Not having a supply of 3/32" black stripes, I recently tried doing the massive job of placing that entire elaborate pattern of walkways on am AMT B-52G. I went to Chartpak dry transfers and it was a disaster. I would not stick and just when I though it had stuck, I come back later to find it curled up, both laterally and rolled up along its length. A lot of the planes from the era I like to build have wing walks (B-47, B-66, etc) in long strips and small elaborate patterns, such as on horizontal stabs of a B-52. How do you do it?
Unless you want to mask & paint, the easiest way is to buy some AM decal sheets with black lines in various thicknesses. I keep a large supply of these in my decal stash in three colors. black, red & yellow. The black is the most useful. AM sheets of this type have been issued by several suppliers, but most of mine came from SuperScale. Not sure about current availability, but try a search at Squadron, Great Models, etal. You could also get some clear decal paper, paint it black, top coat it, and cut stripes to the thickness you need, but I’m way to lazy for that approach.
Oh, and another thing: I’m not a rookie at using dry transfers, or as well called them back in the pre-computer newspaper day, “press type”, but when I tried to used the stripes, they simply pulled up with the backing sheet, no matter how well I burnished. I believe, they will not stick to most natural metal finishes and various overcoats.
Rik’s right - the AM sheets are a godsend. I’ve also sprayed clear sheet for a particular blue and orange that I needed - it worked just fine - but try to keep the paint as thin as you can…
I’ve never painted a decal before dipping it, not even clear film. It’s just never come up. But now it has. I’m wondering – what kind of paint is most flexible on decal film and less likely to come off in the water? I would guess acrylic for flexible, but I doubt its durability on compound surfaces.
I’ve used both acrylic & enamel, but you do have to topcoat it & handle it gently.