A nightmare come true, decals and stuff.

[Marco_Wrc]

I finally got all the decals on the model. Before i began with it i feared that i would ruin the whole car (i never applied a decal on anything). And i must say, i did a great job at turning a nice painted subaru in a wrinkled race car.

Can someone explain why the large (those on the side, those stars and stripes and stuff is one decal) decals are wrinkled? I used a hot cloth to remove the airbubbles and such, but it didn't work.

What's that piece of rice paper for? (which comes with the decals)

I have some fingerprints on the paint, it seems as if they where made with acid. (i can't remove them) Is there a way to make it look shiney again? There's one but, there are decals all over the place, so sanding and polishing will be difficult.

I'm a bit frustrated now, and because of that i even made it worse. When applying the rear wing, i moved it a bit too rough into place, smearing the glue over the trunk. Fortunatley the wing covers it almost completely.

I guess i need a good rest and continue later. At least i learned a lot from building this car uptil now. I hope the next 4 subaru's will be a bit better.

Pics will follow (in about a week).

Cheers.

[ales]

Have you seen the Tamiya BTCC 850 Wagon? Well, for the last 5 days I've been putting decals on it - and still not quie done yet (although the toughest part is hopefully over. It was a nightmare! But I had allies - Q-tips, two brushes, Humbrol DecalFix and the best one - Braun Silencio 1200 hairdryer!

Take your time. As you can see, I did not rush it and it came out quite OK (it was the first time I undertook such a huge (HUGE) decalling project). Do one at a time and give it time to settle. And you really should wash the model before putting on decals. And never EVER touch the sticky side of the decal with your hands. Don't touch it the decal at all. I slide the bigger ones from the backing paper in place and pick the smaller ones with a brush.

And the paper that came with the decal is there to protect the extremely fragile decal surface.

may I give one more advice? Cut the exess film. Cut it as close to the coloured part as you can (dare). trust me



Good luck

P.S. you can wax over the decals, but be very careful.
Alex

[nustad]

I use micro sol which softens the decal after you have applied it allowing it to adopt the shape of the surface underneath.

Basically you put on the decal then paint the solution on with a brush, patting it into place. Great for race cars which have lots of decals.

Cheers

GM

[COZMO6476]

My first couple models suffer the same fate as your subaru. here are a couple tips that i learned.

1). the finger prints can be caused by both or all of the following:
a) partially uncured paint. its dry on the surface but wet underneath so that when you press on it you leave a fingerprint. TIP: wait for the paint to cure fully. takes several days. dont assume its dry because it feels dry to the touch.
b) your hands are dirty with thinner, glue, or some other chemical that is harmful to the paint Tip:get a box of latex gloves. also be sure that the gloves are clean too, they get dirty too but at least you dont leave fingerprints.

2). the wrinkles are caused by insufficient moisture underneath the decal as you set it in place. Tip: place a soft wet brush on the edge of the decal to moisten the area. if you put too much water, your decal will be "swimming" but thats no big deal. it will still give you a chance to flatten out any wrinkles. dab the edges with a dry paper towel once you're satisfied and you're done. if not, just wet it again. having setting solution and decal softener can be helpful IF you know what you're doing. experiment with extra decals before you start using them on your masterpeice.

3). patients is the best tool you can use to create models. dont rush. when you are frustrated, put the model down and cool down.

4). Read the FAQ. its loaded with info and im sure that everyone here thats read it will admit that they are better modellers from it.

hope that helps. cheers!

[modelfan1]

Don't get discouraged !!!
Definetly get a "setting"solution for decals but test it on a decal
you don't need,the solution can dissolve the decal !!!
All setting solutions are not compatible with all decals !
Also have a very sharp xacto type knife to slit the decal,sometimes a cut here or there will help the decal lay right !
:bandit: Mike

[Marco_Wrc]

Thanks for all the useful tips.
This car is ready though and fortunately the next few projects have much smaller decals. I will try and do what you guys advice me.