Home made setting solution

I was going to apply thirty two decals on the shields of my Viking ship when I found out I was out of setting solution. Needed it right away, so decided to make some myself. I heard it was mostly a mix of white vinegar and water. Tried about three drops of vinegar in a teaspoon of water. Seemed to work fine- got all 32 decals applied. I am not claiming it is as good as commercial stuff but it seemed to be usefulin a pitch.

I have no idea what is in decal solvent, but I have almost a full bottle of that so who cares.

A handy tip, Don, thanks. I’d heard this stuff was a mildly acid solution, but I wouldn’t have thought of making my own, and you’re a brave man to try it on a model!

I used vinegar many decades ago before I knew about setting solutions. In my opinion, it works just about as well as MicroSet, but not as effeective as Tamiya. It doesn’t have the softening effect of MicroSol or Tamiya Strong when adaptation to detail is critical, but not bad on a smooth surface.

Set has that characteristic acetic acid smell.

I have been using 2 parts water / 1 part vinegar to apply decals and it works very well even on Academy decals !

I’ve used that same formula (probably gleaned from some ancient IPMS publication) several times when my go-to Solvaset has been in short supply. Worked quite well even on compound curves and detail, as long as they weren’t overly-‘dramatic.’

I’m going to have to play with this for some PrintScale and Academy decals I have.

Hi Don;

Smell the setting solution. There is either Vinegar or a chemical that smells like it in there!

Yeah, acetic acid-white vinegar-is an old-school setting solution. Many commercial solutions have acetic acid as their active ingredient.

Hi Baron;

Yeah, That’s what I thought. In many formulations even tissue tightening for Japanese Lanterns and Tissue on Frame Aircraft. That’s the major ingredient. In a pinch I used to use Diluted Lemon Juice( Store-Bought) No Pulp that way!