Remember when railroad decal lines were first made (like Champ and Walthers), 90%+ of all model railroad freight cars were wood kits...so really, railroad decals were originally designed to be used on wood.
If you're doing a wood-sided car (actual wood or plastic), one thing I find helps is, after the decal is firmly seated down with Solvaset or something similar, to take a single-edge razor blade and slide it down the grooves between the boards of the car and then add more Solvaset. I find if you don't do that, the decal never fully snuggles down into the grooves and the end result looks like a car with a decal on it. Cutting it into many pieces and adding Solvaset again makes it look more like a wood car with painted-on lettering.
SeeYou190I have found using Future (not Future any more, can't recall the new name) floor polish
Future is now Pledge Floor Care Multi-Surface Finish (try saying that three times fast)
https://www.pledge.com/en-us/products/pledge-floor-care-multi-surface-finish
Eric
Dey transfers seem to work better on wood as long as the surface is not too fuzzy
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
dknelson I myself have yet to find a really satisfactory way to do it.
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Dave,
I have found using Future (not Future any more, can't recall the new name) floor polish applied with a brush makes the area for the decal glossy without filling in the wood texture. I use "DACO Strong" to settle the decal, then brush on Vallejo Matt Varnish to dull the shine.
The results are pretty good.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
The need for the glossy finish can be the challenge in certain situations both for rolling stock and structures. Sometimes you want a very aged weatherbeaten appearance to the wood but nonetheless want a decal on it. Merely putting Dullcote over the end product once it has been made glossy does not bring back the texture of the wood that I seek. I myself have yet to find a really satisfactory way to do it.
Dave Nelson
Thanks!
Decals work on wood just fine.
All you need is a glossy finish and some good decal softener to snuggle the decal into the texture of the wood.
Will the model decals we use on our trains also work on wood? Anything special need to be done other than making sure to have a clean smooth surface and then sealing the decal to protect it?