I’ve got somewhat the basics of what is needed to make your own decals.
Decal paper - check
Decal coating spray - check
My question is this - if I made a set of letters and numbers for serial/code numbers using a laser printer at work, is it recommended to apply the decal coating spray right away? How many coats of the decal spray coating is required to make the decal workable? When will the custom decal be ready to use on the kit? Sorry, I got a little lazy going back to old threads.
There are seperate papers for laser printers and for inkjet printers. Laser printers do not make very good decals on inkjet paper. Inkjet printers don’t work at all on laser paper.
That being said, you still need a seal coat on laser decals. The toner does not stick that well to the film and can be brushed off and some will even wash off. However, laser printed decals are not as sensitive to the clear coat as are the inkjet printed ones- almost any clearcoat will work for laser decals.
I know folks who have used it and found it okay. I have also used clear acrylic spray, Dullcoat/Glosscoat, and urethane varnish. But, it depends on brand of printer ink. Some are useless with almost any of the clearcoats. My old Epson used an ink that ran like crazy when ANY of the clearcoats were applied. A local computer store had a cheap HP on sale (under 50 bucks), that works fine. I have since bought a new fancy Epson, which also works fine. So you may have to buy a seperate printer for decals, but many inkjet brands work fine.
