How to do...Decals

So everyone, at one point or another, will have to put decals on their models because, lets face it, its easier than painting the same motif over and over.

But a lot of people seem to stress over this, otherwise simple, step in painting models.  They have trouble with either getting the decals off the sheet, putting the decal on the model, or having the decal stay on the model.

Well, I'm going to show you how I do decals.  There may be hundreds of ways of putting decals on but this is the method I have found that works the best for me in all situations.  So relax, enjoy, and you be decaling like a pro.
The first step is getting your tools ready for the decaling.  The tools I use are:

• paper towel - make sure it does not have fibers that could come loose or a lot of lint.  This is one reason why I do not like using q-tips.
• small container for your water
• decals
• sharp hobby knife
• paint brush
• gloss varnish (any brand will do, I use GW's 'ardcoat)
• Micro Set by Microscale Industries - great decal setting solution.  It softens the decals and improves their adhesion.  Can also be used as a decal remover.
• Your models getting decaled.

Ultramarine squad up for decals.

After you have your tools, its time to get decaling. 

First, paint the gloss varnish on the area the decal is going.  The varnish creates a smooth surface for the decal to sit on.  Without it, the surface is very rough (even though you can't see it) and will cause air bubbles to be trapped under the decal.  Don't worry about the shine, this will be corrected when the model is sprayed with matt varnish.



Make it shine.



With your hobby knife, cut off the decal you are going to use.  Do not cut off all the decals or you will have a bunch of little squares or strips that can easily wander off.  Its better if you cut as you go.  Now since these decals are for Space Marine shoulder pads, they are not flat and square.  As most people have trouble with these becasue of the roundness, there is a simple solution.  Make a cut starting from the inside of the symbol to the outside.  This will cause the decal to fold in around itself when placed on the shoulder pad.



Make a small incision.



Now the decal is ready for a swim.  I use regular tap water since it does not affect the decal or its setting.  Just make sure its clean.  If your tap water is not clear, than you shouldn't be drinking it, let alone using it for decals.

Place the decal in the water and let the paper soak in the water.  Now there are two ways in doing the next step.  You can either wait for the decal paper to fall off from the decal or you can remove the whole thing when it is soaked and place it on a paper towel.  Either technique works and is up to you which to use.  If the decal is a large decal that you would need both hands to manipulate, then I would soak the decal paper and place it on a paper towel.  If you let a large decal float in the water, it has the effect of trying to make a bed with a wet sheet; the decal will fold in on itself which increases your chance of ruining or tearing the decal.

While the decal is soaking, I brush on the Micro Set onto the area the decal is going.  This will provide the decal an area to grab and will help the backside of the decal to be softened.  It also dissolves the decal a little which is extremely helpful with those thick decals  (I'm looking at you GW).

A liberal amount is better.  It won't hurt the paint.

If you wait for the decal paper to fall off, you can pick up the decal with the paintbrush or small tweezers and position it on the model.  If you use the decal paper, make sure the decal can slide freely on the paper, lift the paper to the model, and slide the decal onto the desired position.  Either way works.

Gotcha!

Now we position the decal into its final position.  Once its in the right place, spread a liberal amount of Micro Set onto the decal.  You want to make sure it gets on top and underneath the decal.  This will soften the decal so it conforms to those irregular areas:  curved areas, rivets, panel lines, etc.  Just make sure that you don't move the decal while brushing it.

Once the you feel its in the right position, grab your paper towel and stick your finger in it.  Wrap the paper towel around your finger, making sure there is a flat spot where your finger pad is. 



Make sure its wrapped tightly around your finger and is flat with no bumps or folds.



You then place the paper towel at one end of the decal and roll your finger over it.  Imagine your finger is a steam-roller moving slowly over the decal, laying it flat.  This ensures the decal will lay flat, removes any bubbles or folds, and removes any excess fluid (either the Micro Set or water) from the decal.  Now most people will use a Q-tip at this point.  I don't because of two reasons:  Q-tips have a lot of stray fibers and the movement can cause your decal to slip or tear.  As you roll the Q-tip over the decal, there isn't as much control between the cotton end and your hand movement.  Just imagine a car tire sitting on top of piece of plywood.  When the tires turn at a fast rate, the plywood is going to fling away from the car.  The plywood is your decal.  You don't want that to happen.

Roll it as if you were rolling your fingerprint.

If there any bubbles or folds on the decal.  Put a small amount of the Micro Set on the area and straighten it out with the paint brush.  If its a big fold or bubble, you may have to use the paper towel method again.

Once the decal is in the right spot and flat, let it dry and move on to the next model, repeating the same steps.

After the decal is thouroughly dry, paint on another layer of gloss varnish over the entire decal.  Make sure its a thin layer as a thick layer will make the decal look thick as well.  The varnish will seal the decal, making it scratch resistant during play.  I have never had a decal on my models come off, chip, or tear using this method.  Don't worry about it looking glossy as this will be killed by a layer of matte varnish, either sprayed or brushed on the model.

Now that seems easy enough.  But what about those complicated, uneven surfaces you say.  Lets take a look at one shall we.


Pauldron glossed and ready to go.

Here we have a Space Marine Captain with a purity seal right on the pauldron.  What to do?  Simply do all the same steps as above.  Lay down the decal on the area you want it to go.  Once its on, get your sharp (and I mean sharp, sharp) hobby knife.  With just the blade, press down on the decal and the area you need to cut around.  By using simple pressure, the blade should cut the decal.  Keep doing this around the area the decal needs to go around.  Do not saw the blade back and forth as this will tear the decal.  The sharpness and downward pressure should be enough to cut the decal.  If not, change the blade.

Place the decal on top.  Don't worry about the detail underneath.

Push down with the sharp blade.

Once you're done cutting use the tip of the blade to remove the unwanted piece.  This way you won't disturb the rest of the decal.

Decal is set.

 Put a little amount of Micro Set on the decal for its final positioning, let dry, and varnish.  Its that easy.  If you have any spots that are torn or chipped, just paint over them with a matching color.

After all the decals are dry, you can spray matte varnish on all the figures and your done.  You now have a great looking painted army with very little effort.



The squad ready for action.