Sunnyscopa Film-Free Laser Jet Waterslide Notes for New GW1-PRO Glue

[analog_bham]

Glad to hear that worked for you. I know that going to FedEx Office and getting the printer settings straight to achieve optimum results is a bit of a struggle too. It seems that more ink printed to the transfer sheet produces better results.

Yeah. My printer has a “HQ 1200DPI” setting that I use.

 

[MattG]

I can no longer edit post #38:

I keep meaning to post pics, but: I've since done two more enclosures where, before applying the actual decal, I first applied about three coats of Dishwasher Safe Mod Podge (DSMP), waiting two hours between applications, and then baking for an hour at 200F. The difference between these and Andromeda above is that I didn't sand before applying the decal. I then baked with the decal film for another hour at 200F. The two enclosures where I used this process have come out perfect, 100% image transfer. After it's cooled completely, I then apply another three coats of DSMP (two hours between coats), and yet another hour bake at 200F. So the total process looks like this:

1. Clean enclosure thoroughly, wipe down with rubbing alcohol
2. Apply three coats of DSMP, letting air-dry at least two hours between coats
3. Bake for one hour at 200F, let fully cool
4. Apply film-free decal using DSMP (same process as if using the Sunnyscopa transfer agents)
5. Bake again for one hour at 200F, let fully cool
6. Carefully, slowly remove decal film
7. Apply three coats of DSMP, letting air-dry at least two hours between coats
8. Do a final hour bake at 200F

(...)

I just had another total failure. This was on a bare aluminum enclosure. When I started to peel away the transfer film, it initially looked good, but then the dried DSMP that was stuck to the enclosure "ripped". So then it became such that there were huge parts of the decal that stuck to the transfer film, basically re-exposing the bare aluminum. And once the transfer film was removed, what DSMP+decal that remained was clearly not adhering very well, it was like the skin that peels away after a bad sunburn.

The only differences from the above process that I can think of:

• I sanded the enclosure first with 320 grit, then 180 grit. Previously I had used 320 grit only.
• I didn't let the pre-coats of DSMP sit overnight after the heat soak. Essentially, I did steps 1-5 all in one day. In previous runs, there was always an extended (overnight) curing time after step 3 (i.e. after the first pre-coat heat soak).

So I think I'm going to take a break from DSMP for a while. I ended up re-doing it with the Sunnyscopa GW1-PRO glue, and it came out great.

 

[OD is Glorious]

Thanks for the post! I am loving the film free. I use the new glue, and alcohol for clean up. I have used it on sand texture, matte finish and I find the best surface is smooth. I use a Cannon MF660c. I bake 10 minutes at 150f then cool, then peel the film, then 15 minutes at 350f. Then I clear with SprayMax 2k.