question MV original decal material

[Meekumslr]

Hi chaps,

 

I have to get new vehicle decals, ie Civil Defence Corps crest.

A question that bugs me is.... What were original crests made from?

i can probably get plastc/ vinyl ones made but they dont seem authentic enough.

Does anyone know?

 

Many thanks,

 

Neil.

[David Herbert]

The original decals were sometimes called 'water slide transfers', exactly like airfix kits had. The artwork is printed onto the glued side of paper that has a clear water soluble glue coating. They are then given quite a thick clear laquer in several coats to give the transfer 'body' and then allowed to dry. When needed they are wetted to soften the glue and carefully slid into place. The water under them is expelled by very carefully pushing it to the edges with the edge of a piece of blotting paper or similar and then left for 24hrs for the glue to dry again and clear laquered to fix them in place.

 

It is still possible to get what is called 'gummed paper' from art shops etc. If you have artwork you can colour photocopy it onto the GLUED side of the paper with a laser printer. Don't use an inkjet printer because the ink is water soluble and will go fuzzy when wet. Alternatively if you just want blocks of colour (large letters or a big arrow for instance) you can spray paint onto the paper and then cut out the shape you want. As you can put one transfer on top of another you can build up several layers into one transfer before or after applying it to the vehicle.

 

The key to all this is the type of laquer / paint that you use. Airfix used something with a plasticiser in it to stop it going brittle, but of course it was not expected to survive outdoors. I have always used cellulose laquer / paint which does go brittle so you need to lightly re-laquer the transfer about 5 mins before use to soften it but not make it sticky on the outside. Cellulose also has the advantage that when re-coated each layer melts into the previous one (as long as the water has gone) to the point where you need sandpaper to remove them. I know that cellulose is not available for car work any more but I believe it can still be got if you try hard. It really is a big help that it melts into the previous layer.

 

I hope this helps, PM me with a phone no if you want more info.

 

David

Edited March 14, 2014 by David Herbert

[Marmite!!]

http://www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/category/Decal-Paper

[Meekumslr]

David and Marmite.

you are geniouses.

The advice and link is great.

i have phoned my friend who paints cars and he says you can still get cellulose laquer which is called single pack laquer.

all I need to do is get the decal printed onto A4 transferr paper, laquer it and i'm sorted.

many thanks again.

Neil.

[Tony B]

I use Toolstation engine laquer. Cheap and works very well to protect paint and transfers.

[David Herbert]

If you are going the cellulose laquer route you do need to experiment a bit to get the right thickness to give the 'structure' of the transfer and then to know how soft it should be when you are applying it. If you are putting it on a flat surface or if it is very small, it can be much harder than if it is going on a domed surface or even worse one with bumps in it. As the water dries it will tend to pull itself down as long as the edges are tight but it makes a huge difference if you can get the last bit of water out from behind it by pushing it out with a very gentle scraping action from a soft but firm straight edge, I always use pieces of dry blotting paper about 2" square with cut edges.

 

When building up the laquer, start with a couple of quite thin coats to 'fix' the ink, when these are fairly dry you can be more enthusiastic with a couple of heavier coats to get the thickness and a good smooth finish. A fairly small spray gun helps as one suitable for painting a whole car is really too big and clumsy. If you get the transfer too wet with overly thinned laquer the artwork can look like its melting and you have no way back. Obviously the surface that you apply it to must be smooth and clean. When you are sealing it after it has had 24hrs for the water to dry out, give it a good coat of laquer as if you wanted a gloss finish. That will bond the edges together and make it all homogeneous. If you want it matt, let it half dry and give it a mist coat of laquer which can be done anything from eggshell to sandpaper grade with practice.

 

Have fun !

 

David

Edited March 14, 2014 by David Herbert

[Meekumslr]

David,

 

i was going to print on the transfer paper marmite suggested, then laquer and seal it on the vehicle but i will practice first.

building layers up seems very skilled and tricky so if i get a good fesult with transfer paper, i'll take that route.