decal application

     Dan I was at A craft store this weekend to get A cutter for doing thin plastic. I saw this little machine. I guess you put whatever you want through the rollers (like on A ringer washer only a lot smaller)and crank the little handle and it puts A layer of stick-um on the back side of what ever you want. Then you just stick it to A building, billboard or train car what ever you want. Hope this helps you. Choo Choo Kenny 

Kenny/John: Both great ideas and cost effective. Thanks for the advice!

Dan

Dan:

John has a great idea - newspaper is already very thin so works great on a building wall.

You could also print out your own signs which I have done. Only issue is the normal thickness of printer paper. A technique I found in a book involves sanding the backside of the picture with 150 grit sandpaper. This technique takes some practice but when done the paper will blend in the mortar lines rather than laying on top. As John mentioned use white glue to attach it.

WRT to clear decals there are a lot of decal vendors out there with good product. I use Micromark. However the problem with ink jet printed decals on clear paper is that they do not work well on dark color walls. The decal tends to 'disappear'. That's the reason for white decal paper. However printing text on white decal paper is no good unless you want a white background behind the text.

For light colors I print my own decals. For dark colors I use Cedarleaf Decals SCedarleaf@aol.com. 

Joe

       
       

Interesting, what is it called? Do you have a picture? Where can i get one?

Hi,

I believe the device that Choo Choo Kenny was talking about is called Xyron. There may be other products on the market, but this is the one I'm familiar with since I'm a graphic artist. I've attached a few video links below showing the craft versions and a professional version. The professional version I use is actually much larger. There are plenty of video demos on you tube if you can stand them, just search for Xyron. The device can be purchased on Amazon or most craft and art supply stores. Be aware, the adhesive cartridges can be expensive. These machines can laminate as well as apply adhesive.

For the applications that dan venet is looking for, the suggestions mentioned by the other members, newspaper print, white glue, sanding the back of printer paper, etc. is much more cost effective. One coat rubber cement is also an option but does have a toxic odor.

White decal film in an ink jet printer is probably the best solution if the artwork is easy to trim out, such as a rectangle. You need to spray flat or gloss clear over the decal to seal the image before dipping in water. Usually 2 or 3 light coats will be needed.

If you have a graphics program like Photoshop on your computer you can actually merge a billboard type sign with a brick background (O scale brick) to create a faded see thru image. That takes a little practice to achieve a realistic result.

I've attached a few samples, I found on the internet, that would work perfectly with white decal film.

Hope this helps,

Joe Kunka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsMdseKUUpk

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYrNGfwo30E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE5V0KOVfmI

I've had good success with Waterslide Decal Transfer Paper. It's about $1 per sheet so you'll want to get as many decals on each page as possible. With Photoshop you can easily produce anything at all. It is absolutely critical with this method that you let the decal sheet fully dry after printing before spraying it with 2 or 3 light coats of flat or gloss clear to seal it. Once that dries you just cut out the decal, dip it in water and slide the decal off the paper and onto your train. Probably should seal that as well after it dries.

 

Emile

yes

That's very clever. Do you get any show-through from the other side of the newsprint?