Custom Decal Question

[MUDHEN336]

Made my first waterslide decals for a helicopter project i was working on. I sprayed the decals with the testors coating that came with the paper. I applied them and sprayed the entire helicopter with dull coat but the decals are still very glossy. What am i doing wrong?

Thanks for any help!

[PanzerArm]

Applying some washes should help, as many or as few as it takes to make them blend in, then another spray of dull coat to seal them.

-Kevin

[Folkwulfe]

Are the decals applied on top of flat paint? Was the area preped before the decals were applied?

[MUDHEN336]

Yes I applied them over a flat paint (flat gull gray). I didn't do anything else other than apply the decal. I guess i missed a step?

[pickelhaube]

Yes I applied them over a flat paint (flat gull gray). I didn't do anything else other than apply the decal. I guess i missed a step?

Yep that is were you went wrong. They should be applied over a gloss surface.

The flat makes for a silvery background.

It is too late now but micro-solve may have helped them lay down better.

[Folkwulfe]

Flat paint gets its appearance from alot of microscopic hills and valleys that deflect the light in several different directions. When you applied the "fixative" to your decals, you made them stiffer than regular decals and they won't conform to the surface as well. The "silvering" you see is actually tiny air bubbles trapped under the decal and decal solutions will not help you now. Best to remove the existing decals and make a new batch. Before applying them, coat the areas with several light coats of Future floor wax (I use an airbrush for even coats). The floor wax (actually a liquid polymar plastic) will dry clear and create a smooth surface. Let the Future dry for a whole day before you apply the decals. After the decals are on and dry, you can come back and coat the areas with flat clear paint and everything will blend together. Now your decals will have no "silvering" and will be sealed between layers of clear polymar to protect them.

[Jnewboy]

Great lookin out FW!! do you have a link for your future floor wax?

[PanzerArm]

I don't believe you can find it as "Future Floor Wax" anymore. Here in AZ it goes by "Pledge Premium Floor Finish with Future Shine".

-Kevin

[Folkwulfe]

You can find Future Floor Wax in practically any food store like Kroger, Albertsons, HEB etc....
This is what you are looking for.

This "OH-6A" is a re-make from an original 21C Littlebird. Nearly ALL of the markings are custom decals applied over Future Floor Wax sprayed over flat paint...so you can see it works and works well.


By the way...that's 1/6th scale! Very large and silvering would have been fatal in that scale.

[Folkwulfe]

I found this on the SC Johnson (makers of Future) website:
"The Future® Floor Polish product was renamed under the Pledge® brand in November of 2007. It is now Pledge® Premium Finish with Future® Shine. Don't worry – it is still the same great Future® formula, just a new name and still provides that durable, long lasting shine. You should be able to find it in your local grocery or home needs stores but if you still have trouble, please call our Consumer Relationship Center at 1-800-558-5252 for more details. "

Here's another example. All of the markings are Future surfaced before the decals went on and sealed with Future for a semi-gloss finish after. The only painted markings are the red/white/blue fin flash.

[Jackson]

yer Sabre still looks awesome my man...Jackson

[Jnewboy]

Flat paint gets its appearance from alot of microscopic hills and valleys that deflect the light in several different directions. When you applied the "fixative" to your decals, you made them stiffer than regular decals and they won't conform to the surface as well. The "silvering" you see is actually tiny air bubbles trapped under the decal and decal solutions will not help you now. Best to remove the existing decals and make a new batch. Before applying them, coat the areas with several light coats of Future floor wax (I use an airbrush for even coats). The floor wax (actually a liquid polymar plastic) will dry clear and create a smooth surface. Let the Future dry for a whole day before you apply the decals. After the decals are on and dry, you can come back and coat the areas with flat clear paint and everything will blend together. Now your decals will have no "silvering" and will be sealed between layers of clear polymar to protect them.

How do you get it out of your airbrush after you apply it??

[PanzerArm]

Clean it immediately after before it dries.

[Jnewboy]

HAHA!
yea I figured that but what cuts floor wax?
paint thinner?

[PanzerArm]

It's acrylic based, so alcohol should work fine.

[Jackson]

if yer decals are ink based---inkjet printer- ya might want to try little bit of the floor wax due to it liquidity/wetness on a scrap decal to check for bleeding issue...laser printed you'll have no problem...been there done that many moons ago...TJJ

[Jnewboy]

I found this on the SC Johnson (makers of Future) website:
"The Future® Floor Polish product was renamed under the Pledge® brand in November of 2007. It is now Pledge® Premium Finish with Future® Shine. Don't worry – it is still the same great Future® formula, just a new name and still provides that durable, long lasting shine. You should be able to find it in your local grocery or home needs stores but if you still have trouble, please call our Consumer Relationship Center at 1-800-558-5252 for more details. "

Here's another example. All of the markings are Future surfaced before the decals went on and sealed with Future for a semi-gloss finish after. The only painted markings are the red/white/blue fin flash.

So I went to Walmart today and found two options, both made by pledge with future shine, one is for tile and one for wood. Any suggestions?

[Folkwulfe]

Thinning (and cleaning) with alcohol and water mixed (I use that blue stuff for windshields washers and it works great...and it's cheap) should do the job. As for which one (tile of wood) take the wood version....fills in those pesky wood grains so it's a little thicker and easily thins with alcohol. Oh...and I use denatured alcohol myself...less additives to worry about. And the "fixative" sprayed on your decals and let dry should protect them from the Future just fine. Never had one of my decals ruined.....but the testing is always a safe bet too.

[Jnewboy]

Ok, I just want to make sure I am understanding all this

1. spray on a tiny bit of the shine where the decal is going to go and wait how long for it to dry??

2. apply the decal and let dry

3. spray on more shine over the decal to protect it??

Even thought the product is called shine it produces a non glare surface? so spraying it on flat paint will be ok and it wont leave a sheen on the surface?

Am I missing anything else?? Thanks for all your help!

[PanzerArm]

Steps 1 and 2 are right, although some people like to spray the whole item with the Future so as not to have uneven areas on the paint job. Step three is not correct depending on what you want to accomplish; a dull or glossy finish. The "protective" coat you spray over the decal can be anything really as long as it doesn't have a negative effect on the decal (i.e. the ink ones that run). I usually want a dulled appearance on my armor, so I usually use a Tamiya flat clear spray can to seal my decals before continuing on with the painting/weathering. If you want a glossy finish I've heard of people using Future for that.

The Future will make a shiny surface. It will be less shiny if you use an airbrush rather than just brush it on, but it will still be glossy. That is why I usually use Tamiya flat clear over my decals to seal them and dull the the shine some, then move on to the washes/filters that continue to dull the Future down.

[Folkwulfe]

Panzer is correct. You can either spray Future over the entire model or just hit those areas where the new decals will be placed. Of coarse you want to hit an area larger than the decal. Feathering the edges (don't mask off an area....the edge where the tape was will stand out) usually means no uneven areas. You want to spray Future on in light even coats. Once you have a semi-gloss appearance you don't have to spray any more before the decals. Let the Future dry 24 hours so that it can cure completely. Put you decals on and let them dry completely. I then spray an extra coat or two of Future OVER the decal and let that dry another 24 hours. If I need a flat appearance, I then spray (Tamiya Flat Clear rattle can) over the areas and feather to match the rest of the flat appearance of the model. The decal is now snug to the surface and coated to protect. I have models 10+ years old and the only problem I have had was direct sunlight will slightly yellow the Future over time.

As an aside, if you have canopies that are scratched, you can fix them with Future too. Sand the scratch down as smooth as you can (it should look milky) and dip the whole canopy in Future. Set it on a piece of paper towel and put a box over it that does not touch it (keeps dust and lint off while it dries). Your canopy will come out crystal clear.

[Jnewboy]

Awesome, thanks guys!