I'm painting and decaling an Amtrak baggage car right now. Down at the bottom of the sides, there's these little narrow red stripes that run the length of the car. After destroying a lot of my striping for various reasons, I thought I should ask if there's a better way to do this than what I did.
The stripe is broken into two pieces because of the baggage door, so I'd cut out two pieces of the appropriate length. Its only about a 1/32nd of an inch wide, so it snapped easily and also kept making a pigtail out of itself. I tried to move smaller sections of the torn decal, but by that point, they'd lost their stickiness (except when it came to my finger or brush).
Is there anything other than "practice" that gets something like this to go smoother?
My decal experiences seem to be hit-or-miss. Sometimes everything goes very well, other times
About the only hints I can offer on thin stripes is to cut them to width as close to the image as possible (glass surface, brand new #11, good, thin straight edge) and to cut their length a little longer than needed, maybe up to an inch.
Microset, Blue Label, is supposed to help, and in most cases does help with adhesion but the instructions say to brush it to the area where the decal will be. When I do this it just beads up it really doesn't "cover" the area of the decal. Still, I apply a little and hope that it will find its way under the decal film.
You can see the left side of the top stripe went above the rivets and on the right side went below. I live with it for now but I will redo it when I "get my mind right" and am in the mood to do decaling.
By having the stripe a little long you can carefully slide it like a rope off one end of the paper until it is as straight as possible. I had the unfortunate task of striping this Pennsy diner and the stripe had to sit right over a line of rivets so it wanted to favor one side or the other. Any prodding would make it crooked so I had to resort to the "dragging" method. If it tore, then I just trimmed the end square and began another length butted up to it.
I had to do eight cars like this. I also found toothpicks to be helpful to prod and pull the decal into place. Adding more Microset as I progressed.
I would lightly blot the excess liquid away then apply the Microsol (Red Label) then let everything air dry.
I don't know if there's any help here but eventually you'll get pretty good at it.
Good Luck, Ed
For long, narrow decals I do not let them float off the decal paper and try to move them from rhe bowl. After soaking for a bit, I slide them off the decal paper onto their location. I do not use Microsol or other setting solution until the decal is in place. If I have to move it around I add a drop of water to float it a bit; then, when it is in place, wick the water away with the tip of a paper towel, not touching the decal itself.
To be sure the decal is straight, I sight from one end along the length of the decal, any bumps or wigggles will show better that way. This also works to check that letters are aligned.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Another option to prevent the stripes from breaking is when you get the sheet and before you think about cutting them is to either use some Microscale Liquid Decal Film or, for those that make their own decals, spray the sheet with a decal setting spray. Those strengthen the decals and thicken the film on the decals. Anytime I get stripes, I hit the sheet with decal setting spray myself.
I pretty much follow George's methods but I will elaborate a bit further:
- First, you need a glossy surface. Matte surfaces tend to trap tiny air bubbles under the decal which show up as 'silvering' once the decal is dry. Testors Glosscote works well, but be aware that their spray cans put down a lot of paint in a hurry so go gently to avoid runs. Once all the decalling is done you can use Testors Dullcote to restore the matte finish.
- Trim the stripes as close as possible. Use a new #11 blade and a steel straight edge.
- Soak the stripes for a few seconds but, like George says, don't let them float off of the paper in the water. Let them sit out of the water until the stripes slide freely on the decal paper.
- DON'T use decal setting solution yet!!!
- To position the decals, slide one end of the stripe off the paper so that you have just enough to hold it in place with your finger and then slide the paper out from under the decal. Don't worry if it isn't in exactly the right place at first.
- To adjust the position of the decal, I use a small paint brush with as much water as it will hold and I 'flood' the area of the decal that needs to be moved. The decal will float up a bit and it can be gently nudged into place. Work on the stripe a bit at a time (1 1/2" to 2"). Wipe the brush on a paper towel and use the dry brush to wick away any excess water. Then move on to the next section.
- Don't expect to get everything straight the first time. Repeat the process until you are happy with the position. Remember to sight along the stripe to see if it is straight.
- Once the decals are in place let them dry. Then you can apply a decal setting solution to make them conform to any irregularities. It may take several applications of the decal setting solution. Let the decals dry between each application or you might ruin all your hard work.
- The final step is to apply a clear coat to seal the decals. Some modellers recommend using Glosscote first and then Dullcote. They suggest that that will hide the decal edges better.
Here are a couple of examples of my stripping. The photos reveal minor imperfections but in reality they don't show.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
For some reason, I hadn't really thought of wetting the area the decal was going to be placed on. It seemed like the only thing it wanted to stick to was me or itself. Maybe that'll help.
The big red, white, and blue side panels went on just fine, but the sill stripes are just...not fun.
NittanyLionFor some reason, I hadn't really thought of wetting the area the decal was going to be placed on.
Just like airbrushing, ballasting or any number of the "fine arts" of model railroading, everyone seems to develop their own methods based on experience and results.
I figured that Microscale should know a little something about decals so I thought I'd give the Microset a try.
http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MD&Product_Code=MI-1&Category_Code=FINPROD
Again, your own experience may have different results. There was a contributor here some years ago that had several tutorials on decal work. I'll see if I can find that and post a link.
Another article I came across recently showed the author dabbing thinned white glue on the model before decaling! Never tried THAT! I'll have to look for the article and comment on it here.
Regards, Ed
While I generally prefer to use paint for striping, I use methods similar to those outlined by George and Dave when applying decal stripes. Be sure to cut as close to the stripe as possible, as any excess clear film (even that on Microscale's offerings) can hinder accurate placement. I use my fingers or tweezers for placing the decal into water and taking it out, but use the side of the tweezers or a small brush for moving the decal into place on the model - don't use anything with a sharp tip.
Once dipped in water, long stripes, like most decals, tend to curl. I leave them in the water for only a few seconds, then place them on glass, preferably with the formed loop standing vertically, then add water, using my fingertip, as the loop straightens itself. Once it's straightened out, place the stripe, still on its backing paper, on the model, and, after positioning one end of the decal near its final location, carefully withdraw the paper from under it by gently pulling it in line with the length of the stripe.The decal can be re-wet as many times as is necessary to aid in positioning it properly, so there's no need to rush. Sight along the model to ensure straightness - this is easier and more effective than using a straightedge. I use Microsol once the decal is properly in place and dry, then, once that's dry, use Solvaset to firmly affix it in place.
One of the few examples of decal striping that I could find. On this one, the black pinstriping on either edge of the yellow panel is decal striping, as is the yellow stripe at the eaves, between the green of the side and the black roof:
When adding stripes which aren't at an edge or adjacent to a moulded-in line of detail, such as a row of rivets or panel-edge detail, use a set of dividers to keep the striping level, setting one leg to either the sill or the eave line of the body shell, and the other at a point corresponding to either the top or bottom edge of the stripe to be applied, and check it often as you nudge the stripe into place.
Wayne