I am having a big issue with applying decals to this old Hasagawa kit. When affixing the Roundels, which are big, I applied Micro Set. The edges of the decal all away around the outside of the circle, developed little wrinkles, I’m talking more than you can count on your fingers and toes. Horrified, I dabbed the decal with a papertowel to smooth out and flatten. Was this an old decal issue or did I do something wrong? Should I have been more patient and allowed the solution to work it’s magic? This same problem occurred on all large decals that I applied. Unfortunately, since I dabbed off the solution, I now have bad silvering.
I had another issue with applying the roundel on the under wing where a large hump was located. See link to pic below. (Sorry, I could not figure out how to post the pic). I used Solvaset to help the decal lay down. You can see the horrible results. I will have the same problem when I apply the roundel decal to the other under wing. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Ron, I’m going to sneak in here before the real experts, and just throw in that First do you have a clear gloss coating down where the decals are being applied? It is best to have a clear coat of Future or a gloss finish paint to get the best decal adhesion. Then when using you setting solutions, I like to use the setting solution to locate the decal (MicroSet). I like to position the decal and gently dab it with a clean paper towel to get out the air bubbles and speed op the drying process, making very sure that I don’t move the decal while doing this. After the decal has gained a solid hold on the model (it doesn’t have to be dry), I will begin tho apply the MicroSol to really suck the decal down on to the model. There will usually be a little wrinkling at this point, but as the decal dries the wrinkling usually goes away. Don’t be afraid to reapply the Microsol or solveset repeatedly to work down tough spots like raised bumps or panel lines. That is common. The key is to gently dab more than try to push or rub at the decal. Believe me we’ve all had decals end up like your photo, it just happens. God bless the aftermarkets. Rick
Thanks for the remarks. I did put down a thick coat of Future prior to the decal. After getting the bubbles out, I applied the Microset solution. After a couple of minutes, tons of wrinkles started to appear around the edge of the roundel.
Well Rick, looks like you were the only “expert” to tackle this one. I appreciate your comments especially this part: “After the decal has gained a solid hold on the model (it doesn’t have to be dry), I will begin to apply the MicroSol”. I have never tried it this way by waiting until the decal has time to set up. I always applied the Micro Set or Sol immediately after removing all the bubbles.
I tackled the other side last night. Got up this morning and the results were far better. I think I “messed around” too much with the first one. I got nervous and went overboard. On the second one, I did not even use Solvaset. I only used Micro Sol and put the model up in the closet overnight and did not even look at it.
When I looked at it this morning, that roundel had settled just fine over that big hump! I think the Solvaset may have attacked the decal too much whereas the Micro Sol was all the touch needed.
Wrinkling is normal when you apply a decal solvent. It wrinkles up and (assuming that you have a nice slick gloss finish underneath) lays down and flattens out as it dries. Don’t panic and just let the solvent do its thing. If you’re lucky you may be able to recover the first decal by applying more MicroSet/Sol.
i assume you mean your decal wrinkled up but dryed that way instead of flattening out? what i did was waited a couple of days until the decals-a shark mouth and an raf roundel on a p51-were dry and hard,then carefully dry sanded the wrinkles with 600 grit wet & dry which got rid of them double quick. i then touched up with a paint brush and once sealed and weathered the fix was invisible. with your silvered decals,i assume that they otherwise look ok; seal the decals down with a clear coat,then carefully mask the markings and airbrush the appropriate colours over the silvered areas; i did this on the fuselage of another raf mustang and it looked fine. the tail id code on my tigercat silvered horribly and i freehand brush painted the base colours around the two large letters on each side- again,it turned out fine. these tricks can save your bacon when you’re doing unique schemes but i’ve got a good stock of roundels, code letters and so on now so i usually start from scratch if it goes really pear shaped. good luck-let me know how you dealt with it.
Microset- applied under the decal to prevent air becoming entraped.
Microsol- Like the suffix it is a solvent for decals, try not to work the decal after this has been applied.
That being said glad you had some success with the solvents and decals. Realize some decals are defective or poor quality from the manufacture. Also not all decals react to the solvents the same, different formulas and composition in the manufacturing process.
