Decal problem

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Decaling
1

Hello - First Post:
My son and I are finishing a Revell 1:72 PT boat. After applying a final coat of paint (Tamiya acrylic) we airbrushed a coat of Clear flat Acryl (Testors) on, then placed the decals, then a final top coat of Clear Flat Acryl. The decals have a terrible white haze (?silvering) to them.
Any fix? How do we prevent this in the future?
Thanks,
Ian

2

Unfortunately, other than removeing the decals completely, there is little you can do to fix it at this point. To prevent decal “silvering”, they MUST be applied to a gloss surface. Modelers will either use Future or gloss paint (either works) before applying decals. They can then be top-coated with any flat (or gloss) finish.

Enjoy your modeling…

3

Many thanks Robert: We were so focused on getting a flat finish, we didn’t think about affecting the decals.

4

Something else to consider, when applying your decals over the gloss finish, use a decal solvent to get the decals to really snuggle down over every detail. This will give them the ‘painted on’ appearance. Testors, Microscale and Wather’s all make solvents. The Walther’s is probably the best. It is acually sold for model train applications, but works on all models.

5

Mark:
Thanks for the tips. Now, how do I get the old decals off without damaging the paint?
Ian

6

You first must remove the acrylic flat top coat. I use windex. Then you can use micro set to soften up the decals for easy removal.

7

Ian,

Welcome to the forum! :slight_smile: You might want to try giving the following technique a try before you strip off the topcoats and decals. If this works then you might be able to save yourself the time and effort of stripping and refinishing.

Take a brand new Xacto blade and cut tiny slices in the decal. Try to cut them discretely like along color demarkations (sp?) or other places where you can sort of blend in the cuts. After making the gentle scores with the blade, brush some Future floor wax over the decal. This may reduce or eliminate the silvering problem entirely. Once done then you can just go back and touch up the decal with some flatcoat. I’ve heard this might do the trick. I haven’t tried it myself but long ago when I was a kid I had a bit of success using the same method using MicroSol instead of Future. I think you’ll have much better success using Future.

Best wishes!

Eric

8

Thanks Eric - I’ll give it a try!
Ian