Decal fog - too late to correct?

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Decaling
1

I did the wrong thing, put the decals on top of a flat paint job, and now have decal fog; the clear border part of the decals not being clear but a little translucent. To make it worse I sprayed a coat of overall flat clear after that. [:(]

Don’t ask me why I punish myself by doing these things…

So, the question is, if I put clear over the decals, and then flat again, will that take away the fog? I don’t think so as I guess the main problem is between the decal and the flat paint, not on top surface. But I thought I’d ask if anyone knows.

I think this was possibly a contest model except for this and messed up clear parts. Why oh why can’t they put 2 of all the clear parts in the kits! [:)]

2

Oh No!!!

I wish I had a suggestion for you. I’m looking forward to seeing someone with a solution though. There’s got to be one…

M.

3

Oh, boy. Two words: aftermarket decals!

4

Sadly… I think th efog will remain because it is caused by the adhesive under the decals sitting on the flat paint.

I think the best and easiest approach would be to remove them, and get some after-market decals. Then gloss coat, or use Future over the Flat, then decals, then Flat coat.

Sorry…[V]

5

Hmmmm… That’s a tough one… Removal and replacement might be the only way to go from here, as suggested above.

But… WAIT A MINUTE!!! Before you do that, don’t you think this is a great field for some experimentation? I mean this doesn’t happen everyday, does it? So, why not try to get the best out of an otherwise messy situation?..

For example; what if you tried to puncture small holes or notches in the problematic areas of the decals using your X-acto knife and then inject some Future through them, letting it work its way in? That’s what I’d do for starters if I were in your place. And had that failed, I’d try to inject some dilluted gloss coat as well and see what happens…

I believe that you have nothing more to lose here, because even if it all fails, you’ll still be able to resort to the initial “radical” solution (that is, removal and replacement), right?

So I’d suggest that you try every idea and/or method (such as the above) you may come up with, in order to solve the problem, just for the sake of the experience and knowledge that might accompany this effort.

I wish you luck, and… please, keep us informed of the outcome, ok?

6

George Jr.
I like your creativity! It would be worth a try. Another possibility is to inject some setting solution/solvent to see if that would do anything…

M.

7

Gosh dariencharlie …

Sorry to hear of your foggy decal problem … I wish I had some easy answer for this problem, but I have never found one. The above posted answers all seem like good ones. Good luck !!!

8

A-Centauri is right! I had the same thing happen to me. I thought I had a nice smooth finish on a plane once but when I put the decals on I got the silvering effect. I took the tip of a brand new exacto blade and tapped some holes into the top of the decal. I brushed on a drop of Future and the silvering went away. It was beautiful! I tried the same technique only using MicroSol instead of Future and it just didn’t work as well. MicroSol works great to get the decals to snuggle down over complex curves and stuff like that but it will not cure the silvering problem. It just can’t make it adhere to all the microscopic hills and valleys which pit the surface of a flat coat.

Eric

9

Thanx for your kind word M, (mkish)

Now, I thought about this “possibility to inject some setting solution/solvent” that you’ve mentioned above, and I also believe it sure would be worth a try, although, in my opinion, injecting setting solution/solvent should be performed AFTER injecting Future or gloss coat and ONLY if everything else fails. In other words, injecting setting solution/solvent should be the last resort before going “radical”. Why’s that?, you might ask. Well, here’s the way I see it:

  1. I take it for granted, that dariencharlie has ALREADY used setting solvent when he applied his decals (dariencharlie, pls do correct me if I’m wrong here). Thus, IMHO, the silvering effect dariencharlie currently experiences, is not due to lack of setting solvent, but it’s rather due to lack of a (microscopically) smooth and even surface, which injected Future will hopefully provide.

  2. This whole idea behind Future injection is based upon the osmosis phenomenon which will hopefully “spread” Future underneath the decals through the microscopical openings between the decal and the flat coat, the very openings that have caused the silvering effect itself. So, at this stage, one needs those openings for the Future to be able to work its way in through them. Hence, injecting setting solution beforehands, would defeat the whole idea’s purpose because it would result in decal shrinkage which in turn might clog those openings, in a rather chaotic manner at that. And, at this stage, we wouldn’t want this to happen, would we? (just before I sent this post, I saw Eric’s experience with Microsol solvent, posted above, which verifies my thoughts).

Come to think of it, fellows, we ended up building a whole theory over here, didn’t we? I like that… Let’s hope dariencharlie’s efforts will prove us to be right…

10

Dariencharlie,

The fate of the world is dependent on whether or not this hypothesis can be proven. Your mission (should you choose to accept it…) is to carry out the experiments and let us know the results. If you are captured, we will deny any knowledge or existence of this thread and/or the alleged ‘experiment’…

This message will self destruct.

M.

11

LOL [:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

Well, M, I gotta hand it to you; this was the PERFECT way for this thread to be wrapped up!!!..

12

Wow, I had no idea this would generate such a response! You guys are amazing. Now, after you all have put forth so much I hope this does not annoy, and I am really sorry if it does. I did ask for advice after all, but I think in the end I am going to let sleeping fog lie for fear of making it worse. Plus today, maybe after that top coat of flat clear has dried more, it does not look as bad as it did at first, although the problem is still obviously there; or maybe I am just coming to accept it!

Well, here’s an idea. There were 4 soviet stars, I guess you call them, 2 for the fuselage sides and one for the underside of one wing. The instructions only have placement for the total of 3, none on top of the wings. I chose to assume that is correct and not put one on top. (have the Squadron walk around but could not tell any different conclusion from it either).

That leaves one to play with. So, I will apply it to the other wing bottom, and then try the poke a hole and drop of Future idea and see what happens. Actually I won’t use the model itself, but a spare wing. This was one of those kits that accomodates variations of the prototype, where they put in the instructions for the given variations and say to use cowling part B, for example, not cowling part A. (There was just one fuselage and it was the wrong one for the instructions, but that’s another story!).

O yes, just fyi, I used Microscale Micro Set. I brush it on before laying the decal, and then brush over it also, make final position, and then saok away excess. This is the only decal solution I have used so far, I have liked it. Smells like vinegar, though, do you suppose…

So, I’ll let you know how it goes. Actually I just bought a shiny new digital camera with macro mode; Nikon Coolpix 4300. Need to learn to use it, but I’ll try to return with pictures also, of the test, and of the model. Last major item on the model is the antenna and wire.

Thanks all for the help!

13

I am back with my report of the experiment, undoing decal fog! The result? Well, I think it could be done, but my technique leaves something to be desired. ( Also am not the best photographer for this close up work at this point. )

As I had said, I did not try this on the model itself, but tried to recreate the problem on an extra piece. The problem was ending up with decal fog or silvery look under the clear edges beause of having put the decals down on a flat finish surface.

So, here is the recreated problem; Oh no, what have I done! Look at those decals! ( ignore the fingerprint and scratch, that has nothing to do with this test! )

I know! Someone on the FSM forum suggested getting Future to seep in under the decal. Ok, first I’ll cut a couple slits:

Now I will brush on Future, try to work it into the slits and brush around to try to get it to spread around underneath:

Finally I will recoat with flat clear, and the results are:

So, do we see a difference between the before and after? I guess not. It seemed that some future did get in under the decal, but I could not get it out to the edges. Maybe slits would need to be cut on each edge where the problem actually is; plus a smaller slit, fresh blade, so as not to leave the scar I did.

Somebody said they have done this successfully and I believe it. I just did not get it quite right. So I hope this was at least entertaining if not helpful.

In answer to my post here someone also suggested removing the decals, doing the Future coat, and getting after market decals to replace. If I were to fix this on my model I would do that. After all my wining about this however I am going to leave it, call this project done and move on.

Thanks again all for the input!

14

Just for future reference I would suggest making the slits along the edges of the star right where the decal ends and the clear film continues. That way the slit should be almost invisible and it would also get you as close as possible to the problem areas. It also helps to trim off as much of the clear film as possible before applying the decals.

Ray

15

Good tips, thanks!

16

Thanks for the pics and ‘experiment’! Much appreciated…

M.