BODY ART

By Mike McAnaspie

This will be a quick explanation of how you can use a PC printer to decorate your bodies, using the self-adhesive films that are now available for both laser and inkjet printers. This technique is not new, and I don’t know who tried it first, but thanks to Akitani on the JSlots page for explaining it to me.

Quite simply, you can use your PC to print any image of your choice to a self-adhesive film, then apply it to your car body. Transparent and white films are available. You can create conventional decals on white film, although these will need a coat of sealer to protect the ink (I have seen something called Clearkote (sp?) recommended for this, available from model shops). Alternatively, you can print in reverse on clear film, and stick it to the inside of the body. Spray it white afterwards, which seals the ink. You need to use white or a pale colour as the pc/printer assumes the background is white and lays down the ink accordingly. This is the method I used for the car in the picture, which is my first effort at this technique.

I used Folex film on this car, this is quite thin and light. I also tried some vinyl from ABC, this also works well but is thicker and heavier than the Folex film, so isn’t best suited to slotcars.

Using this method there is just no limit to the colour schemes you can use, with photographs, custom graphics, lettering and logos all easily available. It isn’t necessarily quicker than using paint, you can spend hours on the pc designing your scheme!

On the downside, it won't work on compound curves. Also, the stickers add a little extra weight, so if you’re worrying about the last half gram, this isn’t for you.

Mike

Copyright © 1998 British Slot Car Racing Association     All rights reserved