‘Dirty’ decals when dry

General Discussion General Modeling Discussion
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Hi all.

Still in early stages of being a scale modeller, but trying hard :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

When I apply decals, I do the gloss spraying (airbrush), and using Vallejo Decal Fix, apply the decals. Fine so far. Then, do the rolling q-tip thang for the bubbles. Once dry, I apply Decal Softener (again Vallejo) where lines and contours need helping.

The issue is that the decals dry, and they look grubby, dirty and streaky. I suspect something to do with the softener, but wondered if I’m doing something wrong, or missing a step or magic tip.

Over to my modelling gurus…:nerd_face:

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Is it possible that you got some dirt or paint or something in your decal softener? Or on the brush that you use to apply it. That’s what it sounds like to me. I use the Tamiya version and have not had any problems like that.

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Might get better comments with a pic?

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Not sure what happened,but dirty decals on armor or aircraft are okay because they need to be weathered anyway.

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What kind of glosscoat are you using. I use Testors laquer based over acrylics so the wet decals or setting solution won’t damage the paint.

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Thanks all :ok_hand:
Not sure what caused it, but some application of gloss cote and then ultra matte made it less apparent.

Now trying Micro Set and Sol instead of the Vallejo stuff.

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Hello!
I only used Vallejo decal fix for a short time long time ago, but i would like to suggest one thing. After applying the decals wait until they are really dry. Then just wash them with plain water - they have to be dry so that they don’t peel off again. Actually if the application is correct, the decals would dissolve and fuse with the underlying paint. Thing is some of the “2 in 1” decal fluids have a lot of extra glue and this glue can deposit on top of the decal and make it look funny. That’s the way it works with VMS 2 in 1 decal fluid, for example.
I hope it helps - good luck with your builds and have a nice day
Paweł

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Thanks. As I said before, I’m now trying the Micro Set and Sol, and so far so good. Perhaps it was a bad batch of Vallejo or I was doing something odd :face_with_hand_over_mouth: Have a good one too!

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