Hi, Im all geared up for attempting to produce my own decals, having bought both white and clear water-slide paper. Before I jump in, Id like anyones views on a couple of points.
a) The manufacturer says they should have 3 coats of any acrylic varnish before trying to apply them. Is all varnish the same or should I look for a particular brand?
b) All the designs on the CD that came with the paper are quite plain and simple. Does that mean that attempting to use a photo for a decal (1:24 trucks and trailers) may not be a good idea?
Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.
If you are using a photo, you better have a damn good printer, that’s all i can say
Radmax8, You must have a good reason for saying that. Can you tell me what it is please?
I had similar misgivings about the lacquer. I’ve only done a few little bits like registration plates and instrument dials (from photos, reduced and they were OK). Humbrol clear lacquer worked fine straight from the can but I wouldn’t know about any automotive stuff (Halfords?). I left the decals a good three or four hours though to make sure the ink was thoroughly dry - maybe over cautious. The only bit I didn’t like was cutting the large sheets and configuring the printer, so if you don’t want to waste the decal paper I’d try and do them all at once close together and practice prints on ordinary A4. Good luck - Martin
Thanks for that Martin. Ive looked on the web and Hobbycraft do spray cans of acrylic varnish for fixing transfers. That looks just like what I am looking for. Ill take your good advise and set it all up on plain A4 first.