Ink Jet decals

[planecrazy]

I missed the article in MAN. I know I can print decals out of the clear stickers you can get at office supply stores. But what I missed was, how do I seal them??? I doubt the water based ink used in colour printers withstand up to glow fuel. Any hints???


Chris

[JimMcIntyre]

You need to talk to Sean McHale (strictlyscale.com). We were discussing this very topic last weekend and apparently he's having some great success with his method.

[Tiger]

I made the ones on my plane this way. Just spray the sheet with clear lustercoat after it comes out of the printer. Cut the labels out and apply. If they are going on a glow plane, you might want to seal the edges with clear nail polish to keep the fuel from seeping under the edge.

Mine look great and everyone at the field asks where I got them! :D

[Nuker]

There is also a sealant spray that several of the ink jet decal kit companies sell. I bought a can for $10 and it's lasted awhile. I'd be curious to Sean McHale's method if you could get it posted

Bob

[planecrazy]

Hey Jim,

Where were you discussing this with Sean??? On a forum or was this through PM's??

So far as I've read the sealer of choice is clear Lustrecoat.

Chris

[JimMcIntyre]

Where were you discussing this with Sean??? On a forum or was this through PM's??


The old fashioned way ... verbally. :wink:

[planecrazy]

Whoa!!! How'd you do that??? :wink: :wink: :D :D

Chris

[PurgatorY]

With his lips silly. Jaw flapping. Lips wiggling. Sounds bursting forth from that opening in the front of his head. Try it sometime Chris. HE HE HE HE HE HE HE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "When ya going to get the flying excavator going???"

Dennis

[planecrazy]

With his lips silly. Jaw flapping. Lips wiggling. Sounds bursting forth from that opening in the front of his head. Try it sometime Chris."

Dennis

Why???? You do MORE than enough for the both of us!! :P :P

Chris

[Argus]

Wasn't Hobbycraft selling inkjet decal supplies? Has anyone used those, and if so how did they work out?
Wade

[JimMcIntyre]

It took a while to find the link but, here is the most tried and true method for markings that I know of:

http://www.scaleaero.com/custom.htm

[ScaleRCer]

Sorry guys, never spotted this thread until now....

Where to start?

OK, first off I had a friend of mine, Hans Shull do up my stencils for me as he has experience with this sort of thing and he has a ALPS printer which is really the best way to go as you can print white ink. Hans is a super nice guy and will answer any questions you have i'm sure. I did all the artwork, etc and he charged me $4 a sheet if I recall. Tell him I gave you his email address: Hans_Shull@Ibis.com

They were really easy to apply water slide decals and I used flat Lustre coat misted on to fuel proof them. Note, I sprayed gloss clear down first to give them a nice smooth surface to lay on and eliminate any 'fogginess' that is created when air is trapped underneath.

If you want to try to do them yourself on a home ink jet type printer there are options out there.

Experts-Choice Decal
Bare Metal Foil Co.
PO BOX 82
Farmington, MI 48332
www.Bare-Metal.com
1 (800) 628-7296

Use #121 Ink Jet Decal Paper. This is specifically designed for ink jet printers. They recommend coating the decal with a fine spray of Microscale Liquid Decal Film (#127). From my plastic model days know this can be applied with a soft brush with good results. I understand that you must coat it before you soak it in water or the ink will run.

The nice thing about the Alps printer is that it is a dry ink process and is waterproof. Of course, you still need to put a clear coat over them if they are in an area that will see fuel...I didn't test them for fuel proof yet. Epson makes the dura brite inks that are water proof, but they do not make white ink for it. Makes it a bit tough to do markings without white ink. I think out there you can get white decal paper so this is one option...also you could paint your area white first then add your clear decal, etc. Where there's a will there's a way! :D

Another place to check is http://www.decalpaper.com/

Easy to remember, huh? :D

Finally on my Spitfire I used a combination of painted stencilling and the water slide decals. it worked out very well! I'll attach a picture here...the W and T are decals, the frame is masked and sprayed first. there were a dozen+ of these on the model.

[ScaleRCer]

OK, i'm not sure if any of that was helpful or not?

To add, my friend Hans Shull who does the decals has just started to develop a website to help out with this sort of thing. Feel free to email Hans and ask him about any artwork or stencils you'd like to add. He's a great chap...tell him you heard through me! :D

http://www.heavydatehobbies.com/

Also, I've sent him a page full of stencils and some nose art for my current sport project, a lil top flite jug. It's currently ready for glassing and i will be finishing it with Flite Metal then applying these water slide decals. If anyone is interested I can post my results and findings here?

Here's an example of one of the stencils to be added... and the color scheme i'm going with on the lil juggy....

[tks1]

Thanks for the info Sean. I have been looking for a way to get RC decals for my Beaver.

tks1

[ScaleRCer]

you're welcome! your model looks good tks....looks like RCMP colors.