Lessons learned. Plates done (finally).

12th - 28th September 2021

Crochet project....

Sorry for they delay in the final installment of the lemon plates (finally, right?). Are you sick of these yet? I was distracted by making a crochet pouch and a handbag. Learning new stitches is fun too.  Yes, I have too many hobbies

...had learned a new stitch.

I ended up buying the decal paper off Amazon after looking at more reviews of different kinds of decal paper for inkjet printers. Altho this one cost a bit more, the reviews were better.  

The tips were pretty simple and I’ve added my own here :

• Print the images to the size you need (look up how to size your images - I use Pages on my Mac which gives me the exact dimensions of an image when clicking on it and sizing) on optimum dpi (at least 300) and high quality paper setting (they even say use glossy setting if you have it). Remember that any part of the image that is white will remain clear on the decal. So if you are applying a decal on a white surface it will be white - if you are applying on a surface that is off white or a different color, it will be that color.
• Spray a finishing clear acrylic sealant on the image. Be sure to let each coat of sealant dry thoroughly. Make at least 3 coats and be sure to spray moving in opposite directions between each coat. Be sure to let it dry even for the day after to be sure the colors will not bleed out. Try not to have droplets form. I sprayed my sheet inside a box so as not to spray everywhere in my attic room. Make sure you have windows open as the spray is quite smelly and toxic.
• Cut the images as close to the edges as possible. I made my first test on the tiles and the edges were easily turned overlapping on the bottom edge (if you don’t let it dry a bit, the decal will rip so be careful).
• Drop the decal images in room temp water wrong side down (the paper I bought has the brand logo on the wrong side). The decal will curl while the underside paper absorbs the water.  I expected from feedback on the product that it would be very difficult to remove the decal but it wasn’t - just wait long enough for the paper to become softened and unattach from the decal side (I noticed the whole decal just starts to sink). I did notice a little bit of bleeding in the water but only when I had moved on to the next step.
• Cover the surface where the decal will be transferred with water. I used a brush and made sure there was enough water on the surface to be able to manipulate the decal into position. Course it matters how you position from the get go - do your best to get it right the first time so you don’t have to manipulate the position of the decal so much. It took me a few tries.
• Use your moistened fingers to delicately push down the image a bit to get it to confirm to the plate and remove any air or water bubbles that may have formed on the underside. If you put enough water on the top of the decal while doing this, there should be no bubbles eventually under the decal. Be careful no to push too hard on the surface as it will tear.
• Let the decals dry sufficiently before adding any kind of further sealant or gloss finish.
  

Printed page of plates on decal paper.

Spraying the page inside a box to minimize the mess.

 

Floating the decal

Decaling each tile.

Finished tiles. Will use them somewhere in the house.

Plates. Less successful ones on top.

First trial. You can see where the decal rips and folds in places.

I did my best on some of them trying to get them centered but not all went perfectly. I am using permanent colored markers and acrylic paint to finish the edges a bit and the backs where I want them to be colored. I brushed some a gloss varnish for shine front and back.

Painting the back of one. The plate was not smooth anyway.

I’m fairly pleased with the final result and now have a bunch of ideas of things I can do in the limonaia house with decals.  Perhaps on the windows or even sections of the walls? It was worth learning this. I had a lot of fun with it.  Next, back to the painting and construction of the limonaia.

Finished plates thus far.

Three that I like the final result.