Help Applying Water Slide Decal

[TK Fett]

Hey guys I have finally got my waterslide decals worked out now I just need to apply it. I have went through 5 of them now and none have been applied right. The decal always deforms for folds or stretches when I am removing it from the paper or applying it to the armor. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions the help apply this type of decal?

 

[AFettFullofDollars]

Try applying a thin film of water to the part of the armor that you are wanting to place the decal on. That way when you slide the decal off of the backing paper it won't immediately seal down onto the armor. Once you have it positioned where you want it, take a napkin and touch it to the edge of the decal to draw the water out from underneath. The decal should then seal down onto the armor.

 

[LionsPride]

soak the decal and backing paper in warm water for about 30 seconds, spray water on the spot where your going to be locating the decal. Place the decal, and with a soft towel first pat it down then working from center outward work the remaining water and any bubbles out.

Alan (Wizardofflight) has a thread somewhere about applying his decals using the same method, and I believe it will explain it better if you need more help

Here's his thread
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/showthread.php?t=9913
download his PDF file and the instructions for applying them are in there

Alan's Da' man

 

[CenteroftheMind]

The aforementioned advice is pretty concise, the only thing I'd add is that usually I try to anchor one side or corner of the decal with, say, a Q-tip, and then slide the rest of it off of the backing paper. This helps to prevent the decal from folding up on itself, which can (and usually does) spell disaster.

 

[superjedi]

Another tip: it's MUCH easier to apply decals to a gloss surface than a matte surface. Try spraying a clear gloss on the surface before applying the decal. Then, after the decal is totally dry (at least 24 hours) go back and spray on a flat clear.

 

[TK Fett]

Thanks for all the tips guys, I finally got it on there. Heres one thing that helped me. THe instructions said to dip the decal then place it on a dry paper towel to give the adhesive time to loosen, no matter how long I waited it seemed like it was still sticking to the backing to tight to some off without stretching. The trick was to sit the decal on the paper towel FACE DOWN, when I did this it slid right off with hardly any trouble.