Decaling a model for best effect
Over the years various methods of lettering our models have been available. Some are still with us, some passed by the wayside for good reason. The most common lettering methods still generally in use are water slide transfers or decals, dry transfer lettering (eg.Letraset), vinyl backed lettering, or custom made vinyl lettering. I’ve used all these forms on my various models. Each has its own plus’s and negatives.

Water slide decals:
On this side of the pond, wet transfer decals are by far the most common lettering system available. They consist of a paper covered with glue. That is in turn covered with a varnish material that is then printed with the designs wanted. There is another layer of varnish sometimes put over the print to seal it. Usually the varnish application forms a constant thickness over the entire decal sheet. Some of the better quality water slide decals have the print done on areas of a specific size to match the lettering. The varnish tapers away from the lettering to zero thickness. This means the decal can be applied to the model and leave no discernible edge. With proper application, the decal varnish is invisible and the lettering appears to be painted on the models surface. These are ideal.

To start this project, your finish paint on the area to be lettered should take on a glossy appearance. This provides a very smooth surface for the decals to properly seat to. A matte surface has millions of tiny projections upwards that form microscopic hills and valleys on the paint surface. This is what gives the matte appearance to the paint. If a decal is applied to this surface air remains trapped under the decal that shows up as white blotches under the decal film after the decal has dried. If the area to be decaled is not glossy, spray on a clear glass coat such as that offered by Testors and similar suppliers.
Our tools for this job are a sharp knife, a hard surface to back the decal when we cut it, tweezers, and fine paint brush and a decal solvent such as Walther’s Solvaset, and a dish of tepid water, some clean tissue.

Begin by trimming out the portion of decal you are about to use with the knife. Make the cuts as close as you can to the lettering. Except where the varnish film is manufactured to be close to the letters, the final result will be much better the closer you can trim the decal to the lettering. You can trim out several pieces at a time.
Place the trimmed decals into the dish of water and let them sit. How long? Until the decal film raises off the paper backing. This is contrary to all decal instructions; however, the following steps will more than make up for the loss of glue. I don’t want any glue left on the back of the decal, just the varnish film and its printing.

With the tweezers, remove the decal from the water bath very carefully. The film is quite fragile and won’t take a lot of beating. Place it on the model with a liberal coating of water under it. Slide the decal around until it is where you want it. With your tissue placed against the edge of the decal, siphon off the excess moisture.
Now comes the Solvaset part. This liquid is designed to dissolve the decal film and make it part of the paint surface it’s on. It doesn’t work as well on bare metal or styrene, but is superb on painted surfaces. Using the small paint brush (not the one included in the bottle) apply Solvaset to the periphery of the decal. There will still be moisture under the decal and that will aid siphoning the Solvaset under the decal.. Then leave the decal. At first it will appear to shrivel and you’ll think you’ve ruined the decal. DON’T TOUCH IT!!. As the decal dries out it will pull taught and snuggle down to the surface.


This process works ideally on uneven surfaces. That is, surfaces that go up and down, such as over doors and hatches and rivets and such. The decal will snuggle down over these surfaces just as if they were painted.
When the decal has mostly dried and appears to have snuggled down, look at it carefully. Has it completely snuggled down over any unevenness (tenting of the decal)? Is there any white (trapped air) showing through the decal”. If you answer yes to any of these, go back over the decal with a little more Solvaset. Areas, such as trapped air, can be more stubborn. Using the sharp knife slice the decal film and apply more Solvaset onto the slice. You should see it rapidly siphon into the white are. When this is done the decal will set down fully. Tenting can be sorted the same way. Slice through the “tent” and apply a little Solvaset with your small paint brush.

This shows the effect after the first application of Solvaset. Another light application will draw the decal film down around the rivets

This is the effect of air under the decal. The decal hasn't properly set down and sealed to the model in these areas. This condition is aggravated by applying decals to a matte surface

This is how the finished decal application should look
Leave the decal over night for all your decaling to dry out an set up. Then using a damp cloth remove any water drops and stains from the surface over and around the decal. Then use your favourite dull coat, or whatever, as a spray over the decal. This will serve to seal the deal surface and take away the sheen of the decal. The result will be very hard to distinguish from a painted lettering job. The same is done with pin stripes.

This is a finished model done with water slide decals and a satin finish coat sprayed over everything.
Blank water slide transfer deal sheet can be purchased that opens up other avenues for creativity. If you have some ornate striping or picture to do on the surface of your model that is over a curved or hard to get at surface you can make your own decal. I’ve done this by making a stencil of the pattern I want to make, then spraying my favourite model paint through the stencil held against the decal sheet. When the stencil is removed the paint pattern remains. The decal sheet is cut out and the decal applied as above.


Credit this photograph to Ebay
I painted this New York Central electric model for a customer, back in the eighties. It appeared on Ebay from Germany last fall. Funny how some models get around. Anyway, the cats whiskers stripes on the front of the cab were done using the mask shown above. As described the mask was held against the decal paper , then the decal applied as usual.
Dry Transfer Lettering
Various manufacturers have marketed this product over the years. Letraset was probably the best known product on the market. It is still available, but probably not as common no that computer printing is available.
Dry transfer lettering comes on a wax paper like sheet with all the lettering in vinyl affixed to the sheet. It may come as alphabets or pre made designs. The back of the vinyl has a pressure sensitive coating that sticks the lettering to the model. Matte finish paint is best for this type of lettering because it provides tooth for the lettering to hold to.
Begin by deciding where you want the lettering to be. Draw a faint pencil line across the model where the base of the lettering is to be. Place the semi transparent sheet over the model with the base of the letter on the pencil line. Using a ball point pen begin rubbing the letter to until you have covered the whole letter. Hold the wax paper to the model with one or more fingers. Gently pull the paper back to reveal the letter and to be sure it has properly transferred. If not place the paper back down again and give the letter a few more rubs in the area it is lifting.
This can be a tedious job that is very difficult to do well. The letters tend not to be evenly spaced nor even on the pencil line, or the surface of the model is variable and it makes it hard to get the lettering on smoothly. An alternative is to look back to our waterslide transfer decal. Using the blank decal sheet, place it on a firm surface (desk top). Mark a faint pencil line on the decal sheet as before. Now transfer the lettering to the decal sheet. The pencil line on a white paper background is much easier to see through the semi transparent carrier material. You are working on a flat easy to use surface with good light. The result can come out much better. This is applied as the water slide decal above. It’s also beneficial for getting lettering over uneven surfaces, something almost impossible to do by using the direct transfer method.




blank water slide decal material being used to accept dry transfer lettering

Vinyl backed lettering
This seems to be a popular item in Britain from what I’ve seen. The products from BECC are certainly nice. They are not as common over here.
Here lettering is printed on a vinyl film. The film makes up the whole sheet of lettering. As in the water slide decals cut the vinyl decal out as close to the printing as possible. Remove it from the surface of the backing and apply to the model. Its much quicker than the water slide method, however, it leaves the raised vinyl edge that it is visible after application, plus the vinyl sheen of the decal. In order to attempt to reduce the effects of both these drawbacks I’ve applied Testors dull coat over the decal after application. It works reasonably well in blending the decal into the back ground.
I’ve applied this decal over a matte surface. It worked fine, but I suspect it would improve with application over a glossy surface.


The depth markings are a BECC product

The Smit herald was placed on the stack
Another form of vinyl lettering is available through sign makers these days. The image is computer generated, then cut out of a vinyl material that is back with a protective paper and a clear wax paper material on the outside or top of the lettering. This is good because you can have just about any shape cut out of vinyl, and in various colours, that the computer is capable of generating. I’ve found the cost to be reasonable too.
To apply them, tape one end of the decal top paper to the model. Being sure the decal is in line with where you want it to go, slowly remove the backing paper from the decal and press the letters down as you go. By the time you have all the backing paper removed the letters should be set into place. Go over the top covering to ensure all the lettering is pressed down completely, and then remove the top paper. Pull it back slowly at a sharp angle to the model. This will reduce the strain on the letters and reduce the chances of them being lifted from the model.
If you feel you will want to move the lettering around , as you apply it, to get it in the correct place, cover the application are with soapy water. Remove the backing paper from the decal and place on the are to receive the lettering. Don’t press down, but slide the decal around until you’re happy. Then press the lettering down to the surface with a plastic squeegee or similar. Remove the top paper and clean up. Job done
Hopefully this will give you some ideas on making your model lettering a bit easier.
John