Decals

[erich]

Am finishing up a Nieuport 11, and have started a DR-1. I DO like these Guillows kits and especially the size of these (believe 200 series) WW1 kits. Am coming to grips with the somewhat heavy wood, which I really don't mind as much as some.

The thing I am having difficulty with is the Decals. Have applied a number of them now, and CAN NOT seem to get one to lie down with no wrinkles. Have massaged and caressed them, when applying, till my fingers hurt, all to no avail. Even worse most of them are now (2 days later) coming loose. Have used UHU glue stick to re-stick them. My question, am I NOT doing something that I should be, to make these decals work. If so what is it? Have seen photos of other peoples models with the same decals and theirs seem to be almost perfect.

What I HAVE been doing: I cut the decals out, right to the edge of the colored section of decal (cut the 1/16" edged, clear portion off). Let the decal soak in warm water for about 10 seconds then let it sit out of the water for around a minute. Then line up decal and backing at the right location and slide backing out from under decal. Then proceed to squeegee out all the water using fingers only. Seems the more I rub the edges (to get the bubbles and wrinkles out) the less the decal wants to stick. As a covering, have been using UHU glue stick to attach Guillows supplied tissue, then water, shrinking and finally adding 1 full strength coating of Nitrate dope (Brodak).

Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks.

erich

[dbcisco]

Don't know whether my way is "right" but has worked so far.
I cut out each decal and soak in fairly hot water until it slides around on the paper but not floating off the paper. Take the decal out of the water and shake off excess water then slide onto model and gently slide into perfect postion. Dab with paper towel with only downward motion from center to edges. Before it completely dries gently massage air pocketes and wrinkles away from center to edges.

[flying chicken]

I use warm water with a couple drops of Dish Detergent (Dawn) It seems to make them easier to work with and they spread more smoothely.
It works for me.

[Phugoid]

I just use cold of lukewarm water and never seem to have a problem. One thing is that they won't stick to matt or porous surfaces.

I tend to leave them pretty much alone one I've got them in the right place and got rid of air pockets. One thing to remember that the tissue underneath will wrinkle up a bit too so the massaging won't always help.

One curious thing, are you really using full strength dope? Assuming that you are flying this will be pretty heavy and also the shrink will be pretty harsh and could lead to warping etc....

Andrew

[cliffm]

I have noticed a few of my decals wanting to lift in places. By gently lifting with a moderately wet (water) brush and re-moistening the back of the decal then massaging it back on seems to work well for me. There seems to be that "magic moment" in the soaking process where the glue sticks to the decal or the paper and it succesfully sticks to the surface of application. At this time I have not found a 100% success formula, it seems every sheet of decals has it's own characteristics most likely influenced by age, environment, water ingredients, phase of the moon and astrologic alignment. If all else fails make some stencils and paint them on. Good luck and good day, hope this helps.

[lukebozek1]

I had better luck when the tissue surface area was wetted with water (or a soapy water solution) before I set the decal down. this allows me to center the decal, and the water dries out leaving that decal tied down tight. Now, what do I do with Peel & Stck decals?