BOA Decals

[Jabba]

Has anyone here used BOA Decals before?

I ask because I have not, but they look similar in design to a set od OD decals that I had a bit of a disaster with. Is there any particular way to apply the decals, such as getting them exactly in the right place first, rather than moving them into position after placing them on the model like I normally do. This was the problem I had with the OD ones in tha I put a decal onto the model, tried to move it only to find that it had stuck and would not move even after putting plenty of water onto it so that it should have been able to move. Any help would be appreciated.

[26Decals]

Has anyone here used BOA Decals before?

I ask because I have not, but they look similar in design to a set od OD decals that I had a bit of a disaster with. Is there any particular way to apply the decals, such as getting them exactly in the right place first, rather than moving them into position after placing them on the model like I normally do. This was the problem I had with the OD ones in tha I put a decal onto the model, tried to move it only to find that it had stuck and would not move even after putting plenty of water onto it so that it should have been able to move. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi.

Yes I have used them and they are very good, no problems to report at all

Cheers

[Jabba]

Thanks for that, but sorry to say I am still having problems. I did a trial with a couple of the smaller decals and there were able to mova about after I applied them to the model very well. So I went to put on a couple of the larger ones one the tail, and yet again I found that the decals did not want to slide into positon after they had been applied to the model. Admittedly one side was slightly better than he other, but it still showed some resistance. I am using Mirco-set, and I am wondering if this is not helping. I have also applied the usual 2 coats of Johnsons Clear all over the model. I still have a few larger decals to apply, so is there any advice that you could possibly give me as I do not want this model ending up in a pile of rubble which may happen if my frustration gets the better of me.

[keefr22]

Thanks for that, but sorry to say I am still having problems. I did a trial with a couple of the smaller decals and there were able to mova about after I applied them to the model very well. So I went to put on a couple of the larger ones one the tail, and yet again I found that the decals did not want to slide into positon after they had been applied to the model. Admittedly one side was slightly better than he other, but it still showed some resistance. I am using Mirco-set, and I am wondering if this is not helping. I have also applied the usual 2 coats of Johnsons Clear all over the model. I still have a few larger decals to apply, so is there any advice that you could possibly give me as I do not want this model ending up in a pile of rubble which may happen if my frustration gets the better of me.

I've not used Boa decals, but they sound very similar in use to Reji car decals. These also stick like limpets as soon as they touch the models surface. I had very similar problems to you, & the only thing that I found helped a bit, was not to use Micro-set or sol as you suggest, & to add a small amount of Fairy liquid to the water I was using to soak the decals in. This seemed to help them slide a bit on the model.

HTH

Keef

[Jennings Heilig]

Contrary to popular belief, the adhesive that decal paper has on it, onto which decal printers print their inks, is *not* required for putting a decal onto a model. I've almost always made it a habit to soak decals, slide them off the paper onto my finger upside down (image side down), and wash off all the adhesive before applying them to the model. If you do that, and if you have a decently smooth surface with some Micro-Set (not Sol, Set - the wetting agent) in place there, you probably will experience far fewer problems. If you then use a solvent agent (Micro-Sol or equivalent) to make the decal conform to the surface detail, then seal it with a clear coat, you're golden.

J

[Jabba]

I've not used Boa decals, but they sound very similar in use to Reji car decals. These also stick like limpets as soon as they touch the models surface. I had very similar problems to you, & the only thing that I found helped a bit, was not to use Micro-set or sol as you suggest, & to add a small amount of Fairy liquid to the water I was using to soak the decals in. This seemed to help them slide a bit on the model.

HTH

Keef

So far and I have only done one side this method seems to be working, Thank you, but it still takes a bit of effort not to break the decal when it is first applied to the model. The other half will have to wait until the weekend, but I think that I should make it without too much difficulty.

[keefr22]

Contrary to popular belief, the adhesive that decal paper has on it, onto which decal printers print their inks, is *not* required for putting a decal onto a model. I've almost always made it a habit to soak decals, slide them off the paper onto my finger upside down (image side down), and wash off all the adhesive before applying them to the model. If you do that, and if you have a decently smooth surface with some Micro-Set (not Sol, Set - the wetting agent) in place there, you probably will experience far fewer problems. If you then use a solvent agent (Micro-Sol or equivalent) to make the decal conform to the surface detail, then seal it with a clear coat, you're golden.

J

If you try that with Reji decals, you'll never get them off your finger. They would instantly wrap themselves immovably around your digit......

I use a similar technique with 'normal' decals - except I slide them off onto kitchen towel to remove the adhesive & then place them onto a 'bed' of Klear instead of using sol or set. Usually works a charm. It wouldn't with the Reji things - they stuck like limpets to the tissue!! I suspect the Boa ones might act the same way.

So far and I have only done one side this method seems to be working, Thank you, but it still takes a bit of effort not to break the decal when it is first applied to the model. The other half will have to wait until the weekend, but I think that I should make it without too much difficulty.

Glad to hear it - good luck with the other side!

Keef

Edited March 23, 2009 by keefr22

[Jabba]

Glad to hear it - good luck with the other side!

Keef

The other side decals went on very well, I don't know if that was due to the amount of Fairey liquid that may have stayed in the water bowl that I used over several days, but they really did slide very easily. Anyhow thanks for the suggestion.

[keefr22]

The other side decals went on very well, I don't know if that was due to the amount of Fairey liquid that may have stayed in the water bowl that I used over several days, but they really did slide very easily. Anyhow thanks for the suggestion.

No worries, glad it worked!

Keef