Part 1 – Soaking your decals
You’ll see that this stage is very straightforward. Notice the high gloss paint finish achieved in this case using Xtracolor gloss enamel paint applied 2-3 days beforehand.
It only takes a minute or so for the backing paper to look wet and this is a good indication that the decal is ready to slide off; then you can apply it to your model…
Part 2 – Applying your decals
Care is always needed at this stage – don’t force the decal to move on the backing paper, but when it does, freely, transfer it to your model using tweezers. Flat-nosed tweezers are probably better than the ones you see me using in the video but I’m just used to these!
Video – Part 2 Applying the decals
Part 3 – Finishing
From experience I find that most decals, even good quality ones like the Leading Edge ones I’m using here will settle down or be well on the way to doing so after about an hour. You’ll need to leave them at least for a few hours (preferably overnight) to fully pull down and dry thoroughly. This is usually enough to get great results and so if your decals look like they are conforming well to the surface detail leave them alone to dry thoroughly.
If the decal is being rather stubborn and after first application or a couple of hours shows little sign of conforming to the surface, apply a liberal amount of extra Decalfix to the top of your decal and leave it alone. This will help the decal soften even more and you may need to repeat this process 3-4 times to get some firmer decals to go down and conform.
If you still have problems, with care though… I sometimes like to ‘encourage’ the decals down into the deeper recesses using a pointed cocktail stick. Doing this between 1-2 hours after application can be good as the decal is still very soft and won’t split, it just means that the decal will end up as if it has been sprayed on – the whole aim here.
Take care though… watch how you use the cocktail stick – go easy with gentle movements, you don’t want to tear your marking!
Tip… remember at this stage your decal will be very soft and any further messing is likely to cause damage and ideally should be avoided.
Tip… Remember, using these decal softening solutions often causes the decal to wrinkle as the agent gets to work softening the marking and this is quite normal – resist the temptation to intervene unless of course you have a lot of experience and consider intervention is necessary to avoid failure!
Video – Part 3 – Finishing
Closing thoughts…
Ok, that’s it for this one and you now know how to use Humbrol Decalfix (if you didn’t already!). It’s definitely worth giving this product a go if you haven’t already tried it and I notice that it’s quite a strong agent so remember to clean away any excess immediately after application as shown in the videos. In addition allow the decal to dry completely before thinking of spraying or adding your chosen varnish (matt/flat, satin or gloss) to finish off your model.
Geoff C.
Here is the instruction sheet that came with the product and may be of use so…