Water slide decal question

[chris]

Those look really cool!

FYI, "old timers" used white vinegar (the household stuff) both as MICROSET to pre-coat the surface BEFORE applying the decal, and it also helps like MICROSOL to flatten it after applying. Use a mix of water & vinegar 50/50 and a drop of dish washing detergent. Some also use alcool. There are plenty of tutorials about decals in the world of model makers that can help. Particularly, once you will apply MICRO SOL on the decal AFTER having applied it, it will crumple awfully. DON'T TOUCH IT until it flattens again. Normally it will have softened, thinned and follow every bump of the surface. You also need to remove all the water trapped between the decal and the surface you want it to adhere to, with lint free tissue, coton swabs, etc. Also apply a layer of gloss finish on your pedal before and after applying the decal. WIKIPEDIA teaches us that the decal uses dextrose, a corn sugar, as the bonding / sliding agent, and also glucose as an adhesive. No wonder these organic materials will react with vinegar or alcool, or other organic fluids. Hope this makes sense, English not my natural langage ("pardon my French"
+1 on the VERY THIN coat of clear coat on the decal after printing it and having let the ink dry thoroughly (for ink jet printers).

 

[EGRENIER]

Also, I am using Krylon Colormaxx clear.. I tried some Minwax polycrylic but when it dried there were spots on the paper so I didn’t try it.
Is there something better I should try or is this one alright?

Krylon should work just fine... I use Rust-Oleum Painters Touch 2X - Gloss clear. I usually apply 3 or 4 coats, not to thick, just enough for the enclosure to shine but not to much so I don't have runs. I never counted but I would say 5 or 6 spray of 2 to 3 seconds max. I let dry 3 to 4h between coat. I never tried this but for a smoother finish if you get orange peel out of a can, you can put the can in hot water 30 min or so before applying. I understand it help the product to level better on your surface. Never tried it, never felt the need to... After all I'm going to step on the thing

Another trick is that I don't pierce the holes (through the waterslide) before applying the finish, in other words, my waterslide decal runs over the enclosure holes. Once the 3 or 4 coats of gloss is applied and nicely cured, I use an exacto knife to cut the whole out.

I think based on the info you provided, the main issue is letting the decals in water to long and not letting it fully dry. My enclosure can be a good 48h after I apply the decals before putting the clear. I often notice little details in my graphics (such as reversing the pots location) LOL... So I soak them right up and reprint to correct my silly mistake.

E.

 

[megatrav]

I have been following the instructions on the can which are spray clear, light costs and wait 1 minute between coats. Maybe I’m not letting it dry long enough before adding another coat.
It feels like my issue is that I’m getting wrinkling on the film or it will tear. I am going to experiment with some of the suggestions given above.

 

[chris]

Welll... I recently advocated about a VERY THIN clearcoat, but yesterday I ruined a project with too thin a coat (two coats in fact). My inkjet printing partially melted in the water, then the decal was so thin that it did not want to stay flat while moving it, and still, it showed awful raised edges once dry ! I found a very good advice about how to cut every label : use a NEW Xacto blade (no scissors), and first pass only cuts the upper film, not the carrying paper. Then a second pass cuts through the carrying paper. By NEW blade, they advised to replace it for every new decal page...
Here is the link to the thread found on a paper supplier ; I bet he knows what he is writing about https://www.paperspecials.nl/en/howto/improving-the-application-of-decals/

 

[megatrav]

Welll... I recently advocated about a VERY THIN clearcoat, but yesterday I ruined a project with too thin a coat (two coats in fact). My inkjet printing partially melted in the water, then the decal was so thin that it did not want to stay flat while moving it, and still, it showed awful raised edges once dry ! I found a very good advice about how to cut every label : use a NEW Xacto blade (no scissors), and first pass only cuts the upper film, not the carrying paper. Then a second pass cuts through the carrying paper. By NEW blade, they advised to replace it for every new decal page...
Here is the link to the thread found on a paper supplier ; I bet he knows what he is writing about https://www.paperspecials.nl/en/howto/improving-the-application-of-decals/

Thanks for sharing. I assumed the paper I had wasn’t good. I tried several combinations and varying amounts of clear and just gave up. I bought this cool dry transfer paper from Sunnyscopa and it’s working out really well