Hello, first time poster, long time lurker. I had purchased a couple of WDW undec Cylindrical Hopper sets, and researched for a week or so on how I wanted to decorate them. After that week, and hashing over the saved proto imagess.... I could not reach a decision. So my decision was going to be based on a fun project... if the concept did not work out, no harm do foul. And here is what I came up with. The bodies are chrome with red walk way, end caps, and trucks. On three of the hoppers I replaced the MTL plastic wheels with FVM metal wheels, which make these babies roll smoothly. And I need to replenish my metal wheel sets. Being the first time to decal a curved surface, I learned that chrome paint is unforgiving with rub marks. But, the decals I think were enhanced with the chrome base. The bow tie was an experiment to test a white background decal, since I do not have an Alps printer. So if I do more of these, I may stay with an old trick of white painting the body for the pass through portion. With the decals that I made, I can make two more cars with differant road numbers. John K.
Boy oh boy what a way to arrive they certainly look fantastic and will stand out in the consist on any road. Congrats and welcome cheerz Garth
It's an absolutely gorgeous paint and decal job, especially after learning your decals were printed via an inkjet printer. Tell us more about the type of paint you used, also the preparation, because I never had any luck with chrome paints.
Thank you for the comments everyone. I usually use a primer for the MTL & Marklin cars that I repaint, but I was afraid of loosing detail with the extra coat of paint. I did not use my Floquils for the hoppers this time. I used Krylon Short-Cuts (hobby/craft) chrome paint on one hopper, and checked it out for a day or so before painting the rest. Since the decals were on a flat surface, I did not have to use much Microsol. I was chatting with John M. the other night and thought I would like to try metal foiling a car or two to see how they would turn out. I don't think I would have to do the whole car, just the sidings. John K.
Doing a flat coat spray before decalling or dry transfers is one way to avoid the troubles with metalic paints and then you can use gloss coat to top off to restore the shine. cheerz Garth
I dont like to clear coat silver paint. They seem to lose the luster after you clear coat it. I just use a future to seal the edges of the decal so they dont lift off.
Not to be argumentative, but decals should be applied to a gloss surface to avoid "silvering" and then if desire clear coated with desired sheen. Applying decals to a "flat" finish causes tiny pockets of air to be trapped between the decal and the surface which creates the "silvering."
That's true for optimum performance you should use a gloss coat first before appliing decals but I have on several occasions had good results without using a gloss coat. What I have learned the hard way is not to use dullcote on silver decals or models. After having problems I happened to read the can & it specifically says"do not spray over high luster silver,gold,copper or chrome coatings". Just goes to show it pays to read the label!!
Thank you for the uplifting comments on the hoppers. Mainly I use Paint, Microsoft Digital Image Pro 10, Nitro PDF Professional when I create/cleanup text or graphics, and create my decal layout. I have a few other apps that I use from time to time. For my printing, I have an HP Photosmart 6380 All-in-one and a HP LaserJet 1200. If I am printing all black decals like the Muncie Ball Jar cars, I will use my laser printer. I am thinking of upgrading my laser printer to a Color LaserJet one of these days... But I still get a bug to buy an Alps printer, but I am afraid of it breaking down or the white ink cartridges not being produced any more. John K.
