Decal's - Who knows the best method

Mix a couple of drops of dish detergent in a spray bottle of water. Spray it on the area you want to apply the vinyl and then gently place the vinyl on the area. You can slide it around until you get it just where you want it then use a soft cloth the squeegie the water out. Let it sit for a couple of days and you should have no bubbles or wrinkles.

Gekko (Keep It Clean)

Be cearful to remove all dust both from the plane and the decal. One tiny corn of dust looks like a mountain on the applied decal!!

Gekko (Keep It Clean)

Paul's method can also be used very successfully with monocote over monocote. Use a piece of soft balsa as a squeegee and allow 24 hours for capillary action to evaporate all the liquid away, then go over it with an iron set at 200 degrees and finally around the very edges set at the usual 250 degrees.

Phil AMA609

On 4/15/2004 9:45 PM Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not so great) words of knowledge:

You can also use BLUE Windex. I have had excellent results using it. I am not certain, but I think there is something in the blue windex that activates the adhesive and makes it adhere better when dry.

Sorry, but I must beg to differ with Ted...

I've spent over ten years making little pieces of vinyl from big pieces, and this I know as fact...

Though many people use Windex, it's really detrimental to the adhesive used on the vinyls we apply to our models... Windex (and any other products containing ammonia) will actually cause the adhesive to break down over time... However, I must admit longevity is not a strong suit with model airplanes (mine, at least)..

As Paul stated, just a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid in a quart of water is the way to go... not much soap; just enought to break the surface tension of the water and allow it to "sheet" on the surface.

The adhesive used with typical vinyl gfx and lettering is "pressure sensitive" and PRESSURE is what "activates" it... The soapwater "slip" solution allows one to squegee out the air bubbles... (Phil's tip for the balsa squeegee is a good one; dampen it first...Give the gfx a couple of days to dry off the water, then squeegee again.. A couple more days for the adhesive to set, and your gfx will outlast you plane fo' sho'...

Be careful if you use an iron... Vinyl is easy to melt... Again, it's the PRESSURE that sets the adhesive; given time to set up, it will do the job...

Cheers,

Bill

Thanks for the excellent info. I want to get these right as this is my first attempt at applying vinyl to ultra coat (ARF). Bill I now understand pressure sensitive! With the dishwashing liquid and the balsa squeegee I should be able to get a good looking finial product.

Gekko (Keep It Clean)

Windex...Squeege....Pat Dry....Let Dry... Works on any type stick on stuff.