Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So I've put little big men studios decals on my Gripping beast teutonic knight's shield(painted with an oil based paint) and within 24 hours the ink in the decal has leached and turned tinted allt he yellow and the edges of the black red. Has anyone else had this issue and/or how do i make sure this does not happen again?

On a guess, the decal is leeching oil out of the paint. Sealing it with a coat of varnish before applying the decal would probably be the way to go.

Cheers Insaniak
I guess as i want to order some more decals anyway (because i used all the ones i liked the most and they have all gone red) i might as well have a play around and see what works.

Okay I've tried 2 different types of varnish (testors dull coat) and a much more gentle timber floor polish and both oil and acrylic based paints. I've tried glueing the decal down with the clear plastic in place to provide protection. Still getting the hazy reddened line effect.

This seems to be happening soon after I remove the sticker. I have an idea that it might do with the relatively high humidity in the air. But there is nothing I can really do about that but wait till the weather clear up.

I put varnish on the shield first to stop any reaction between decal and paint, and the only thing it did was stopped the decal from leaving behind adhesive or damaging the white paint underneath when I tore the ruined decal off and threw it in the bin. So I'd definitely recommend doing this if you suspect you're going to have this issue.

I'm sort of quite annoyed, as on one hand the decals look really nice, and on the other I cannot seem to get good results with something seemingly no-one else is having trouble with.

the tutorial for decals that I remember seeing said to apply a varnish first to create a smooth surface, then apply the decal, then varnish again to seal it in.

As for the color bleed, if it's happening even with a varnish coat between it and other paint, then perhaps you are leaving it damp too long or perhaps it was just a bad batch of transfers?

Are you sure the product isn’t faulty?

Oh and a potentially useful trick I just remembered seeing some Youtube painters use is a fan or hairdryer on low or cool to speed up the paint drying. If you are seeing the color bleed only after some time during the drying process, this might help prevent it by drying quickly before it bleeds. Just make sure to be extra careful if you use anything blowing hot air at the models, as high heat will eventually melt them. Resin also gets soft fairly quickly, so I don't recommend applying any heat to resin models. If you want to try this, I recommend starting with a small desk fan and simply placing the model(s) in front of it, but an extra quick and safe way you might already have would be a hairdryer with a cool or cold air setting. Just hold the model and turn it under the hairdryer.

The shields themselves are white metal.

As the only use of water is to dampen the cardboard to remove it easily from the decal easily I used minimal water(applying small amounts with a brush till it softened enough), and dried the outside surface of the decal. This is why I think it might be just the humidity, I do live in a moist tropical area.

This has happened with decals from 3 different transfer sheets, so I don't think it's that the decals are faulty.

I might dampen the cardboard with something like turpentine next. If the effect is worse it might indicate the issue. If there's no reddening that's a bonus, and if it is the same well it lends to the humidity hypothesis.

If it is the humidity, definitely try quick drying it with a fan or hairdryer then applying the second varnish coat and quick drying that too. That should keep it from being wet long enough to bleed.