# Trouble with decals



## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I'm having trouble with some decals I printed up. Some of them go on just fine, but some of them keep rolling up instead of laying flat. They're all cut from the same sheet, so it's not due to difference in materials. I've tried using Micro Set and Micro Sol, but neither of these products seems to help at all. 

What can I do to make these decals lie flat?


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

What can I do to make these decals lie flat? 
Send 'em to Congress. 

(wait, that's if you want them to flat-out lie...) 

The decals themselves are curling up? Try painting a thin coat of Future floor wax (clear acrylic) then "gluing" the decals to that. I've had to do that from time to time when the decals wouldn't stick. It's not an ideal solution, but it saves having to order more decals. 

Later, 

K


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## steam5 (Jun 22, 2008)

I have had this before. 

I just slowly brushed solverset on the decal and let it dry, if it started to curl I brushed it down again. Only giving it a very light (just a wet brush, no drips) coating of solverset seemed to slow it curling. After a few light coatings they stayed down nicely. 

Alan


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

Well, I'm no help. I haven't used a water slide decal since about the 5th grade.


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Del Tapparo on 15 Mar 2010 07:47 PM 
Well, I'm no help. I haven't used a water slide decal since about the 5th grade.







Wow......... That's a loooooooooong, long time ago....










Ray, you might try to coat them with a couple of light coats of Krylon Crystal Clear satin before soaking them in the release water.... Just curious, were they inkjet or laser printed? Also, what surfaces are you applying them too...


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

While I've never had this problem, one of the suggestions in Stan's directions (with his decals) is to paint the area to be decaled with thin coat of water (add a couple of drops of liquid detergent to a cup of water). This really helps hold down the decal. It also allows you to be able to easily slide the decal around to its proper position. Then gently brush any surface water away from the decal. It may be necessary to hold it in position with a finger during this step.


Is the surface glossy of a flat matte? Decals will stick better to a glossy surface. 


Chuck 


PS: I've been applying decals for about 60 years. By far the easiest decals I ever applied were the ones Stan made for my ore cars last summer. The decals were great, but the instructions were better. They all (28 cars) went down without a hitch.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Ray, 
Forgive me if I am saying things that you already know! 
Since some are working fine and others not, I would suggest that it is NOT the decal itself. 
Having said that, I am assuming that they are all being treated the same way. 
For the decals that I use, I use warm water for about 10 seconds, remove and let sit for a few seconds before sliding off the backing. 
Always apply to a smooth glossy surface and use the side of my little finger to remove air bubbles. 
Then smooth and press down with a lint free paper towel. 
They have always laid down flat for me. 
If the surface is not glossy, they will not stick properly. 
Could this be what is happening with some of yours? 
Another thought is that this is a bad batch of paper that does not have any glue on some of it! 
All the best, 
David Leech, Delta, Canada


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## Ralph Berg (Jun 2, 2009)

I've had trouble with the edges of decals curling when using the "white" waterslide paper on a laser printer. The" white" paper is much thicker than the "clear"( blue) waterslide paper.
I keep a small, wet brush handy to work the edges back down.
Ralph


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I think the relative humidity has something to do with it, or perhaps the temperature. Because I'd do some in the morning and they'd go on fine, then I'd have trouble with them in the late afternoon. Later in the evening, they'd be fine again. Anyway, I took to using a little acrylic medium on the ones that were curling -- either gloss or matte, depending on whether I was applying the label to a bottle or a box.


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