Need help with decals

[Buzzy]

This is my first try with decals and it's not very successful yet.

As you can see on the picture, on the left side, the decal is not 100% transparent.
On the right side it's better but the ink bled/broke, probably because I insisted too much when I smoothed it out.

There's already two coats of CA on it (and about 4 coats under) and I don't think more coats will change anything.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

 

[Dalecamino]

Make sure you have sealed the ink after printing. I put four coats of medium CA on top of the decal. Don't be too aggressive when sanding. Do you have a photo of the decal? So we can see what it's supposed to look like? I don't understand what you mean about the left side. Sorry!

 

[larryc]

Chuck's right about sealing the decal.
When I print decals using my inkjet printer I let the decal set overnight. Then I spray it with clear Krylon then let it set overnight. Then I apply the decal to the blank that has about 6 coats of CA which has sat overnight then sanded and polished up to 12000. After applying the decal it sits overnight and then about 6 more coats of CA which sit overnight and then sanded and polished up to 12000 and Beale buffed.

This is a "Quick Reply."

 

[Buzzy]

Well, it's supposed to be a black flame :laugh:
On the left part of the decal you can see some white around the black. It's not supposed to be like that, it's supposed to be transparent.
As if there is air trapped under the decal, or something like that.

I let the ink dry for about 6 hours, then 2 coats of krylon and I let it dry for a couple of days.
I let the decal dry on the blank for more than 24 hours before applying CA and I didn't sand anything yet so sanding is not the problem.

 

[Dalecamino]

Ok then, I suspect you left the decal in the water too long and, the adhesive dissolved around the edge. OR, it was rubbed off while being applied to the blank. It's very difficult to say exactly what went wrong without being there.

This is why we print an entire row of them. You can sand it off and, try again.:wink: