Decal Symbols A - White

White symbols for vehicles and for a store

This sheet covers the part of marking that neither numbers nor letters can stand in for: arrows, triangles, circles, warning pictograms and geometric shapes. On a model it comes into its own wherever a machine is meant to look used and in service, at filler necks, on engine covers, on switchboards, containers, presses and other equipment in an industrial diorama.

Why white in particular

White is the most usual color of service marking on dark bases and at the same time the hardest to spray through a mask: it needs more coats and easily creeps under the edge. A decal settles this work in one step and holds a crisp shape even on markings around one millimeter in size, where neither a brush nor an airbrush could do anything.

Working with the sheet

Cut the markings out one by one and trim the carrier film as closely to the shape as possible; it is precisely the surplus film that gives away, once dry, that this is a decal. The base must be smooth, dry and ideally glossy. Once it has settled, leave the marking alone for a while and only then press it into the detail of the surface with a cotton swab.

The symbols can be combined with numbers and letters from the other sheets of the same series, so you can put together your own data plate, warning sign or description of a control panel without having to look for a ready-made original.

White also goes well with wear and dirt. If, once it is dry, you lightly pass a dark wash over the marking and wipe the surplus away, it will lose its printed cleanness and begin to look like a description that has survived several seasons outdoors on a machine.