Waterslide paper suggestion.

Blooze

Blooze

Well-known member
We had to replace our old inkjet and did so with a new color laser printer. Not having used a laser printer to do decals I was wanting to get some suggestions for what papers out there work well.

I’d consider learning to design UV print files if I didn’t already have a couple dozen powder coated enclosures already.

The inkjet paper I’ve had the best luck with has been Papilio along with their decal fixative and solutions. It’s hard to get a lot of times though.
 
Hal Harvey said:
Sunnyscopa Film Free for laser printers. Search for Film Free here, there’s lots of tips and tricks.
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I saw a few things mentioned about it (mainly how the glue keeps changing and it ends up being a pita trial and error process. Where’s a good place to get the clear film free? Amazon didn’t have it when I looked.
 
Check out this from @mkstewartesq - he has several posts in the forum on Sunnyscopa film-free labels and how to best use them
mkstewartesq

Thread 'US sources for Film-Free Decal Paper?'

I’ve become a big fan of Sunnyscopa Film Free Decals. However, when I went to re-order from Amazon, it appears they no longer carry them (Sunnyscopa sells other items there still, but even the link from my last order now redirect to a normal filmed waterslide decal product. I went to Sunnyscopa’s main site (apparently in Korea) and they want $50 to ship a $20 pack of paper to me. Apparently there is now a US site (Sunnyscopa.us) but, for whatever odd reason, they are only currently shipping to the West Coast and I live in Georgia. So that site won’t even let me place an order once I...
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Blooze said:
I saw a few things mentioned about it (mainly how the glue keeps changing and it ends up being a pita trial and error process. Where’s a good place to get the clear film free? Amazon didn’t have it when I looked.
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Yeah, looks like it's unavailable from Amazon right now. It's been that way on and off.

It's true, there's some trial and error until you get a process going, the glue formula has changed... but the results, when it goes well, are pretty much peak DIY.
 
Hal Harvey said:
Yeah, looks like it's unavailable from Amazon right now. It's been that way on and off.

It's true, there's some trial and error until you get a process going, the glue formula has changed... but the results, when it goes well, are pretty much peak DIY.
Click to expand...

Actually, I just posted about this in my build report tonight for the Aion Straylight but it bears repeating. Any tutorials or advice written more than a year or so ago (including any tips I gave) need to be amended because I figured out that they changed the glue sometime last year.

Long story short, my former curing times (initial cure was 15 minutes in the oven at 235°F, final cure was about 30 minutes in the oven at the same temperature) no longer work – it will cause the glue to harden and bubble. I figured this out the hard way. Now I get excellent results with an initial cure of 5 to 6 minutes at 235°F - the label peels off neatly without any cracking of the decal- and then a second cure for about 15 minutes at that temperature (any longer and the glue will start bubbling and failing).

Mike
 
Thank you @mkstewartesq . The last thing I could find was your issues with the new glue, so I was reluctant to even try it as I know I can apply a regular waterslide.

You wouldn’t happen to know of any other sources?
 
Blooze said:
Thank you @mkstewartesq . The last thing I could find was your issues with the new glue, so I was reluctant to even try it as I know I can apply a regular waterslide.

You wouldn’t happen to know of any other sources?
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I don’t currently. But it seems to vanish from Amazon and then come back without much rhyme or reason. It vanished a year or so ago around the same time that Sunnyscopa seem to be making steps to open a location here in the US (although they were not taking orders from the US facilities then) – then it suddenly popped up on Amazon again. Now I can’t find any trace of them being in the US.

While you can buy it directly from their website for cheaper than it was on Amazon, they kill you with the shipping from Korea. (For me, in the state of Georgia, US, they quote $20 shipping which is a bit pointless for $20 worth of printer paper).

My advice – just keep checking Amazon from time to time.
 
mkstewartesq said:
Actually, I just posted about this in my build report tonight for the Aion Straylight but it bears repeating. Any tutorials or advice written more than a year or so ago (including any tips I gave) need to be amended because I figured out that they changed the glue sometime last year.

Long story short, my former curing times (initial cure was 15 minutes in the oven at 235°F, final cure was about 30 minutes in the oven at the same temperature) no longer work – it will cause the glue to harden and bubble. I figured this out the hard way. Now I get excellent results with an initial cure of 5 to 6 minutes at 235°F - the label peels off neatly without any cracking of the decal- and then a second cure for about 15 minutes at that temperature (any longer and the glue will start bubbling and failing).

Mike
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That’s good to know. I’m not sure what glue generation I have at the moment, I’ve been doing amp stuff lately. Shorter cure times sound good though.

Your new build turned out awesome!
 
Blooze said:
Hope this is the correct stuff. Supposedly Amazon had a couple packs so I grabbed one.
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That looks like the right stuff (the actual package you get get may look different - picture is of their new packaging but even though Amazon showed that wen I bought my last batch,I received the old packaging - but same product).

Odd that it seems to come and go quickly from Amazon - when I look at my Amazon app right now, it isn't even listed. Nor does it show on the webiste (I'm in the U.S.)

Good luck - if you need any tips on using it, let me know.

Mike
 
swelchy said:
this what I use over tayda powder coated enclosure and sunnyscopia waterslide for inkjet
www.homedepot.com

Watco 11.25 oz. Clear Gloss Lacquer Wood Finish Spray 63081 - The Home Depot

Bring a great addition to your wooden surface with the help of this Watco Clear Gloss Lacquer Wood Finish Spray.
www.homedepot.com
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It looks like that might be nitro based. If so I can’t use it. Tried spraying guitar with Mohawk nitro once (used proper ppe) and even the off gassing a week later would set my asthma off badly.
 
Blooze said:
It looks like that might be nitro based. If so I can’t use it. Tried spraying guitar with Mohawk nitro once (used proper ppe) and even the off gassing a week later would set my asthma off badly.
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YAH.. IT'S NITRO.. BUMMER
 
Well, here’s the first attempt. Lost a bit of ink on the outline in one tiny spot, and I noticed the ink on the face kind of bubbled a bit, but all I’m happy with it. Only wasted two sheets before I realized that they needed to be a mirror image (note: read the instructions better).

IMG_5728.png
 
Blooze said:
Well, here’s the first attempt. Lost a bit of ink on the outline in one tiny spot, and I noticed the ink on the face kind of bubbled a bit, but all I’m happy with it. Only wasted two sheets before I realized that they needed to be a mirror image (note: read the instructions better).

View attachment 93596
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This is great! And I wouldn’t worry about losing a tiny bit of ink here or there – very rarely (and I do mean very rarely) do I get a transfer where there isn’t at least some tiny bit that didn’t make it across.

What I try to do now – it helps some but I’m not gonna say it makes everything perfect every time – is, after squeegeeing out the glue from under the decal and before you do the first bake, I wet my fingertip and GENTLY rub the surface of the decal back-and-forth over the areas where there is printing - especially over fine lines or details –to hopefully press the ink down into the glue even more so it will adhere. Wetting your finger and going gently are both key – the first time I tried it I didn’t realize how sticky the surface of that decal can get after you squeegee it off the glue and dragging my finger across it actually pulled the decal a little bit and ultimately ruined the design.

But again, great job!

Mike
 
I bought my Sunnyscopa film free laser waterslide paper directly from the manufacturer (Korea) in Feb 2022, before it was available from Amazon. So it sounds like the glue formula has changed since then, but for what it’s worth: when I initially apply the decal, I use a little flexible spatula to squeegee all the excess glue out. At the same time, I use a hair dryer. Once all the excess moisture is gone, I keep the hair dryer going for 10 minutes. This constitutes the first heat soak.

After that, I let the enclosure fully cool to room temperature, and then apply another light coat of the glue, then hit it again with the hair dryer. I don’t run it for 10 minutes, just long enough that I can visibly see that all the glue has dried.

I let it cool down and repeat this two or three more times. I do this in lieu of a clear coat.

I do a final heat treatment for an hour at 300F in an old toaster oven.

This has worked really well for me. The only problem I’ve had is getting sloppy with the initial placement, e.g. being off-center.

The above is all from a really good tutorial we used to have on this forum, but it has since been deleted.

I’m curious if this methodology still works with the new glue formula.
 
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I don't know what glue comes with the Sunnyscopa film-free laser jet waterslide decals if you buy from Amazon. But I recently bought more of these directly from Korea, and got the new GW1-Pro glue (I previously used the W1+ glue). It did have to modify my process somewhat; it took a bit of trial-and-error. I described the process here: Sunnyscopa Film-Free Laser Jet Waterslide Notes for New GW1-PRO Glue. I'm also using the Top Coat W1 with the new glue.
 
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