Water slide decal curls up

[GGBB]

Seems the glue is not that good after all.

You can use white glue - thinly - to re-glue if needed.

[chip]

How did you burnish it back? Some more water?

Very little water.

My main tools when putting a decal on are the backing paper from the decal and a few scraps of ripped paper towel (specifically ripped, because the ripped edges suck up water like crazy). I use the backing paper first to squeegee the big bubbles out while it's still quite wet, then switch to paper towels to do things like get the water out of the backs of the holes and gently make sure that the decal is adhered and aligned.

When I come back in a few minutes and find that the edges have started to lift, I use the bits of paper towel that I used in the previous step which are still damp, but not soaking wet, and just push the edges down.

I will say that using a laser printer, so it may be different for inkjet...this is all counter to what I learned when I was making plastic model kits, where the slightest amount of fussing with a decal seemed to ruin it. I don't know if I can get away with it on pedals because of this paper or if the toner from my laser printer is tougher than what's on commercially-made plastic model decals or what, but it took me a while to accept that I could touch it this much without destroying it. That may or may not be the case on inkjet labels sealed with acrylic...not sure.

[matopotato]

Seems the glue is not that good after all.

You can use white glue - thinly - to re-glue if needed.

Looking at what white glue would br here in Europe, I get most hits on what would be wood-glue or school-glue.
Is that really fully transparent after drying?

[GGBB]

Looking at what white glue would br here in Europe, I get most hits on what would be wood-glue or school-glue.
Is that really fully transparent after drying?

It might or might not say on the label that it dries clear - in my experience it does. It's used a lot for crafts so you might also find it as white craft glue. The one I have Tacky Glue which doesn't say that it dries clear, but their website says "Dries permanent and clear – won't yellow over time."

[PRR]

Looking at what white glue would br here in Europe, I get most hits on what would be wood-glue or school-glue.

Yes. "White glue" would be "Elmers", with the cow on the label. Elmer's used to be casein from excess milk. Elmer was husband to Elsie The Cow. But post WWII all Elmer's products are non-milk. The White Glue (School Glue etc) are Polyvinyl acetate and "usually" dry clear. If yellow they say "carpenter glue".

[matopotato]

I've now done two batches and the first one looks well under way. It is at the boxing stage.
The second batch just came out of the water onto the enclosures.
When I was clear coating them after the printing to make the color survive the water bath, I had some issues with the spray cans and used a different nozzle (was a bad choice) that turned out to administer much more varnish. (Have since learned to wash nozzles in acetone to make them ok again if half clogged. Despite upside down cleaning after spraying).
So they allgot a thicker coating than intended. I could feel this when applying them as well.
Also, I thought I had cut them to size with some nice margin, but some were apparently a tiny bit too wide. Combined with the thick coating made some of them curl up on the edges "already" before final coating. So I plan to try sanding the edges down, if possible. Else I will have to re-print the whole thing again.
I haven't tried sanding with 2000 before, so I did a test on the backplate, and it seems to work well, although there are of course marks on the the enclosure paint. Will that go away when applying varnish later on?

EDIT: tested and varnish seems to take out the scratches from the paper. Will let it dry a day to confirm.

[amz-fx]

If I am using black laser print only, I do not clear coat it. The laser decal paper that I use is transparent so I flip the print to a mirror image before printing. Then when the decal comes off the paper in the water batch, it goes toner-side down on the pedal. I do not have trouble with curling but that might be due to the decal paper I have been using.

Here are a couple of pedals using this method: https://www.instagram.com/p/CmxQuSjrwwQ/

regards, Jack

[matopotato]

If I am using black laser print only, I do not clear coat it. The laser decal paper that I use is transparent so I flip the print to a mirror image before printing. Then when the decal comes off the paper in the water batch, it goes toner-side down on the pedal. I do not have trouble with curling but that might be due to the decal paper I have been using.

Here are a couple of pedals using this method: https://www.instagram.com/p/CmxQuSjrwwQ/

regards, Jack

Thanks!
I have decal side that I can print on, then the glue side against the paper. If I print on the paper side I doubt it will reach the decal as the paper is too thick. Removing the paper would make the film too flimsy. So not sure I could do tje same with what I've got.
But I appreciate your reply nonetheless 

[matopotato]

I have 600, 1000 and 1200 grit of wet sand paper. What would you recommend?

All of them in that order and even higher - 2000, 3000 - until you have an ultra smooth flat scratch free surface. With clear coats, you will see any scratches and sanding marks left in previous coats.

My test with clear coat looks promising.
But do you use water with the waterpaper when sanding the edges?
Wouldn't the decal itself begin to move or rip if it gets "re-wetted"?

[davent]

I became disillusioned with decals and switched to using a wet toner transfer method where a reversed image is laser jet printed on regular paper and transfer that, using artist's medium, to the enclosure.

https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=106302.0#msg961016

https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=106302.0#msg962413

https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=103578.0#msg924445

https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=113559.0#msg1051626

[Colman]

Thanks a lot for the tips.
The main difference as I see it is the wet sanding.
I never did this since I felt it would disturb the painted surface as most of my enclosures are powder-coated colored.
Also I felt that sanding the decal would probably destroy it.
But I am willing to try.
I have 600, 1000 and 1200 grit of wet sand paper. What would you recommend?

I also try to understand why the transparent ones are failing (~70% but there is also a time factor so could be worse) but the white based ones do not?

Don't use sandpaper .....use 0000 steel wool.....  lightly.I did a guitar sticker on a strat you can't tell it's home made.10 coats of clear at least with wool in between each coat except last coat.

[GGBB]

I have 600, 1000 and 1200 grit of wet sand paper. What would you recommend?

All of them in that order and even higher - 2000, 3000 - until you have an ultra smooth flat scratch free surface. With clear coats, you will see any scratches and sanding marks left in previous coats.

My test with clear coat looks promising.
But do you use water with the waterpaper when sanding the edges?
Wouldn't the decal itself begin to move or rip if it gets "re-wetted"?

Yes I wet-sand. The clearcoat should protect the decal from getting "re-wetted" as long as you don't sand through the clearcoat. This is why the first application of clearcoat needs to more than a thin layer (as I described earlier - three thin coats before sanding).