Need a new Waterslide Decal Manufacture

[peAk]

For years I have been using Papilio for the waterslide decal paper which was fantastic but it looks like they dont carry or stock it anymore.

So I ended up getting some Hayes Paper Waterslide Decal Paper from Amazon since it has a lot of great reviews but it's absolute crap. Stuff just friggin turns into sludge trying to get the backing off. Doesnt matter if you do a short dip in the water or a longer soak. I have been doing waterslides forever and know all the tricks but nothing worked. This stuff just isnt any good.

Anyway, just trying to see what people are using and having good results with.

Recommendations welcome!

[EBK]

I've gotten good results with Sunnyscopa decal stock.  I've only used the white kind of that brand though.

[harryklippton]

After reading this thread https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=29042.0. I'm going to try the sunnyscopa stuff as well but can't vouch for it just yet

[EBK]

Yes, I just realized it is the same company that makes the film-free decals.  That stuff is amazing.

[mauman]

Their name is hilarious, but I get an excellent waterslide from a US company called Blinggasm.  They carry laser and inkjet, clear and white.   Not sure who their ultimate supplier is, or if they make it themselves, but the quality is very reliable.  They're in Oregon.   https://www.blinggasm.com/Waterslide-And-Vinyl_c_57.html

[EBK]

I have some Blinggasm decals as well.  They've worked ok for me.  They seem thinner and wrinkle easy for me, but after I tell myself to calm down, I can usually (not always) get them flat before arriving at the you've-messed-with-it-for-too-long stage.

[cooder]

I like the Sunnyscopa clear film stuff and had good results with it.

[gordo]

I really like the Smallbear clear laser but I just put in an order for 10 sheets of the Blinggasm stuff. Gave me an excuse to snag the alcohol ink sampler as well.

[CodeMonk]

I ordered some off of Amazon from a company called Hayes Paper Company...
https://www.amazon.com/Hayes-Paper-Waterslide-Water-Slide-Printable/dp/B07F26V391/ref=pd_rhf_ee_s_rp_c_2_0_4/141-2835431-3456007?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07F26V391&pd_rd_r=4b669a03-e5ad-4b58-8f44-31392626bb17&pd_rd_w=twbph&pd_rd_wg=l2iV0&pf_rd_p=45ea3989-28e2-45c9-97ac-7e99f613a91b&pf_rd_r=BPJ3VS2QZ7VA4T5Z7HVS&psc=1&refRID=BPJ3VS2QZ7VA4T5Z7HVS

Haven't tried it yet, so I can't speak for the quality. But that company came up high on a review/comparison of several different waterslide decal manufacturers.

[peAk]

I ordered some off of Amazon from a company called Hayes Paper Company...
https://www.amazon.com/Hayes-Paper-Waterslide-Water-Slide-Printable/dp/B07F26V391/ref=pd_rhf_ee_s_rp_c_2_0_4/141-2835431-3456007?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07F26V391&pd_rd_r=4b669a03-e5ad-4b58-8f44-31392626bb17&pd_rd_w=twbph&pd_rd_wg=l2iV0&pf_rd_p=45ea3989-28e2-45c9-97ac-7e99f613a91b&pf_rd_r=BPJ3VS2QZ7VA4T5Z7HVS&psc=1&refRID=BPJ3VS2QZ7VA4T5Z7HVS

Haven't tried it yet, so I can't speak for the quality. But that company came up high on a review/comparison of several different waterslide decal manufacturers.

read my original post, hopefully it (Hayes) works better for you than it did for me. I, too, was excited by the reviews but the stuff just didnt work great for me. After I had such a bad experience, I went back to the reviews and read some of the negative reviews and it seems they were describing some of the exact issues I was having. Basically whether you leave in the water for 10 second or even 60 seconds, the backing doesnt come off well and the decal begins to deform and basically become mush before you get it off. It's possible its a batch issue so hopefully you will have better luck. If you run into the same thing and figure out a solution, I am all ears. I still have 14 sheets of this stuff left.

edit: just to be clear, the Hayes I used was the clear waterslide, not the white like you linked. You may have better results.

I went ahead and ordered some Sunnyscopa and will give that a go.

Thanks for the recommendations, guys.

[Aentons]

I ordered some off of Amazon from a company called Hayes Paper Company...
https://www.amazon.com/Hayes-Paper-Waterslide-Water-Slide-Printable/dp/B07F26V391/ref=pd_rhf_ee_s_rp_c_2_0_4/141-2835431-3456007?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07F26V391&pd_rd_r=4b669a03-e5ad-4b58-8f44-31392626bb17&pd_rd_w=twbph&pd_rd_wg=l2iV0&pf_rd_p=45ea3989-28e2-45c9-97ac-7e99f613a91b&pf_rd_r=BPJ3VS2QZ7VA4T5Z7HVS&psc=1&refRID=BPJ3VS2QZ7VA4T5Z7HVS

Haven't tried it yet, so I can't speak for the quality. But that company came up high on a review/comparison of several different waterslide decal manufacturers.

read my original post, hopefully it (Hayes) works better for you than it did for me. I, too, was excited by the reviews but the stuff just didnt work great for me. After I had such a bad experience, I went back to the reviews and read some of the negative reviews and it seems they were describing some of the exact issues I was having. Basically whether you leave in the water for 10 second or even 60 seconds, the backing doesnt come off well and the decal begins to deform and basically become mush before you get it off. It's possible its a batch issue so hopefully you will have better luck. If you run into the same thing and figure out a solution, I am all ears. I still have 14 sheets of this stuff left.

edit: just to be clear, the Hayes I used was the clear waterslide, not the white like you linked. You may have better results.

I went ahead and ordered some Sunnyscopa and will give that a go.

Thanks for the recommendations, guys.

Could the water account for the differences? Tap, bottled ,distilled, etc

[peAk]

I ordered some off of Amazon from a company called Hayes Paper Company...
https://www.amazon.com/Hayes-Paper-Waterslide-Water-Slide-Printable/dp/B07F26V391/ref=pd_rhf_ee_s_rp_c_2_0_4/141-2835431-3456007?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07F26V391&pd_rd_r=4b669a03-e5ad-4b58-8f44-31392626bb17&pd_rd_w=twbph&pd_rd_wg=l2iV0&pf_rd_p=45ea3989-28e2-45c9-97ac-7e99f613a91b&pf_rd_r=BPJ3VS2QZ7VA4T5Z7HVS&psc=1&refRID=BPJ3VS2QZ7VA4T5Z7HVS

Haven't tried it yet, so I can't speak for the quality. But that company came up high on a review/comparison of several different waterslide decal manufacturers.

read my original post, hopefully it (Hayes) works better for you than it did for me. I, too, was excited by the reviews but the stuff just didnt work great for me. After I had such a bad experience, I went back to the reviews and read some of the negative reviews and it seems they were describing some of the exact issues I was having. Basically whether you leave in the water for 10 second or even 60 seconds, the backing doesnt come off well and the decal begins to deform and basically become mush before you get it off. It's possible its a batch issue so hopefully you will have better luck. If you run into the same thing and figure out a solution, I am all ears. I still have 14 sheets of this stuff left.

edit: just to be clear, the Hayes I used was the clear waterslide, not the white like you linked. You may have better results.

I went ahead and ordered some Sunnyscopa and will give that a go.

Thanks for the recommendations, guys.

Could the water account for the differences? Tap, bottled ,distilled, etc

possibly but I havent had this type of issues with other waterslides in the past. I did use tap water, which is what I have always used, so there is a chance that this came into play. I've just never had a decal basically just start coming apart and deforming as I was sliding it off the backing. It just seemed that the decal was just too thin and/or the adhesive was too strong. I literally tried about 6 different decals, each with a different soak time, and the results were the same each time.

[gordo]

Sounds like they jacked up the media coating in manufacturing.  I imagine it would come apart if too thin.  I just got notice that my Blinggasm order should be here Tuesday and I have a 1590B to mark up so will report in.  I have to dig up the threads I saw on alcohol inks now, I seem to recall a few of them around here and really liking the way they looked.

[CodeMonk]

I ordered some off of Amazon from a company called Hayes Paper Company...
https://www.amazon.com/Hayes-Paper-Waterslide-Water-Slide-Printable/dp/B07F26V391/ref=pd_rhf_ee_s_rp_c_2_0_4/141-2835431-3456007?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07F26V391&pd_rd_r=4b669a03-e5ad-4b58-8f44-31392626bb17&pd_rd_w=twbph&pd_rd_wg=l2iV0&pf_rd_p=45ea3989-28e2-45c9-97ac-7e99f613a91b&pf_rd_r=BPJ3VS2QZ7VA4T5Z7HVS&psc=1&refRID=BPJ3VS2QZ7VA4T5Z7HVS

Haven't tried it yet, so I can't speak for the quality. But that company came up high on a review/comparison of several different waterslide decal manufacturers.

read my original post, hopefully it (Hayes) works better for you than it did for me. I, too, was excited by the reviews but the stuff just didnt work great for me. After I had such a bad experience, I went back to the reviews and read some of the negative reviews and it seems they were describing some of the exact issues I was having. Basically whether you leave in the water for 10 second or even 60 seconds, the backing doesnt come off well and the decal begins to deform and basically become mush before you get it off. It's possible its a batch issue so hopefully you will have better luck. If you run into the same thing and figure out a solution, I am all ears. I still have 14 sheets of this stuff left.

edit: just to be clear, the Hayes I used was the clear waterslide, not the white like you linked. You may have better results.

I went ahead and ordered some Sunnyscopa and will give that a go.

Thanks for the recommendations, guys.

I must admit, I didn't read your entire post.

But as soon as I can, I'll report back here my results.

I also get my water from a well.
City water may very well give different results. And possibly different results from city to city I would think.
But I'm no chemist so I have no idea if my thinking is correct, just trying to consider all the possible variables.

[gordo]

I got the Blinggasm clear laser and finally got a chance to try it out.  It was a total disaster until I got dialed into how it wants to work.  It's quite shiny and fingerprints tend to attract toner so be careful of that.  It requires a slightly longer soak time than most I've used but then it lets go around the edges REALLY fast.  Might be best to remove it from the water and let it sit on it's own for a while to complete the soak.  It's very thin and stretches fairly easily so doesn't like to be pushed around too much.  This is a good candidate for a soapy water on the enclosure to allow a bit more placement time.

So obviously this doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement, but honestly the stuff looks great once you get a handle on how it behaves.  There's a learning curve to every brand of decal stock so this wasn't a surprise.  I still like the SmallBear stuff better but this is also considerably cheaper so I'm considering it a win.

Here's the decal drying on a raw enclosure.  Very easy to get the air bubbles out from underneath so it IS as smooth as it looks:



I redid the Julia enclosure since I goofed up the text spacing and buggered up the decal.  This has a single coat of Rustoleum 2X satin clear:



And then while I'm at it, this is the sampler of alcohol inks I picked up from Blinggasm as well.  It's a combo of orange, yellow, magenta, and gold and this is my Porkbarrel PIF board I got last week.  I'm totally new to this but it has some cool potential for something a bit different: