Have you guys tried these things?

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Most of us have been around a long time with these wonderful toy cars, so when something really unusual shows up as an improvement, it gets tried by lots of folks pretty quickly. Well, when I planned this project, these film stick-on decalish things were quite new and Patto had started cranking them out. With all this "sit still and be nice to your heart" stuff going on, I decided to get the car and stickers out and see what I could do. They aren't cut!!!! You know how some decals have to be close cropped when you use them because they are like one big sheet of decal? They have been around for years and years now. Well, all the sticker type things I tried in the past were cut close, and you just slipped a knife blade tip under the edge, lifted the very thin sticker and put it on, simple. Well these are much thicker, are one sheet of film, and when you cut them out (a big PIA), they are almost impossible to detach from the backing paper. I can't believe more people aren't screaming about these things. I have ordered replacement water slide decals for this project that is now years old, so I'll wait to get started again. phooey.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Hmmmmmm....the ones I have do have to cut out, yes abit tedious. But release issues? Not on my sheets.

Then again they are newer, not sure that makes the difference.

[Ember]

Admittedly, Patto could be using a better grade of vinyl to print on. From memory he's using Avery 2100, where he'd be better off using one of the finer grades intended for automotive applications because they are much more conformable. He prints to vinyl sheets exactly the same as he does to the water slide decal sheets. No, they are not pre-cut as he doesn't have a vinyl cutter. The print and cut would require a completely different machine to what he currently uses.

No one screams about having to cut out decals. When I was using water slide decals as a kid they were screen printed with top coating. You didn't have to cut them out either.

Problems releasing from the silicon paper backing sheet probably have something to do with the age of the vinyl. Or else you could be cutting too deeply. The best way to handle the vinyl sticker prints is not to cut them out completely as you would a decal, but lightly cut on the sheet with a fresh sharp blade only using enough force to go through the vinyl layer and not damage the silicon paper beneath. Once you've done it a few times it is easy to gauge the force (or lack of) required.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

[Ember]

It probably isn't anywhere. It's my recommendation after having worked with the stuff on 1:1 cars for 7 years. ;)

You wouldn't be able to get the water slide decals to conform to those curves without application of solvents. Similarly the vinyl would need heating to soften it. Apply it to the deepest part of the curves first and work outwards from there with the assistance of a hairdryer to soften and allow stretch where required.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I'll experiment with them again tomorrow. Cutting them out with scissors pinches the edges together, making peeling impossible.

[Ember]

I'd never cut anything with scissors for pretty much that reason. It squishes things before it gets far enough to cut. Just the nature of scissors.

[chris]

Hi, if you are going to do that Jaguar XJ220, I did that very livery on a Scalex version over Easter using Pattos waterslide decals.

They were brilliant, easy to apply and no colour bleed through the white.

Chris.

[TheRoadrunner]

Sounds like you got stuck with someones homeprinted sticker sheets. You can print your own for a more custom livery if you like. The factory made sheets have been printed and then die cut so they will just peel off. You could die cut your sheets, but at $90 per die it isn't worth the cost unless you are making a production run to sell.
I am not a fan of pattos decals, you can make better yourself. I tried them once and was unimpressed to the point of removing them all and researching making my own. Now I make all my own decals.

[SRQSloter]

[Austin]

I have just stayed away form the newer Dacals that he has

[waaytoomuchintothis]