.  Allow it to dry completely.

6.  Repeat steps 2-5 for other decals on that side of the model.

7.  Apply Walthers Solvaset to the decal by dragging a drop across the surface of the decal, without actually touching the decal with the brush.  Let surface tension do all the work.  Don't forget the outside edge of the decal.  Again, allow to dry completely.

8.  Inspect the decal carefully.  If any bubbles or whitish areas of decal film are apparent, poke them with the tip of the Xacto blade or a sharp needle and reapply the Solvaset.

9.  A second application of Solvaset, after all bubbles, etc., are eliminated, will cause the decal film to virtually disappear. Allow to COMPLETELY dry (overnight, if possible).

10.  At this point the decal is very fragile, so do not handle it any more than needed.  Give the entire model another coat of clear gloss paint.  This will seal the decals and give the model a uniform finish.  Follow with a coat of clear flat or satin finish of your choice.

Your model is now representative of a unit fresh from the paint shop.  Like the prototype, it is at this point that I apply weathering, to whatever degree is appropriate.

Good luck, and post a picture of your completed model!

[dti406]

Here is a car where I did not gloss coat the car before applying decals, I did this car back in the 1970's and it looks worse in person.

You can see the silvering behind the CAPY-RBL data, the Return to Data and the Ship it on the Frisco. This is not one of my worst cars, but I could not find any of my early cars in the box of cars I had.

Please, note much of the data on the side of the car is incorrect, I followed the decal lettering guide but the kind of data we have now means I would have the correct CAPY Data, no RBL on a sliding door car, no Plate C on a 40' AAR Boxcar etc.

Rick J

[cjcrescent]

I haven't looked at the "instructions" that many decal sets come with in many, many years. IIRC the instructions said the best surface to apply to is a gloss surface. But be that as it may here's how I apply decals to anything I paint for a customer and have used this method since I started custom painting at 19. I'm now almost 60.

Make sure the surface has a high gloss. Scalecoat I and II come out of the bottle with a high gloss surface, especially if they have been baked in an oven at 175 for at least 4 hours. This of course applies only to brass. Plastic, if it has no metal parts, can be zapped in a microwave several times at 1 minute intervals. The model has to be inspected after each interval.

Take the decal and dip into water, doesn't matter if distilled water or not. I've never had minerals in hard water do any damage or discoloration to a decal. After dipping in the water, set the decal or a hard surface, setting in a "pool" of water.

Using forceps, (Tweezers), check the decal to see when the adhesive has dissolved sufficiently to float off of the paper.

Using the forceps grab the backing and lift the decal to the model, and slide it off of the paper close to its final position.

Use a Q-tip, soaked with water and move the decal into final position. Then take a dry Q-tip and gently with the side of the swab, roll the Q-tip over the top of the decal, removing most of the water.

If the decal was applied to the proper gloss surface, you will still be able to move it around on the model with a Q-tip, even though there is no water under the decal.

When in the final position, take a very soft bristled brush, like a make-up brush, (I get funny looks when I'm buying these make-up brush sets sometimes), and apply a coat of your favorite decal solvent to the decal. If it moves a little, you'll have a few seconds to re-position before the solvent starts to do its work.

Do not touch until this first coat of solvent is completely dry. At that point, inspect for air bubbles, silvering etc. I use a 27-30Ga needle or a sharp #11 blade to cut the surface of the bubble. Apply more solvent. After this dries inspect again. This is where some folks stop checking the decal. I may repeat this process several more times to make sure there will be no problem with the decal.

After the decal has dried, and all the solvent has evaporated, I rinse the model in water to remove all the dried on solvent. I can assure you that it is still there, and sometimes it will become visible after any gloss and dull finishes are applied.

After the model has dried from the rinse, (you can speed up the process using a hair dryer, set on cool and low, no heat), apply a coat of gloss over the model and decals. The film of a decal is sometimes flat, but to really get the edges to disappear, I've found a coat of gloss placed over the decals, specifically aimed at the edges of the decals, hides these edges the best.

After that coat has dried and a final inspection of the model is done, I will apply dullcoat and weather as needed. Often times the customer will want the model in a High Gloss state, so if he does, I will bake the model again, (if brass) and this will make the model's gloss really come out.

This is the technique that I've used for many, many years. This technique, like all other techniques that you read about or see demonstrated, may not work for you. As they say YMMV!