Decal Placement Calculator

The calculator estimates soaking time, setting solution and total work time based on decal brand, size and quantity. The brand and size factors are rule-of-thumb adjustments around the well-documented 15-60 second lukewarm-water soak window — they are planning guidance, not a measured constant. Always judge readiness by the decal sliding freely on its backing rather than the clock.

Soak time

Soak time = Base time × Brand factor × Size factor

Most thin decals (Cartograf, modern aftermarket) release in 15-25s; thicker kit decals (Airfix, Revell, many Tamiya kit sheets) often need 30-60s.

Brand factors

• Cartograf: 0.8× (premium, thin, conforms readily)
• Xtradecal / Tamiya: 1.0× (standard — note kit Tamiya sheets are often thick and can resist Micro Sol)
• Star Decals: 0.9× (thin)
• Airfix / Revell: 1.2× (thicker carrier film)

Total time

Total work time sums soaking, ~2 min placement per decal, setting-solution coats, and drying waits. Drying is counted per batch (about 4 decals dry in parallel per wait), so the figure is an upper-bound estimate — apply non-adjacent decals together to work faster.