Inkjet Printed Decals: type to use etc?

[Guest]

I plan to buy some sheets of this from the shop, for adding bur walnut (a jpg image) to the dashboard of my 1/16 Rolls Royce. The idea is that a decal is much thinner than, say, paper and will mould itself to minor lumps and bumps like buttons and switches, and a 90 degree change of direction of the surface. The colour of the dashboard is dark grey. I will also get someMicro Liquid Decal Film, Microscale, to seal the ink. I have applied kit decals before (aircraft roundels etc.)

1. Should I use white paper rather than clear?

The oval shaped instrument cluster has a raised bezel round it. The bezel will be painted black and the oval will have its own supplied decal with speedometer etc.

2. Should I try cutting out a hole in the paper for this after printing, or just lay it down and cut the excess while it is wet and hope it will dry down and shrink on to the raised surface?

(There doesn't seem to be any advantage in using clear decal film and leaving the oval clear (fiddly getting the shape, size and position right) ready for the kit decal. It might be best to allow the bur walnut to go there and (if necessary) paint it out before applying the kit decal.

3. I assume I will need to get the usual shiny coat of gloss varnish on the plastic first, to prevent silvering. Correct?

Thanks.

[Guest]

Hi Steve,

I just bought a decal paper myself, and i bought both clear and white. I tried the white background and i can't use it because it won't see through. But the clear one will do the job (just like the one we got from any kit). I used inkjet too and works fine, hope this answer the questions and might help you.

Cheers

[The Migrant]

I'd use the clear paper, and I'd suggest painting the dashboard a gloss cream as this will show through the transparent colours of your decal. I'd be tempted to punch a hole through the decal for the speedo, but make the dash decal a bit bigger all round than it needs to be, so you have some leeway when aligning the hole with the moulded speedometer. When the decal's fully dry you can then trim the excess around the dash with a fresh blade.

[Ian M]

I would just print a large section of the walnut and cut it to sizes that are larger than the panel it is to be used on. No holes or shape.

paint the parts to be decaled with a light gloss colour. Cream as mike suggested or a light tan. Apply the decal over the whole part then trim with a new blade once dried. Any dials i would paint with some white then apply the dial over the top of that. A good drop of clear varnish for the glass.

I dont know which papers you will be using but I have found that the white I have is thicker than the clear and can be a bit stiff to get into small details.

Ian M

[Guest]

I can't find any cream gloss paint (I have checked only acrylics). Would white gloss do: Tamiya X2? (Tamiya don't do anything like a light tan in gloss and I haven't checked other acrylic glosses for a light tan.)

[Ian M]

I assume that you have gloss varnish.... Painting it in a matt and varnishing it could be the solution.

Ian M