Custom decal question

[samster27]

Hi, Has anyone ever spray painted a clear decal sheet and used it to cut out say a strip that they can apply as a normal waterslide decal?

I want strips of gloss red to match perfectly the red on a model and wondered if painting the decal sheet would work?

I could just spray a thin adhesive fineline tape but I thing the thickness of tape might look out of place on a 1/48 scale model.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Cheers

 

[zorg]

why dont you just spray the colour onto the model?

i can't see spraying a water slide decal working to be honest

 

[robn1]

I've done it for very small decals and it worked fine. But a long stripe may flex and crack the paint unless it's a flexible paint. Like Zorg said I'd mask the stripes and paint them directly.

 

[samster27]

It could be a bit fiddly to mask and I am inexperienced with an air brush. Will have to think on it but thanks for the advise. The paint is in a spray can so I guess I could decant some and use the air brush, but I have worries that I could ruin the model. Never tried it before.

 

[morrris99]

Tried this several times. It depends on the brand of decal paper. Some already have a clear film, some don't. If you cut out the strip first, then spray, sometimes the paint adheres to the paper via the sides. I've always had the best luck when spraying an area larger than needed, then cutting out the strips. But I use Papilio aqua slide for ALPS printers. It already has the clear film.
If you bought typical blank decal paper, you might want to cut out a slightly larger area than needed, spray some clear gloss, then spray your color. The average decal paper relies on you to create the clear film with clear spray first. You don't want the color to dry for days since it might crack as mentioned above. but you don't want the clear and color to react, either.

 

[rbeach84]

I think Morris99 hit the key point - make sure the "paper" isn't the kind that requires a post-print clear film application. Microscale used to make sheets of solid color AND clear film decal. The clear film was designed for just this purpose (plus hand painting of small designs, etc.) Once you have a source, just create a spray mask to test a small area for compatibility with your paints and to check the performance of the painted decal film. Then you can report your findings here for posterity!
Regards, Robert