Question about making my own decals

Nevin524 · Post by **Nevin524** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 11:43 am

I just recently purchased clear inkjet decal paper from www.beldecal.com. I was wondering after I print my decals on the paper what should I spray oer the decals to seal them in? The instructions call for Krylon Crystal Clear spray varnish. I cant seem to find that in my immediate local area. I guessing I can use Testors Decal Bonder as a subsitutute but what exactly is decal bonder. Is it just a Dull coat or a gloss coat relabled? Can I use either one of those as a sealant for decals on the paper?

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 2:49 pm

IIRC the decal bonder is for placing the decals on the model.

You will need ot seal them and for what'er reason the Krylon works best. You should be able to find it in most art stores, drafting supply houses, or possibly a hardware store.

rpauly · Post by **rpauly** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 3:26 pm

Testors Decal Bonder is essentially an aerosol decal film, and is used for bonding the ink to the decal paper. You can use it in place of the Krylon.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 3:32 pm

Ah. Huh, didn't know anybody made that. Probably best for rehabilitating old decals I'm guessing.

didihno · Post by **didihno** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 4:13 pm

Eh, what would be available to the Europeans?
I'm itchin to try this out.

rpauly · Post by **rpauly** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 4:33 pm

kylwell wrote:Ah. Huh, didn't know anybody made that. Probably best for rehabilitating old decals I'm guessing.

It works quite well for that!

Scotchyn · Post by **Scotchyn** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 10:07 am

Sorry if i kinda hijack this thread, but ive been getting into making my own decals as well.. but im having a problem with my laser printer where it seems to be "melting" the decal paper. i got the paper from bel and it is there clear laser paper...has anyone else had this problem and is there anything that i could possibly do..ive already called the support for my printer and the things that were tried did not work any suggestions??

rpauly · Post by **rpauly** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 12:35 pm

That's a danger with laser printers - they use heat to bond the toner to the paper. You might try another brand of decal paper, but at the very least, make sure you are using decal paper for laser printers, and not ink-jet papaer by mistake.

Scotchyn · Post by **Scotchyn** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 7:28 pm

yeah the decals were for the laser...ive ordered some different decals so i guess ill see how those work...if not what are some other suggestions?? what would be a good ink jet to try?

SnowCrash · Post by **SnowCrash** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 7:08 pm

I just made my own decals for an x-wing. I printed the decals on an HP inkjet printer, then let the ink dry. Since the ink is water based you have to seal them on the decal paper with some kind of spray, I used testors decal bonder that I got at the local hobby shop. What you want to do is several coats of light sprays. If you spray on a lot at once, the spray will cause the ink to run. If you don't have enough on, though, once the decals are in the water, they will run.

At any rate, my decals came out great and I was happy with the system.