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Decal and thin pipe


GordonD

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I have a decal about 3mm wide by 5cm long that needs to be wrapped round a thin pipe, maybe 1mm across. My initial thought was that this would be easier if I cut the decal into shorter pieces, as alignment with the part behind the pipe is crucial (there's another decal there which has to line up). This turned out to be wrong, as the decal merely sat flat on top of the pipe and when I tried to push the sides down it twisted sideways. Fortunately there's a spare decal on the sheet so I can try again with that, but does anybody have any tips on how to get it to wrap properly? The pipe is painted Humbrol Chrome Silver and can be given another coat if necessary.

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Is the pipe already glued to the model?

 

I'd try to do such things by hand: find a way to spin the pipe slowly but steady and bring the brush to it carefully, starting at the bottom and moving steadily to the top. This should result in a very regular spiral pattern.

 

If the part is already mounted I fear this is not of help to you.

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No, the pipe isn't yet attached. The location pins are quite tight so it will fit in place without dropping out so won't shift if I'm working on the decal, but it can be removed easily.

 

However maybe I didn't explain clearly enough - it isn't a spiral pattern - it looks like this:

 

Decals-2a.jpg

 

To explain: it's a Mercury-Atlas kit and the words UNITED STATES are marked vertically on the side of the Atlas. The pipe then fits on top and the decal shown here goes onto the pipe so that the letters can still be read - it's the central part of each letter in UNITED. (There's a second decal for the STATES part.) This is why alignment is crucial as it has to line up with the letters behind. But it doesn't spiral round the pipe, it just wraps round it like an outer skin.

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By the sound of it your kit decals seem to be a bit thick and unwieldly like some of the Tamiya or Hasegawa ones. Easiest solution I can think of is to just mask and paint the little blighter!:hmmm:

 

Won’t Micro Set/Sol soften it enough to allow it to conform? Or a stronger decal solution like the Daco stuff?

Or as they are only simple shapes use some other (thinner) manufacturers black decal cut to the right size?

Or you could try the old ‘using Klear as decal glue’ method. But use a sacrificial bit of kit decal (if possible) on a similarly thin rod (just to see if it works, and not waste your only spare).

 

 

Mart

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I tried soaking the decal with Humbrol Decalfix, and using gloss varnish to glue it down (not at the same time!)

 

I may end up masking and painting - if I wrap a sheet of clear polythene round the rocket body first it'll avoid damage to the decal that's already there.

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I have multiple decal softeners, of varying strengths just for this sort of challenge. I simply lay the decal down, put a drop of softener on it, and let gravity be my friend. I up the strength every few hours or so until it works. 

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 I found that very hot water helps to make decals conform to curved surfaces. Put some boiling water in a bowl, let it cool down a bit and

apply it over the decal with a Q-tip. This may do the trick,

 

Christian.

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On 15/04/2017 at 2:51 PM, Greenshirt said:

I have multiple decal softeners, of varying strengths just for this sort of challenge. I simply lay the decal down, put a drop of softener on it, and let gravity be my friend. I up the strength every few hours or so until it works. 

 

I currently use Humbrol Decalfix, though in the past I used Microset/Microsol or whatever they were called. Is one of those better than the other? And what stronger brands are available?

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I'm not a chemist, but IIRC from high school chemistry most decal softeners are a base, the opposite of an acid. That is from the smell, which is vinegary. In my experience, the stronger the vinegar smell, the stronger the base, hence the stronger the decal softener. I may be completely out to lunch on this bit. 

 

On my shelf, in order of strength from weakest to strongest:

DACO soft

Microscale sol/set (almost gone, not to be replenished)

Revell DecalSoft

DACO Medium

DACO Strong

SolvaSet

 

That's  the order I use my decal chemicals and rarely do I need to use the last two. 

Edited by Greenshirt
I may be wrong on the chemistry...
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Well, it didn't work. I applied the spare decal to the pipe and it absolutely refused to stick. I can only assume that the pipe was too thin, so there was very little surface area that the decal was touching for it to get anything of a grip. So when I tried to get it to curve round, it simply slid sideways.

 

But all is not lost - as LotusArenco pointed out, I can mask and paint instead. Apart from the N and the A (from STATES) all of the markings are horizontal lines of various thicknesses so masking should be fairly straightforward as long as I can keep them aligned properly.  :pray:

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17 hours ago, Greenshirt said:

I'm not a chemist, but IIRC from high school chemistry most decal softeners are a base, the opposite of an acid. That is from the smell, which is vinegary. In my experience, the stronger the vinegar smell, the stronger the base, hence the stronger the decal softener. I may be completely out to lunch on this bit. 

 

On my shelf, in order of strength from weakest to strongest:

DACO soft

Microscale sol/set (almost gone, not to be replenished)

Revell DecalSoft

DACO Medium

DACO Strong

SolvaSet

 

That's  the order I use my decal chemicals and rarely do I need to use the last two. 

 

Sorry for the hijack Gordon, but this may be relevant to you. Tim, can you tell me why you won't be replenishing the Microsol/Set?

 

Thanks

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41 minutes ago, Vinnie said:

Sorry for the hijack Gordon, but this may be relevant to you. Tim, can you tell me why you won't be replenishing the Microsol/Set?

 

Thanks

 

I wondered that myself, also why no Humbrol Decalfix on the list. Don't you rate it?

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36 minutes ago, GordonD said:

 

I wondered that myself, also why no Humbrol Decalfix on the list. Don't you rate it?

 
 

Humbrol Decalfix hasn't helped me at all. It even seems to react badly with Pledge. I was looking around to see where to buy Microsol/Set without eye-watering postal charges when I noticed Tim's comment.

Edited by Vinnie
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6 hours ago, Vinnie said:

can you tell me why you won't be replenishing the Microsol/Set?

 

I've got enough to last me of those other chemicals for likely a couple of years. They work, nicely, so I don't see a reason to have something that is neither better, nor fills a gap in capability. 

 

5 hours ago, GordonD said:

 

I wondered that myself, also why no Humbrol Decalfix on the list. Don't you rate it?

 

Never used it, not readily available around here. When it comes time to start replenishing stocks, I may get it if available. 

 

OBTW I also found a jar of Testors decals setting solution behind some older paints. I'm not sure I've ever used it!  

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