Soapy, Wet and Wild

[George House]

About 2 months ago, about the time I took possession of my self designed and professionally manufactured T trailer, someone on this Forum asked the best way to apply large T club decals. Several Forum Friends advised wet soapy trailer sides and decal. I did this and had an easy time applying the decals and ensuring their ‘straightness’.
Now that I’ve displayed my colors I feel like a Detroit gangsta.... and there’s room for 1 more - HCCA

[jiminbartow]

When I used to work for Mulberry Railcar Repair, we painted Railcars and, on many, had to apply decals onto the cars. Some of these decals were as long as the railcars, but were divided into smaller, but still large sections that were joined together to make the bigger decal. The decal location was measured evenly from the bottom edge of the railcar. We did not use a level in case the railcar was parked on an incline. The decal had to be perfectly level on the body of the railcar, as it was visible wherever the car went. The decal location was marked with pencil. We attended a class on how to apply them and, as you say, it involved spraying soapy water (we used Dawn) onto the decal and on massive railcar sides. This allowed us to move the applied decal around on the slick surface to make sure it was level and all the wrinkles and bubbles were removed. Once we got it flat, we removed the water from under the decal by starting at the center and, with a rubber bladed squeegee, smoothing the decal down by working toward the edges until all the soapy water was removed. Once the soapy water was removed, the decal was there for good. No room for mistakes as those decals cost a fortune. Jim Patrick

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[Rich P. Bingham]

Impressive, Jim !

50 years in the sign trade, the God almighty computer turned me from a painter into a paper-hanger 20 years ago. A word about "soapy water", not much is necessary to break surface tension so water will flow rather than bead up. 3:1 water to denatured alcohol and a capful of dish soap in a gallon works well for decals less than freight-train size. The alcohol makes the water evaporate quicker which is helpful on smaller transfers.