applying Stickers

[Philpp]

First I want to clear out that I don´t want to tell anybody how do to something! This is my personal experience. I´m a newby here and I am going to ask a lot, so with this I can maybe give a tiny bit of knowledge back.

Often when I look at assembled sets, I´m disturbed with how ugly grown up people put the stickers on. For instance I am looking for some used Technic Sets at Ebay, most have stickers applied oblique instead of straight.

I have also struggled to position stickers exactly until I restored my RL car, a youngtimer wich has lettering in form of stickers. My buddy who did the paintjob showed me how to do it right: You have to make the surface of the part you want to apply the sticker to wet! Use water with a little bit of dish liquid, thats needed to lower the surface tension to get a evenly wet surface, otherwise you have just single drops. Then put on the Sticker and you have enough time to exacly position it by simple slipping it. Don´t be afraid, the water doesn´t damage the sticking surface. Then just rub with a soft cloth to get the rest of the wate out and it will stick perfectly. I have driven the car 12 years since I´ve restored them, hot sun in summer, salt in winter, stickers still look like new (which is because the are good quality, but it also shows that applying them wet didn´t damage them.

 

I´ve done exactly this with 42079 and 42094, stickers look perfect, it´´s very easy! If you put a sticker on dry and because the position is not exactly perfect you reposition it, then you will damage the sticking surface!

To preserve stickers, it would be best to paint them over with clear varnish, but that seems to be a no go in the Lego community. I think hairspray would be a compromise, it won´t last forever but it will definetly give the stickers a longer lifetime.

 

[Johnny1360]

52 minutes ago, Philpp said:

First I want to clear out that I don´t want to tell anybody how do to something! This is my personal experience. I´m a newby here and I am going to ask a lot, so with this I can maybe give a tiny bit of knowledge back.

Often when I look at assembled sets, I´m disturbed with how ugly grown up people put the stickers on. For instance I am looking for some used Technic Sets at Ebay, most have stickers applied oblique instead of straight.

I have also struggled to position stickers exactly until I restored my RL car, a youngtimer wich has lettering in form of stickers. My buddy who did the paintjob showed me how to do it right: You have to make the surface of the part you want to apply the sticker to wet! Use water with a little bit of dish liquid, thats needed to lower the surface tension to get a evenly wet surface, otherwise you have just single drops. Then put on the Sticker and you have enough time to exacly position it by simple slipping it. Don´t be afraid, the water doesn´t damage the sticking surface. Then just rub with a soft cloth to get the rest of the wate out and it will stick perfectly. I have driven the car 12 years since I´ve restored them, hot sun in summer, salt in winter, stickers still look like new (which is because the are good quality, but it also shows that applying them wet didn´t damage them.

 

 

Yes even TLG recommends this method. 

I always get a kick out of how poorly the stickers are positioned on display models at my local LEGO store. Then again I am very picky as well and insist on perfection with my own models. 

Edited March 19, 2019 by Johnny1360

[Philpp]

2 hours ago, Johnny1360 said:

Yes even TLG recommends this method.

Didn´t know that, where do you get such information?

One thing I want to add: If you apply stickers wet and want to cover it with varnish, hairspray or whatever, let them dry first for a few hours!

[MAB]

Yeah, nothing new. I've done this on important stickers for years. LEGO recommends a little window cleaner spray, but same idea - the surfactant lets the sticker slide until you are happy with it.

https://www.lego.com/en-AU/service/help-topics/fun-for-fans/behind-the-scenes/brick-facts/apply-decals

 

[Plastikean]

I'm wondering if the soap & water method also works well to re-position stickers that are already applied—for example, the ones you put on crooked because you didn't know about this method yet. 

(And does it make a difference whether they've been applied for a couple of weeks, versus several years?)