SMS CF Decals

[Spitfire7]

I just tried to use a set of 1/24 Scale Motorsport carbon fibre decals I bought a few months back with no success at all. The decals are so thin and brittle that they just break into a thousand pieces as soon as I tried to slide them off. I tried everything I could think of to solve the problem with no luck at all. The decals just refuse to stay in one piece . I understand that they are supposed to be thin so that they can conform to curves, but how are they supposed to do this if they break into pieces every time???

I tried a set of SMS Carbon Kevlar decals a while back while had similar problems, but not this bad. Is it something I'm doing wrong (I followed SMS' instructions exactly) or is it just the decals? Either way I doubt I'll buy another set

[mike@af]

I get the same problem too. Requires a lot of water, and a hair dryer.

[Scale-Master]

I put solvent on the part before applying the decal, and then more solvent on top after the decal is slid onto the part.
Let the solvent do some softening before fiddling with it and the decal is much less likely to crack... - Mark

[freakray]

Contact SMS, they had a bad batch a few months back.

They replaced mine at no charge.

[F1mguy]

Spitfire, just as freakray mentioned you should contact the manufacturer if you have any problems with a product. Just mentioning it in a forum doesn't always produce the results you are looking for and need. We did in fact have a bad batch awhile back and have been replacing any defective sheets out there free of charge. Just send me a private email to: [email protected] and lets see what we can do to make things right. And that goes for anyone else out there, if you have experienced a defective CF decal from Scale Motorsport I want to know about it so contact me personally. Regards, Matthew @ Scale Motorsport

[freakray]

Hey Matthew, didn't know you're a member here

[mickbench]

Originally Posted by F1mguy

Spitfire, just as freakray mentioned you should contact the manufacturer if you have any problems with a product. Just mentioning it in a forum doesn't always produce the results you are looking for and need. We did in fact have a bad batch awhile back and have been replacing any defective sheets out there free of charge. Just send me a private email to: [email protected] and lets see what we can do to make things right. And that goes for anyone else out there, if you have experienced a defective CF decal from Scale Motorsport I want to know about it so contact me personally. Regards, Matthew @ Scale Motorsport

I think that is very decent you of you. I am just about to start messing around with these type of decals, and I could have removed you from a list of suppliers, but now I will look at buying from you.

good to know this..!!

[F1mguy]

Hey freakray yup, I joined up about a month ago and have been just reading posts keeping a low profile. I felt it important that I finally speak up because most of the information that gets reported about manufacturers is never very accurate and we want to maintain the very best quality profile of all aftermarket manufacturers. Also, whenever someone gets a defective product from us we want to make it right as quickly as possible. I recently moved to London, England so a few development projects have not moved along as quickly as originally planned and managing inventory that's thousands of miles away has been a learning curve. All our inventory, warehousing and shipping functions remain in Connecticut. If anyone has any questions please let me know and thanks for speaking up! Regards, Matthew

[2.2 Straight six]

what i do with decals, to make them slide real easy, is to add just a tiny amout of washing up liquid to my water, you only need a tiny amount. works great for big decals to get them into position.

[Vric]

Originally Posted by Scale-Master

I put solvent on the part before applying the decal, and then more solvent on top after the decal is slid onto the part.
Let the solvent do some softening before fiddling with it and the decal is much less likely to crack... - Mark

This is also what I do. SMS decals are the best, not the easiest

[pre98zetec]

I also had the same problem with one of my sheets, I did not know they had defective sheets, I wasted about 90% of the sheet and threw the other 10% away

[Spitfire7]

Originally Posted by F1mguy

Spitfire, just as freakray mentioned you should contact the manufacturer if you have any problems with a product. Just mentioning it in a forum doesn't always produce the results you are looking for and need.

I didn't want to post a thread just to have a go at SMS for a fault with their decals, I thought maybe someone would be able to make a suggestion for how to fix the problem. Sorry if the tone suggested otherwise (I was pretty frustrated though)

I was already applying microset to the part before I prepared the decal, however the decals began to crack when I tried to slide them off the backing paper which is the step before placing them on the part. Thanks for the tip about washing up liquid though - i'll try that

[D_LaMz]

Originally Posted by F1mguy

Spitfire, just as freakray mentioned you should contact the manufacturer if you have any problems with a product. Just mentioning it in a forum doesn't always produce the results you are looking for and need. We did in fact have a bad batch awhile back and have been replacing any defective sheets out there free of charge. Just send me a private email to: [email protected] and lets see what we can do to make things right. And that goes for anyone else out there, if you have experienced a defective CF decal from Scale Motorsport I want to know about it so contact me personally. Regards, Matthew @ Scale Motorsport

Man, that is really nice to have the guys of the company do that! Do you have any pics you your new Hi-Definition carbon decals?

Also, there has been a big increase of manufactuers on here, so I guess they can hear our suggestions on new products!

[F1mguy]

Say you should know that we do not recommend using any liguid soap or "washing up" solution to pre-wet decals. Soap can actaully reduce the lifespan of the decal after it is applied. Futhermore the residue the soap leaves behind underneath the decal can over time damage the decal as well and retard the adhesion qualities the softening solution was designed to provide. Adding liquid soap is an old wives tail used for decals that were printed decads ago under different technological conditions. Just use clean clear water and a softening solution you like. Don't try to make things more difficult then they need to be, appllying CF decals is very easy if you just follow the simple instructions.

[white97ex]

is there any precaution that should be taken to keep the decal for an extended amount of time before use? like putting it in a zip loc bag?