I tried decaling a 1/48 bomb… The bomb was painted with Tamiya green, and a coat of Future was applied after the paint had dried. Then, I applied the decal and brushed on Microsol right after the decal was in position. Imagine my horror when the paint began stripping off as I moved my brush over the surface! What am I doing wrong?
Hi Robertfoley.
This is somthing that I’ve not experienced before. If your decal was breaking up, I could put that down to the decal being very thin and too much microsol being applied.
As for your paint stripping through the coat of future that you applied, I’m totally at a loss for ideas! I have a pal who uses future all the time and he’s not had this problem either. There’s lots of folks on this site who use the same paints and varnishes so I’m sure somebody will be able to offer a more helpful explaination.
In the meantime, I can you that I use humbrol enamels and that their paints and gloss varnish don’t have an adverse reaction to microsol/microset.
Later,
Darren.
I’m not sure if trying time may or may not have been a factor here Robert.
After painting the bomb, how long after did you apply the future ?
And also, how long did you allow the future to dry ?
The procedure you describe is very much the same one that I use. I too use Tamiya acrylics.
After paint is dry, wait at least 24 hrs. Apply the future, wait again 24 hrs. Then apply the decal using the set / sol solutions. After allowing these to dry, apply your clear cote.
I painted the bomb a few days before and set it aside for 3-4 days. Future was sprayed on after this period and was allowed to dry for 48 hours. I sprayed 1 coat of unthinned Future straight from the container. After the Future dried, the decal was placed in warm water for 10 seconds and placed on the bomb. Microsol was applied with a brush immediatley after the decal was in position. (less than a minute after the decal was placed on the bomb) This was when the paint began peeling off.
Well you’ve got me stumped now … the only thing you do different is use warm water for the decal. The only other thing that I can think of is that the Tamiya Acrylic doesn’t particularly like the plastic of that model. Maybe try priming the plastic.
New one to me, too. The only thing that comes to mind is mold release. Did you wash the part off before painting? I have never had a problem with mold release, but it sounds like there might have been some kind of oil or coating on the plastic that kept the paint from sticking properly.
Dave R
No, I didn’t wash the parts. Maybe that’s it. When I was painting the fuselage some of the paint also wouldn’t stick. Maybe that’s it. I didn’t prime or treat the plastic in any way either.
Thanks for your replies. Very much appreciated.