Tutorial on Waterslide Decal Application.

I asked this but I'll ask again - do your decals tear if you bend the legs of the minifigure?

Also, where did you get your DecalFix from?

MikeZulu wrote:I asked this but I'll ask again - do your decals tear if you bend the legs of the minifigure?

Nope, only stickers do that.

DarthPineapple wrote:

MikeZulu wrote:I asked this but I'll ask again - do your decals tear if you bend the legs of the minifigure?

Nope, only stickers do that.

WTF! You didn't tell me that!

For some reason, it depends on the age of the hip piece. If the legs are tighter on the hip, the decals - even if sprayed - rip when bent to sit down. If the legs are looser, occasionally the decals don't. It's confusing..

However, Wuzz prescribes sanding the inside of the hip piece - it then allows room to sit down. I'd say PM him about it.

And decals DO do it. I've often been plagued by it..

Matchstick wrote:

DarthPineapple wrote:

MikeZulu wrote:I asked this but I'll ask again - do your decals tear if you bend the legs of the minifigure?

Nope, only stickers do that.

WTF! You didn't tell me that!

You didn't even ask me anything about it...
I can't help it you paid so much on stickers.
Just normal sticker paper works good too.

Oh, and;

MikeZulu wrote:Also, where did you get your DecalFix from?

From Lendons. However, there is a possibly better one on Ebay in the US.

Is there a way of avoiding this?

Matchstick wrote:Is there a way of avoiding this?

Nope. But if you would have used your common sense, you would have known that anything unless it's really thin tears.

Oh, Goodbye leg stickers then. Good thing I haven't printed them.

Matchstick wrote:Is there a way of avoiding this?

Use decals.

Or use designs which don't extend above the hip. You can see that in action on Scorp's figs.

Chaotic Good wrote:

Matchstick wrote:Is there a way of avoiding this?

Use decals.

Or use designs which don't extend above the hip. You can see that in action on Scorp's figs.

Yep I use that too.

Chaotic Good wrote:For some reason, it depends on the age of the hip piece. If the legs are tighter on the hip, the decals - even if sprayed - rip when bent to sit down. If the legs are looser, occasionally the decals don't. It's confusing..

However, Wuzz prescribes sanding the inside of the hip piece - it then allows room to sit down. I'd say PM him about it.

And decals DO do it. I've often been plagued by it..

I used to sand the insides down, but then the legs would become super loose - I hated it. And sanding it didn't guarantee it wouldn't tear.

But I noticed that most of the time, the decals only tear near the "crotch" of the legs, but the outsides would be fine. So now I make my decals so that they're nowhere near that area.

One question, for someone with experience, I have printed my decal designs on water slide decal paper, do I have to let them dry and also do I need to coat them with something befor I apply them.

CloneCommandoXion wrote:One question, for someone with experience, I have printed my decal designs on water slide decal paper, do I have to let them dry and also do I need to coat them with something befor I apply them.

Old thread, but since your question is valid, I suppose it's fine. CG stated that you need Acrylic Spray in the first few liens of his post. That's what you need to use before you apply your decals. Summing it up, the process is usually let dry for half an hour, spray 2 coats of acrylic spray at 1 hour intervals, let dry, dip in water, apply, let dry, then apply another coat of spray.

If I ever do waterslides, this is place I'll be going to for help. Excellently done, CG !

I was going to PM this question straight to CG, but I think that the wider community should be able to gain something from hearing it.

Most people stress over the applying of the decals, however...they often overlook the printing process. Like me, for example. I printed off a sheet of decals and realised that the ink had run on some of them. In other cases, the there were small white dots over the decals. I printed using the 'Best Photo' option and selected 'Normal Paper' as the media type. From what I've researched, I should've have gone with the 'Photo-Quality Inkjet Paper' option. Care to give your opinion, CG?

I'm not CG, but I have some input.

My decals printed fine, the paper usually has directions on what settings to print them. So yeah, highest quality and glossy paper settings are the best!

Thunder-blade wrote:I'm not CG, but I have some input.

My decals printed fine, the paper usually has directions on what settings to print them. So yeah, highest quality and glossy paper settings are the best!

Wel I tried that, and the results are the same. l actually prefer the coloration on my first print more, and the white dots and running ink was still present. I'm thinking that 'Best Photo' might actually release too much ink, causing the runniness.

You're actually absolutely right. Here are my print options for my Epson Inkjet R340:

White decal paper: Epson Premium Glossy, High Quality

Clear decal paper: Epson Premium Semigloss, High Quality


The problems you're describing - ink running, bad colourization - happened to me too, and after much trial and error I came up with the above as the best options for my own printer. They may, of course, differ for each type.

I'm thinking that 'Best Photo' might actually release too much ink, causing the runniness.

Yep, that's my theory too.

Well, I've played around with the settings and ended up printing half a sheet's worth of extra decals, but no progress.

I'll have to stick with this, and try to pass the dotted effect off as battle damage. I'll post some pictures up soon and see if you guys notice it.