MFH Guide to Applying Decals

[Hugeprong]

An interesting article appeared yesterday on MFH's main webpage regarding the application of MFH decals. It states that you should put their 1/12 decals into boiling water (95 - 100 Degrees Celcius) as this softens them properly before application.

Has anyone any experience of using water this hot on their decal sets?? It sounds rather extreme.

I have plenty of experience of MFH decals cracking when applied over curves or edges and I believe I am not alone with this issue. I now wonder if it was because I had only used warm, rather than boiling, water?

[daniel]

I don't use boiling water...first it sounds a little extreme and also I have fear killing the decals immediately or burn my fingers.
But I use a hairdryer with complicated decals and it works perfect. But it's also a little extreme because decals get very soft and fragile but it will lay down perfect.
This technique needs a little practice and confidence

[gp-models]

Personaly i would not like it to be soft when i apply them, should cause problems too. Like Daniel i`m using a hairdryer before starting to lay them down to complex surfaces, but even this works not allways. If this not works, i take a cotton swab and dip it into water, then i press it on a heated solder iron for a few seconds and start to press it on the decal. This brings partly enough heat into the decal to soften it for a short time period, just enough to lay the decal down. Still using softener as well.
Quiet often the decals crack when put into water, especially larger ones when they are old, this is worst case and if so, i apply a coat of clear straight onto the decal before using it. Had decals which fall into hundreds of pieces after putting them into water, total nightmare!

[Hugeprong]

Yes - I normally use a hair-dryer and setting solutions too.

I have never even TRIED to use boiling water but I just wonder if MFH expect you to use it and so print extra-thick decals.

I am certainly not going to try this - despite the fact that it is on MFH's website - unless someone has had success with this method!

[jaydar]

I agree with you all. Never tried boiling water. I do have a question about the hair dryer. ARe you talking about warming the decal after it is out of the water but still on the sheet or after it is in location on the car?

thanks,

joe.

[daniel]

I use the hairdryer as a "setting solution". I use the normal techniqes...warm water to remove the decals from the paper....microset/sol and for extreme curves I use a hairdryer to really make the decal soft BUT be careful when moving the soft decal it can easily wrinkle and when cooled down in the wrong moment and can be "unwrinkable". But I never had any accidents so far.
It's a steady proces betwenn softening the decal with setting solutiuon and hot air and colling it down again

I just the hairdryer a lot on this build here: https://www.f1m.com/forum/viewtopic.php ... lit=toyota so the CF decal would conform even to the wildest forms. Worked amazingly well...

[Jordan2.0]

Well...fact is, you should never use a hairdryer or boiling water.With those expensive kits should com decent decals.Problem solved !

Alex.

[ah100m]

I've had to use a hairdryer sometimes on Cartograf decals so you use what tools you need. Can someone experiment with an extra MFH decal (from an unused version) on a "test mule" to see what boiling water does?

[tubegenius]

Well...fact is, you should never use a hairdryer or boiling water.With those expensive kits should com decent decals.Problem solved !

Alex.

My sentiments exactly.

[gp-models]

Yes, the hairdryer comes to work after i placed the decal to the model, not on the paper sheet. This is what i was pointing with saying i don`t like it to be soft when i try to apply them. When it is soft on the sheet, you might get into trouble when placing it to the model. You can work from the middel of the decal to the outside, or start on the outside and work your way all over the decal. With the cotton swab you will not get into trouble cause you have more control over the heat and wrinkeling like a hairdryer which heats up the complete decal and it softens the decal much more like a hairdryer, but only partly which gives you more time to work on it. Even those decals on which a hairdryer is not working can be applied with this method, MVC (Marcus) had good success to rescue his door decal of his MFH P4 build where the hairdryer did not work. Another thing is that you can blow the decal from the model with the hairdryer, had such moments on my 1:43 builds, so i spend a bit more time and went over to the cotton swab.