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Decals for newbie

Hi all, I am new to this group. I have a question regarding decals. I am currently recreating decals for some damaged plastic buildings that I had fixed. I pulled the decals off and scanned them and just finished touching up and fixing the artwork on them. I am now ready to move onto the printing phase of the project. I purchased some adhesive backed clear vinyl from a company called Mediastreet.com quite a while ago for another project, but I think that it might work on this current one. I printed out the decals on the vinyl and the results were excellent. I was told to coat the top of the vinyl with Krylon Triple Thick Glaze 0500 to protect it from scratches and such. (havn't done that yet) My question to this group is this: although the adhesive backing is somewhat sticky, I do not know if it will stick permanently like I want it to. I don't think that it is a water release type decal either as I can just pull it off from the backing and feel the adhesive side. Is there a glue that I can use to adhere these decals to my buildings for permanent adhesion or should I be using a different type of decal paper? (keep in mind that I need clear paper) And are there any comments on the Krylon glazing step? Thanks in advance.

Reply to
richblacksmith
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There are two problems with vinyl stickybacked decals. First, the vinyl is much thicker than regular decals, so you get a bump around the edge that is visible.

Secondly, the decals may not stretch enough on compound curves. With regular waterslide decals, the use of decal solvent softens the decal enough to go around a compound curve.

A vinyl decal is okay on a large scale model where the thickness of the film is less apparent, and when applied to a flat or single-curved region.

Otherwise, you can use the same procedure on inkjet compatible waterslide decal film.

BTW, where did you get the vinyl stuff? I've been looking for it lately and cannot find it. Is this a transparent film vinyl?

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Reply to
Don Stauffer

Reply to
richblacksmith

Reply to
richblacksmith

I just spray a very thin coat of gloss acrylic varnish. I find that with modern clear decal sheet, you don't have to leave it in water for longer than a couple of seconds before it slides, so there is very little time for the ink to run.

Reply to
Enzo Matrix

Reply to
richblacksmith

I just use Xtradecal clear sheet, which so far has worked perfectly in my printer (Epson Stylus Photo R200). I spray Xtracrylix gloss varnish over it.

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Reply to
Enzo Matrix

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