Jump to content

Applying transfers


Recommended Posts

My experience with the GW decals hasn't been bad. I put a gloss coat down first. After it's dried solid (24 hours), I start applying the transfers. Soak the decals as normal, apply a layer of the Microsol and place the decal and get it straight. Tamp it down with soft cloth or tissue, then apply the Microset. The decals will soften and attach nicely. Then I put flatcoat over it and it looks like it's painted on.

Soak the decals as normal, apply a layer of the Microsol and place the decal and get it straight. Tamp it down with soft cloth or tissue, then apply the Microset.

The instructions on the bottle have it the other way around: apply Micro Set first where the decal will go, then Micro Sol over it once it’s in place.

I've used GW's varnish on areas where I'll put on a decal, then Lamian Medium afterwards to get rid of the glossiness (both of the decal and the surrounding area from the varnish) and a couple of coats of Lamian have taken off the gloss nicely. It worked very well for me, however I have not yet used this method to apply decals to a rounded PA shoulder pad.

 

I've heard of strategic cuts to allow the decal to fit the curve...?

There are a lot of guides on the Internet. Emperor knows I read and tried them all. From cutting slits in the decal to let it conform, to doing all sorts of stuff.

 

Here's the no-nonsense guaranteed to work minimum BS guide.

 

What you need:

 

- Water

- Microsol

- Gloss varnish

 

People say you need a hobby knife or Microset or whatever. They're wrong. What you need is just Microsol, a gloss varnish, and lots of time and patience.

 

Step 1: Gloss the shoulder pad. Higher gloss is better. Pledge floor polish is great for this and is a common gloss and thinning product used by airbrushers. It is extremely high sheen and gloss. Regular acrylic gloss works just fine. I did it with two coats of 'Ard Coat thinned with water and it worked.

 

Step 2: Soak decal in water.

 

Step 3: Apply decal to shoulder pad.

 

Step 4: Lightly brush Microsol on the decal while it is still wet with water. When it is dry after a few hours, brush another coat. Each subsequent coat takes less time to dry. The first coat takes the longest because it will do the shrivel and smoothing effect. Repeat this step 10+ times. It took me 2 or 3 days doing about 5 coats a day, one coat every hour. The edges will eventually smooth themselves out without needing to take a knife to them or using Microset which is completely unrequired.

 

Step 5: Gloss over the completely conformed shoulder pad decal to seal it in.

 

You're done. You'll probably need to satin or matte the shoulder pad to kill the gloss but this should have been materials and steps you do in normal painting to begin with.

 

This is what I wish people had told me instead of using a knife or using Microset or whatever since my early decals still have some wrinkles and creases that didn't get fixed, and some got ripped. All it takes is a machine-like persistence and lots of patience. If you still think this doesn't work, you simply haven't put enough Microsol on. Keep doing it. 25+ coats if you have to.

On a related note, if I print my decals on a laser printer (onto laser printer decal sheets of course!) do I still need to gloss varnish them before putting them in water?

 

Ideally, yes, you should still gloss. It's also good practice not to immerse the decal anyway (I use a wet palette to damp the backing paper). This moistens the adhesive layer without washing it away. You're also not going to see your decal float off into the water.

 

Laser printed decal are more robust WHEN FLAT. If you're applying to a flat surface, you can get away without sealing the decals (to the film) a lot of the time. So long as you're not rubbing the decal on hard, you should be fine.

 

However, the toner is inflexible compared to the decal film. This means if you're putting it over a corner, you can expect the design to crack and it can flake off the film a bit. Inkjet prints tend to be more flexible, but as you're aware, need sealing so you don't end up re-wetting the ink on them when you're applying them.

 

I normally seal my decals (onto the decal paper) with a couple of light coats of klear / future. Seems to do the job fine, but multiple applications of microsol (the stronger solution of the 2) can erode the varnish, so make sure you let each application dry before poking about at it.

Useful, thanks. I was thinking of getting laser-compatible paper and printing them out at work, but sounds like I might be better off using a good quality inkjet instead!

To be honest I can see me trying both, but it's good to know the pitfalls before you start! thanks.gif

Heavy coat of varnish on the printed decals.  (or several light coats)   I mist coated a page by accident and the ink just came right up.  

 

For putting transfers on shoulders, make a few cuts in the actual printed part of the decal with a fresh hobby knife blade to let the bits around the edges actually lap over each other instead of bubbling up.  For round symbols this is a bit of a wagon wheel pattern and for winged symbols a pair of cuts at the top between the wings and central symbol, (sword for me or blood drop for others) will relieve the bubbly bit.  

Then use the microsol....   

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.