Watch the YouTube version! I have to admit, the YouTube version of the Mod Podge instructions are better then the written word, as you can watch the process! The video shows how super easy this step is.
We highly, very much, strongly recommend sealing the decals with Mod Podge. While the decals stick well to the slick, non-porous band, they are susceptible to scratching of the ink, pushing on thin decal parts/corners/point, and the decals can and will catch on fabric enough to start pulling up the edges.
We have about 1,000 designs, and we create them by ink jet printing on white vinyl.
Ink is not paper thin, it is microscopic thin. Without some form of protection, it is easily sanded off. The decals have to be soft to mold to the curvature of the band. The softness means that thin decal portions and corners and points can catch on fabric enough to start pulling up the edges or break off.
When a baby is old enough to move his or her head, this can happen in a few days!
Customer feedback on using Mod Podge with the decals
Podge also helps lock down large decals applied to curvature. The large decals are experiencing stress that is encouraging them to pop off.
Mod Podge can be hardly noticeable. Most of the helmets in our cranial band picture gallery have Mod Podge applied, and you can’t see it in the pictures.
Mod Podge protects against scratching, and significantly helps reduce pulling on the thin decals and catching on fabric. The pictures below show the issues.
Decals on the back of active kid’s helmets need Mod Podge! This image shows the classic case of a helmet being rubbed on fabric. The fabric catches on the corners of the letters, eventually lifting them up. But the rounded edges of the clouds don’t catch (yet!) and are fine. Mod Podge can help this.
Decals on the back of active kid’s helmets need Mod Podge! This image shows how points and thin sections fair when exposed to rubbing. The points break off, and the thin parts shift and break off. Rubbing is generally most significant on the back of the helmet because young children lay on their backs.
More Mod Podge please!
Mod Podge prevents this damage. Mod Podge protects decals from abrasion that don’t have sharp points and aren’t thin as well. The image above shows this little girl is active on her tummy as the name is worn, but the side decals are not.
The image to the left shows a different kind of wear. There is a large blank portion in the middle of the decal.
It is likely that the mod podge over the design was thin, and some rubbing alcohol spilled in this area. Mod Podge softens and then dissolves quickly in it. Then there was no mod podge over this area, and the ink in this specific area wore off. You can see some light fading around the blank spot. That mod podge has been worn down to nothing, and the rest of the decal will soon look like the images above.
We recommend five medium coats of Mod Podge, and periodic application (every other week or so). The mod podge is thick enough when your fingernail slides over the edge of the decal, and does not catch on the edge.
We recommend an initial light sanding with the included sandpaper, and then apply two coats on per day, the first two before your child wears the band, and two more the next day, and the final coat the day after. This should fit the one hour per day your child is allowed to be band-less.
The initial sanding is just a light one, but all the surface of the band should be roughened. This insures that the mod podge will bond with the band surface.
We really, really want you to be successful at decorating your band with a design that will look fantastic and last the duration of your treatment. We created many pages and videos showing you step by step how to paint and apply different designs. And the same with protecting your design.
With each order, we include this this sheet, and we tell the truth when we say 99% of issues are not applying (or in some cases continuing to apply) mod podge. We show the real deal pictures if mod podge is not applied.
If you see ‘fading’ or broken portions or lifting edges, the issue is that there is no mod podge over those portions of the design right now. It does not mean there was never mod podge, but there isn’t any right now. There is no mystery to solve.
Please do not leave us a negative review if you do not follow the application instructions, do not apply more mod podge as needed, and then what we said would happen, happens. Every so often, sometimes folks do not follow the instructions, and they just assume they will get a refund or free replacements and then leave a negative review when we don’t. We do offer significant discounts on reprints, but we do not offer refunds or free reprints on mod podge damage.
When applied to the proper thickness, Mod Podge removes easily. Work and edge of the Mod Podge until it can be lifted up, and then it will pull off in large sheets. The Mod Podge will usually remove without damaging the decals.