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wrongsideofthetracks
Crew Chief
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 Posted - 02/01/2004 : 01:47:33 AM
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Onionskin signs??? Please don't make me cry  , little bit of humor, or at least a feeble attempt at it. Most of you might be wondering where I am going with this - anyway, most of us are familiar with the process of cutting out old ads or printing them up on paper until they are paper thin, then coating them with white glue/water and then pasting them on a brick building and slowly working them into the brick. Often you can produce very nice looking signs and/or ads that appear as though they are painted right on the brick surface. One other medium that I use is Onionskin - and no not from a real onion (again another feeble attempt at humor  ), but the onionskin you can buy in your local big-box office supply store. You may sometimes need to ask for it. Hilroy make an inexpensive pad of the stuff. You get 36 standard size sheets to a pad for around $3.50 in Canada (cheaper to the south I assume). The onionskin is very thin and does not require sanding. I simply print off signs onto the paper, cut them out and away you go...off to the races. A couple words of warning. I typicaly soak the signs in a mix of 1:1 (white glue/water) and then apply to the building working it into the bricks with a pointy tool (toothpick or such). The onionskin can be a little delicate, so work with it carefully as it is quite thin. Also, you want to test if the ink you are using in your printer will bleed when exposed to liquid, this would obviously not be good for this method. I use an Epson C80 with the Durabrite inks which are "waterproof" and hold up very well when wet. You might want to experiment with your inks first. A few practice runs and you can get pretty good at using the onionskin. Just another way to make your building signs, I think a little easier than the standard paper and sanding method. One thing to note - unless you are using an Alps printer, you might want to avoid signs with a lot of white in them. Most printers do not print white, so you have to rely on the colour of the onionskin for any white areas on the sign you are printing. The onionskin colour is more of an offwhite sort of colour. Keep this in mind and experiment. Weather and blend your brick sign as you normally would. I hope this one has not been covered before - hopefully this is a good little tip some other modelers might like to try.  Karl F.
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Karl.
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Country: Canada
| Posts: 815 |
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belg
Fireman
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Posted - 02/01/2004 : 08:55:25 AM
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Hey Karl what's the name of the manufacturer of this product? It sounds very promosing and alot cheaper than those micromark transfer papers.Pat
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wrongsideofthetracks
Crew Chief
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Posted - 02/01/2004 : 10:44:51 AM
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Hello Pat. The pads I happened to find at Staples (which is like the Business Depot in the US) were made by Hilroy. Hilroy is Canadian but I am sure there must be another brand of this in the US. The product is specifically called "Onionskin Pad". You get 36 full size sheets per pad. You might need to ask for it at your local stationary store. Thanks, Karl F.
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Karl.
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Country: Canada
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MikeC
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 02/01/2004 : 10:55:00 AM
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Thanks for the tip, Karl. I wonder if - for those of us who use regular inkjet printers - spraying the printed onionskin with a light coat of decal fixative (VitaCal, MicroMark, etc.) would work to prevent the inks from bleeding.
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Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm a busy man. I have a railroad to run.
Visit the Central Missouri & Southern
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belg
Fireman
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Posted - 02/01/2004 : 1:13:07 PM
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Karl we have staples stores in the US I'll check it out.Thanks for the info.Pat
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Bbags
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 02/01/2004 : 3:00:13 PM
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Hi Pat and anyone else interested in onionskin.
The following information was supplied by Rich Josselyn from the fsm Yahoo Group.
I found a good
economical source here in Western Massachusetts. They
make a white smooth onionskin and a 500 sheet (8 1/2"
X 11") box costs $8.50 US. Shipping I think was only
$5.30 Perhaps you can pass this info along.
The company is:
Esleeck Papers
Turners Falls, Massachusetts 01376
(413) 863-4326
FAX (413) 863-3196
E-Mail :
I ordered mine over the phone, but they have an online
store with checkout etc. at:
http://esleeck.crocker.com/index.php
At main page on left side choose:
“Shop” This takes you to their outlet store called
“The Paper Edge”
then under “Department”, choose: “Lightweight Papers”
The product is defined as:
Fidelity Onion Skin White Smooth finish.
They do take credit card orders, so I can’t think of
an easier way to get all the onionskin you might ever
need.
Rich.
Hope this helps.
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John Bagley
Modeling the Alaska Railroad in HO in Wildwood Georgia. |
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paulbrockatsf
Fireman
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Posted - 02/01/2004 : 4:00:12 PM
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Thanks Karl for the tip.
... and thanks John for the website.
... and thanks Rich for the original post about the paper source.
I am going to try it.
Paul
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Edited by - paulbrockatsf on 02/01/2004 4:06:54 PM |
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wrongsideofthetracks
Crew Chief
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Posted - 02/01/2004 : 4:00:43 PM
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Hi everyone. Here is a few pics of what the onionskin signs look like on fine brickwork. I put this one on a defective hydrocal castings so you can see what it looks like once dried. Some close ups. I like this method better than the paper/sanding routine. Give it a try...thanks, Karl F.
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Karl.
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Country: Canada
| Posts: 815 |
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belg
Fireman
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Posted - 02/01/2004 : 5:01:04 PM
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Karl could you walk us thru the installation process ie white solve set or whatever else you used? I'm also wondering if it could be brought in a little tighter into the brick mortar line with some more work? Pat
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wrongsideofthetracks
Crew Chief
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Posted - 02/01/2004 : 8:51:17 PM
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Sure Pat. Here are the basic steps...
1) Print your sign on the onionskin paper. Try to choose a sign colour that closely mimics the buildings brick colour as this will make it easier to "hide" the sign and make it look like part of the brick work. Carefully cut out sign.
2) Apply full strength white glue to the back of the sign and apply to building. with a flat type brush, dip into a mixture of 50% water and 50% white glue and slowly and carefully brush on the top of the sign.
3) Next part is the most important. Spend your time at it and you can really make the sign look like part of the brick work. Press down harder on the brush to burnish the sign into the brick work - the brick work will start to show. You can also use a dull hobby knife, pointy tooth pick or other similar item to work the sign right into the mortar lines of the brick work. Practise this. You want to burnish or get the sign to conform to the brick. Take your time and you can end up with a very nice looking sign. Most of the signs you get using this method will look old and faded. Weather and finsh as usual. Here are pictures of another sign that shows the end results of this process. Hope this helps. Thanks, Karl F.
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Karl.
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Country: Canada
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belg
Fireman
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Posted - 02/01/2004 : 11:07:03 PM
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Karl I appreciate the how to and I think this was a much better sign then the first one. I'm sure you took more care with this one as it was on a finished building ,right? Pat
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wrongsideofthetracks
Crew Chief
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Posted - 02/02/2004 : 12:09:49 AM
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Hi Pat, yes Pat the first sign was rushed. I did not spend as much time working the sign into the brick. The second sign, I spent some time on and you can see how the sign works into the brick for good effect. I just think using the onionpaper is easier/better than normal paper. I prefer it. Give it a try and see what you think. Thanks, Karl F.
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Karl.
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Country: Canada
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MikeC
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 02/02/2004 : 10:32:54 AM
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Karl, this is some very good info! Thanks for the mini-tutorial and the photos. This thread is one I'm adding to my personal reference list. 
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Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm a busy man. I have a railroad to run.
Visit the Central Missouri & Southern
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Country: USA
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paulbrockatsf
Fireman
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Posted - 02/02/2004 : 9:20:40 PM
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Karl,
Your KAYO sign looks great! It looks painted on. I will have to try the onion paper. Thanks for the info.
Paul
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Rick
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 02/03/2004 : 07:57:07 AM
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Karl, thank for your tutorial. I had asked a few months ago about using onion paper to make signs. I knew if I waited long enough someone would post an answer. Thanks again.
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___________________________________
All the things that others want for me...
Can't buy what I want because it's free... |
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Country: USA
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belg
Fireman
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Posted - 02/03/2004 : 11:10:23 PM
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Thanks Karl,it sounds easy enough so I'll definately give it a try.Pat
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Country: USA
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