Water decals

quote:

Originally posted by Noel53:
Hi. I am trying to apply water decals, acquired from Port Lines, to my repainted 342AC loco with the following procedure: I cut the decal to the right size, dip it in warm water for 60 secs or so, then... should not the white lettering slip off to be applied and stick to the loco ? What am I doing wrong ?
I would appreciate counseling on this.
Thanks.

Noel,
It may take more than a minute or for the decal to separate from the backing paper. It depends a lot on the thickness of the backing paper and tha age of the decal.

I usually wait until I'm sure the paper is soaked, (by not seeing any "dry spots" on the paper that are lighter than the wetted paper, and place it on the rim of the water bowl I'm using (and old glass ashtray) and periodically nudging the decal to see if it's freed up. If it needs more water, I place a drop on the end and let it use capilary action to soak through the paper.

Rusty

I find what works well for me is:

I dip the decal in warm water for,say 20 seconds(or longer, as mentioned above).

I take it out of the water, and let it sit until it can slide easily off the backing paper.

Be sure to use Solva-Set or some other kind of decal solution, to get it to "snuggle down" nicely over the rivet detail,etc.

Hope this helps.

Mark in Oregon

Do not leave the decal in the water too long.   About 30 seconds should be fine.   Transfer the decal to a folded paper towel, face up.   Use a round sable brush (I use a number 5 for most decals but I will drop down to a smaller brush for smaller decals).  Test for "slide" with the brush.  You can flow additional water onto the decal to help the process or use decal solutions (like MicroSet).  The entire decal needs to slide, not just parts.  When you cut the paper, try to leave a little paper around the decal to allow you to pick up the baking paper with your fingers or better, a pair or tweezers.  Once the decal will slide, wet the target area on the model and slide from the paper to the wetted area on the model using the brush.  Once it's in place you can use a piece of paper towel to wick up extra water.  I agree that MicroSol or Solvaset are best for getting the decal to settle down.

Thanks all.

I've solved my problem... discovered thanks to Doug Peck that my decals are dry transfers !

My error.