Applying Decals To Your Model Railway

Model Railroad Decals

Applying Your Model Railroad Decals

Decals are pictures that have been printed on specially treated paper so that you can transfer it to another surface such as a truck or a building on your model railroad. The key thing is that the decals are transferred wet to your buildings or rolling stock on your model railroad with there being a preference for the application being made to a glossy surface. A dry transfer is similar but the preference here is to attach the transfer to a matt surface. You can buy your decals for your model railroad from a specialist supplier or you can make your own with specialist paper and your home printer.

Once you have decided onto which item on your model railroad that you are going to apply your decals then you will need to ensure that you prepare for the process. First of all, as mentioned above, you must ensure that your item from your model railroad has a glossy surface so that it is easier for the decals to slide onto during the application. The other items that you will need are a saucer filled with cooled down boiled water (luke warm), scissors, knife, a small paintbrush, Micro-Set or an alternative setting solution, tissues and tweezers.

You should now place your model railroad item that your are to apply your decals to on a flat surface. You should cut around the decals that you wish to apply and then once you are happy where exactly you are going to place it on your model railroad then you can soak the film in water for about a minute. You should now apply some of the setting solution to the surface which is to receive the design. The surface of your model railroad trucks or buildings will have been worked on by your setting solution and this will ensure that the adhesive on the back of the decals will be strong and lasting. You can then line up the paper that holds the decals and slide off onto the area prepared on your model. Once you are happy with the positioning then you should leave to dry and once that is done then there is just a small amount of finishing before your railroad benefits from your work.

After your piece of model railroad has received its new decals then you should make sure that no air bubbles appear in the design. If they do then just use a pin to prick them and then apply some Micro-Sol finishing solution. This solution completely softens your model railroad decals and allows them to “reapply” themselves perfectly and without distortion. Once completed the you can add one or two coats of your preferred matt or gloss finish which will help to hide the edges of the film transferred.

If you are creative then you can buy special paper upon which to produce transfer with your own model railroad designs.