I finally had a chance to try out the Decal Fixative that came with the package...

FIRST -- This compound uses turpentine for thinning and clean-up, so I can at least say the smell was not unpleasant. It is, after all, concentrated pine spirits. It's certainly a lot better than the odor of acrylic spray. However...

SECOND -- To use this compound effectively, you need a dedicated paint room, with every possible dust-removal system operating. You do not want to use this compound out in the open, or as I'm forced to do, out in the carport. ANY cat hair, dog hair, cobweb, or other airborne nusance WILL find its way onto the decal and contaminate it...

THIRD -- The only good way to apply this compound is highly thinned, and sprayed with a full-blown Campbell-Hausfeld spray gun or detail gun, and not any kind of airbrush. You need volume, not pressure, for this task. The recommended method from Papilio involves the use of foam cosmetic wedges (ask your wives, they'll probably have whole packages of these...) to spread the liquid around. Trust me, this is NOT the best way to apply the compound. It IS the most messy and least-satisfying way to apply it. I believe I have ruined two full decal sheets with this stuff trying to apply it both with an airbrush (experimenting, of course...) and with the foam wedges. The liquid is still too viscus, even cut 60/40 with turpentine.

I am still waiting for these sheets to dry, but I'm not holding my breath for success. What I am likely to do is print these sheets again, but go back to the tried-and-true acrylic spray method of sealing the decals; I will probably stick with this method until I can get my 'big gun' involved. The thing is, before I spray another batch of the fixative, I still need the dust-free environment, and I need to be spraying ten or fifteen sheets of decals to justify the quantity of compound I'd have to mix up.

So, my conclusion to this series of reports is that Bel Decal has slipped in quality to last place, with no obvious quality control procedure to catch bad sheets from leaving their warehouse. Papilio decal sheets seem to be a better decal at the present time, with more variety of products available from this company than Bel. SuperCal is at least twice as expensive as either Papilio or Bel, without the variety. I have not used SuperCal sheets yet, and may have to try them out at some time in the future.

Also, the Lexmark printers can be used sucsessfully with the Papilio sheets, but not perfectly. There are blemishes that are due entirely to the printer which you may either have to 'live with' or move up to a more expensive printer. One trick I found out which does work better with the Lexmark is to set the printer for transparencies instead of treated. The paper is drawn into the machine slowly, instead of rapidly, which tends to knock the sheet out of alignment.

I will also try out the Epson printer with these Papilio sheets later, when I have another batch handy. The Epson ink is already waterproof, which means you should be able to cut into the decal and not have any 'bleed' problem.

I do not recommend the Papilio decal fixative at this time. Stick with the acrylic spray cans -- it's easier and neater to work with.

Craig...