TIPs: For people getting into decaling.

[John Brown]

Guys, I thought I would share a tip about decaling your pieces.

Have your ever painted a piece that you were proud of, but it got messed up because of one stubborn decal that just wasn’t going on the piece smoothly?

I’m sure some of you have experienced this.

TIP 1: Make sure to use hot water when separating the decal from the film, and change the water often. This will make it so much easier on you, in the long run.

TIP 2: When putting a decal on the piece your painting, bump the corner of the decal, to straighten it out. If the decal will not maneuver into the correct position, for you, you then need to get a pair of tweezers, and take the decal off of the piece, to reposition it.

If your piece is too dry dab a little more of the decal solution, before putting the decal in position again.

TIP 3: If a piece has more than one decal to put on, always start with the hardest decal, first.

I cannot tell you how many times, I’ve ruined a paint job on a piece, because the last decal, either got stuck on the piece and dried on it, or too much decal solution was put on, or while maneuvering the decal, it messed another decal up, as well as the paint job.

I’m no expert, and have only been painting for 3 years, but these are some things I have experienced that I thought I would pass along to you guys who are new at painting and decaling.

I hope these can be of help to someone getting into this.

Cheers! :-)

John

[bgugs]

Just got some decals in the mail and will be applying once I get to painting the correct units. Thanks for this

[John Brown]

@bgugs:

Just got some decals in the mail and will be applying once I get to painting the correct units. Thanks for this

Any time. :-)

[John Brown]

@bgugs:

Just got some decals in the mail and will be applying once I get to painting the correct units. Thanks for this

One more thing. Get a needle to put your decals on.

That is what I use to put and position the decals with, because some decals are so small.

[Benito Mussolini]

thanks for the tips!

[John Brown]

Your welcome, my friend.

Anytime!

Cheers!

John

[DMcLaren]

Some good tips!  I’d like to share some of my own as well.  I don’t use the decal prep fluid but I do use Microsol after application.  It’s best to put your piece on a chunk of clay to hold it secure so you have both hands free and the piece doesn’t move while you’re applying the decal.  After cutting the decal from the sheet, I use plastic tweezers from a medical kit to hold it in the water, and let a good drop of water on the piece under the decal so it stays wet until I get it in place perfectly using a toothpick to maneuver it around.  After it’s in place, I use a moist 000 brush to remove excess water slowly by dabbing the water bubble at the edge and touching the brush tip to a paper towel, then going back to soak more water if needed.  If the decal moves, put it back in place with the toothpick, and if you took more water than you should have and the decal won’t move, just add more water to the decal edge with the 000 brush to free it.  I’m OCD with the Dom’s decals I use on the fuselages of the UK aircraft- they have tiny reddish lines in the yellow of the circle and I MUST have them level with the fuselage or it just doesn’t look right, and the wing roundels’ lines have to line up with each other as well, so I’ve had a lot of practice.  If you look close at the pictures I’ve posted, you’ll notice all the decal lines match up. Let the decal dry completely before touching a little Microsol to it.

For aircraft, put the aircraft wing into a piece of clay so the side is facing up.  That allows you to do fuselage and anything on the rudder much easier.  Wings are last, because you don’t want your wing decal messed up by sticking it in the clay.

For ships, put the base of the hull in the clay to decal the deck, or the side to do the hull.  Makes application SO much easier.

[John Brown]

Thanks DMcLaren. Those are really good tips as well. :-)