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Post by burbsee on Oct 7, 2005 14:52:53 GMT 12
i have been wondering how u get these things to stick on properly.they dont stick to the curved surface properly these little wrinkles pop up so i tried some microsol to try and soften em up but it did not fix the problem completely.any idea how to get a better finish
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Post by PitYak Studios on Oct 7, 2005 15:05:39 GMT 12
urgh decals.
never had much luck with them myself, buyt i know you do need a very smooth surfacxe, so gloss varnish first is a good idea, and some sort of agent to apply it, which i guess is what microsol is. beyond that i'm no use, don't use them much myself
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Post by Aaron on Oct 7, 2005 15:45:57 GMT 12
Hmm well I'm not really sure but perhaps if you place the decal as low on the shoulder pad as possible to minimize the area that has to curve.
The other thing I have heard of is people using a watered down layer of PVA as a protective coat over decals. I dont know if this would lessen the chance of wrinkles but might be worth a try.
I guess bottom line is a decal is flat the shoulder pad isn't unless the decal shrinks there is no way it will curve without wrinkles maybe you have to aim to minimize the wrinkles rather than get rid of them.
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Post by burbsee on Oct 7, 2005 17:06:59 GMT 12
well there is a more powerful version of microsol it comes in a red bottle so i might have to go and buy some of that.it is supposed to as you say aaron make it shrink.GW paints most of theirs know dont they??saves themselves the trouble i might just go without them know thinking about it paintign them allows u to vary the size and look....hmmm not sure now
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Post by dustand on Oct 7, 2005 17:47:27 GMT 12
my trick for smooth decals is to cut it in places through the detail if necisary... you dont need to cut much but usually half way down from top to bottom and 2 cuts a quarter in from both left and right sides.. this gives you points of articulation that may overlap or spread out a little but you can carefully touch them up... then usually a layer of realy good PVA glue, atleast the aquadite one, the ACTUALLY water soluable one...
still a prick to put them on but it works...
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Post by PitYak Studios on Oct 7, 2005 20:56:09 GMT 12
Just thought of a couple of tips actually;
I've got a pack of aftermarket decals and they have different instructions to normal. I would generally soak the decal till it lifted off the backing paper, but these say to dip in water for ten seconds then leave on a piece of blotting paper till they lift off.
second, klear floor polish might be worth a try. I know it sounds like my answer to everything, but model plane enthusiasts use it by painting the area you want the decal on first, then dipping the decal after it comes off it's paper in the klear before you apply it.
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MongrelFish
Scalpel supremo
Bow before the might of Chaos
Posts: 384
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Post by MongrelFish on Oct 7, 2005 20:59:50 GMT 12
I use the good old method of soaking them in hot water for about 10 seconds, then dunking them into a pottle of meths very quickly, which melts the plastic of the shoulderpad a little. It does however take time and practise to get it right. If this doesn't appeal, then substitute meths for plastic glue, which does the same thing.
My 2c
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Post by Aaron on Oct 8, 2005 8:31:47 GMT 12
Damn those are some good tips. I dont use decals very often as I always find them too fiddly unless going on a nice flat, clean area.
The cutting idea of Dustans sounds like a good one to me as its a bit more controlable than dipping in meths altho if it melts the decal a little it could do the job very well.
What exactly is Microsol? Is it a product intended for use with decals or a general purpose cleaner or what?
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Post by burbsee on Oct 8, 2005 17:24:20 GMT 12
umm yeah it is a special decal product to soften decals.$8 for a little bottle.use a brush to apply it to where u want your decal to go and then place your decal on it.if you want to seal it brush more of it on top.it also removes decals only if u did not seal it though.not sure how that works??
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Post by burbsee on Oct 8, 2005 17:27:48 GMT 12
i actually tried the cutting technique a few months back and it did not work for me i have been meaning to ask here for agers about these decals.as i said there is a stronger version of microsol in a red bottle but the guy told me that it would proberly damage smaller decals so i played it on the safe side i think i might just go with the stronger version and see how that works
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Mykillm
Ambitious Upstart
this time 2 will pass
Posts: 101 
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Post by Mykillm on Oct 25, 2005 19:58:51 GMT 12
sounds a lot cheaper than buying shoulder pads from GW , Painting complex shoulder pads was never satisfactory for me though . so I got second hand metal ones originally from GW
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