I haven't done decal work for over 50 years, that was on good old Revel ship, plane and army models. After the first few tries they looked fine and lasted for years, nothing but water to soak them off the sheet, no surface preparation or setting solutions.
I have some of the Accurail box cars that you can get renumbering decals for and got a set. Looked up some decaling information both here and on youtube. Now I have two questions.
First, the tutorial showed the decals being cut free on a section of the backing, then tweezers held the backing while the decal was being slipped off, seems to me the old ones were that way too. The problem I see is the Accurail decals are butted right up together and have no space between them to offer as a handle. Suggestions?
Second, it says to apply them to a glossy surface. These are older cars with a flat finish resembeling wood, thus not shiny. In one thread I looked at, it was for applying to a wood surface and it suggested putting on gloss coat, apply decal, then dull coat over it. I was thinking of brushing on some gloss coat just where the decal was going, decaling, then brushing on dull coat to take away the gloss of the decal and any over painting of the gloss. Has anyone done this, how did it come out?
I suppose a third question might be whether to decal or assemble first? Easier to handle if done first, but is the handling with reasonable care during assembly likley to damage the decals?
To me the first is the bigger problem, the second a bit more one of experimentation, expecially since I have never used gloss or dull cote nor either of the micro set or sol solutions.
Any other suggestions will also be greatly appreciated and considered.
Thank you,
Richard
I use a fresh xacto #11 blade and a straight edge. I follow the instructions on the website. Getting the water off is important. I can generally get all 4 decals on the car before dullcoat sealing. I like to use the micro sol, but you have to let it off gas. I havent done this in a few months so its a bit cloudy. I have never gloss coated.
In MRVP there is a series of Cody building a wood caboose. I am certain he gloss coated after assembly and before he applied decals. That is my practice and I use an airbrush and apply more than one coat. (another technique I picked up from Cody) I have had silvering in the past which I attribute to the paint, which has dried too fast and has left a rough texture on the model
I cut as close as possible to the decal edge so there isn't any spare place to grab. Do not grab the decal itself with sharp things like tweezers. There is a Jlwii2000 video where he doesn't use good techiniques in demonstrating decaling. You can start to slide the decal off the backing and then grap the backing. Alternatively you can toothpicks or q-tips to handle the decals. A long narrow decal will wrap around the q-tip so beware.
I use micro set and micro sol in that order. It seems to me they are named backwards but maybe that is just me. What I've read lately is after the decal is dry and tucked into all the grooves, use gloss to help blur the edge of the decal and then dullcote. So far I have had good success.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I very recently (yesterday) finished this scratchbuilt version of a Seaboard 1932 ARA boxcar (the roof is from Red Caboose, so not a complete scratchbuild)...
The decals are from Speedwitch Media, and the entire sheet (enough for four or five cars) is all-decal, not like Microscale decals where each group of lettering is on its own pool of decal film.I used my X-Acto with a #11 blade to cut out the needed portions, leaving some extra film surrounding the lettering. These pieces were then placed on a sheet of glass and cut using various #11, 17, and 18 blades (depending on the outline of the particular lettering group) and always with a straight downward chopping motion rather than a slicing-type action. Slicing raises the edges of the decal on both sides of the blade...not a problem on the waste side, but on the decal side, it makes it more difficult to hide the decal film once on the model. Chopping pushes down the cut edges and also allows you (with magnification if necessary) to cut extremely close to the actual image. Even where you can't do this, the simple act of rounding-off the corners of a patch of lettering where the characters on the corners are rounded ("9"s "3"s, "G"s, "B"s, etc.) will help to make the decal less noticeable as such.Since the car was a one-off, I cut all of the lettering blocks separate, including the entire slogan, the reporting marks and the capacities and dimensions (the latter two only as blocks where the parts are separated from one another, not into individual words or letters, although I have done that occasionally). I also use this method for Microscal decals, removing all of the decal film surrounding the actual image.Once the item to be decaled has been painted and the paint fully cured (that varies with brands and types of paint - basically, there should be no odour of paint present) the entire model should be covered with a clear gloss (unless you used a gloss paint, in which case you're good to proceed with the decal work). The car had been painted with PollyScale paint, and I used Testor's Glosscote, thinned about 1/3 with lacquer thinner, then airbrushed on in light coats. This way, by the time the entire car has been covered, first portion of it will be dry to the touch and ready for another application. I used three such applications, then set the car aside for several days to allow that to fully cure.
For decaling, I use either distilled water or water collected by a dehumidifier. If you use the latter, first clean the collection bucket thoroughly and rinse well. I dip a selection of the cut-out pieces of decal in a glass of that water for a few seconds, then lay them face-up on the glass work-surface, adding water dipped from the glass with my fingertips when necessary.
The decal, on its backing paper for small pieces, is then placed on the model and using tweezers or other suitable tool, slid into position. For larger pieces of decal, I slide them off the paper and, using tweezers, dip them very carefully once or twice into the glass of water, then dragging them over the glass and its edge to remove any excess glue from the back of the decal, as it's not needed to adhere the lettering to the model.Depending on how things go, the lettering is either placed where it's meant to go and blotted with a clean lint-free cloth, or placed on a puddle of Microset, in its final position, and then left to allow the Microset to do its work and then evapourate.I usually letter one entire side of the car, then apply Microset to all lettering (it will be drawn under the decals and force out much of any air that might be trapped under the film). Once that has dried, I use a new #11 blade to slice any apparent air bubbles, then apply Walthers Solvaset, and these latter two operations are repeated until the lettering is satisfactory. The balance of the car is done in the same manner.After the decal work is finished, use the lint-free cloth and some distilled water to gently wipe away any obvious traces of the setting solution, as it can leave visible rings or blotches on the painted surfaces.The decals are allowed to dry for a day or two, then it's time for more clear coat. First is more clear gloss, as before. The reason for more gloss is because the gloss of the decal film isn't usually the same degree of glossiness as the surface on which it was applied, and this evens out the finish. Again, three light coats were applied continuously, as before, and then, after about five minutes, three light coats of Dullcote were applied in the same manner. After allowing a few minutes of further drying time, I airbrushed on some very light weathering...while these cars were built in 1934, when they came in for their first re-weighing date in 1937, all were repainted, with the "Route of the ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL" slogan added. On my "late '30s" layout, the paint is only a year-and-a-half, and would not likely be too dirty yet.While this procedure is not quick (nor is my description of it), for me it gives the best results that I have achieved using decals, and in-person, it looks as if it could be dry transfers rather than decals.
For anyone interested in the scratchbuild, it's shown HERE.
Wayne
I never use gloss. It is easier to put decal in place ect. but find the sep not needed.
With the clear understanding that my results are not nearly as good as Dr Wayne's, here is my 12 step receipt for renumbering cars and locos:
1) paint out the old number with something that nearly matches the original paint (not required for the accurail renumber decals that have a proper color background), let dry a day or 2.
2) brush gloss coat on the number area, let dry for a day
3) hold decal with tweezers and soak in distilled water for about 15 seconds
4) place decal on dry paper towel and let it sit for 60 seconds
5) during wait in 4 above, apply drop of (blue) Micro Set to side of car where decal goes with a sable brush
6) place decal in final location: for "strong" decals you can hold the decal near the end between left thumb and forefinger and by moving the thumb out along the forefinger start the decal sliding out over the paper, then grab the decal film with tweezers, locate the decal end on the car and then slide the rest of the backing paper out from under the decal while gently dropping the decal into position; for "weak" decals place the decal on the car next to its final location, then dip another sable brush in water and use it to slide the decal off of the backing paper and position the decal (rewet with water if required).
8) use a pin to pop any air bubbles
9) after a few minutes, press a damp paper towel over the decal
10) after an hour or so, apply (red) Micro Sol with a 3rd sable brush and then don't touch the decal until it drys for a day
11) brush apply a flat clear coat to decal area and let dry
12) apply any weathering, then spray car with dull coat or Krylon clear matte rattle can and let dry
Grinnell
PS: I've renumbered several hundred cars, but in my world renumbering cars is an evil that is necessary for operations and not an opportunity for artistic expression, so view my advice accordingly.
PPS: I don't mess with renumbering the end numbers that are too small for me to read at two feet away anyway. I'll cherry pick cars with correct end numbers for photo props.
Thank you all for your ideas and experiences.
BMMECNYC - Duah, why didn't I thik of that? No instructions had come with the kit or purchased decals, never thought of going to their website. You might think they would at least mention the site when they sent the decals. Now have it printed off for future reference.
Henry -You are right about the "Set and Sol" issue being bassackwards, that's what I thought when I watched the video. The decals are on one solid piece, no edges, whether I wanted them to hold on to or not.
Wayne - Nice looking car. Good tip about cutting straight down as opposed to dragging, as I said above, the sheet is one solid piece, so the cut line is for the two numbers it is seperating..
Grinnel - They make the background of the number decals the same color as they painted the car so no color matching needed. The order slip that comes with the kit lists the road and kit number so it is the correct match of color and font, a nice feature.
Thanks again,