Really tiny decals, STILL getting shiny spots

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Decaling
1

I am putting small US stars on 1/700 scale tanks and trucks that are the deck cargo on my Victory ship. I painted them with Model Master acrylic olive drab, then put a spot of Model Master gloss clear where the decals go, applied decals, let dry, then overcoated with Model Master flat clear.

And you can STILL see a discolored/semi-shiny area where the gloss coat went down. These are very small tanks, and the spots really show up. Anything else I can try?

2

Three things …

  1. PollyScale clear flat is “Flatter” than ModelMaster clear flat.

  2. Tamiya XF-21 Flat Base mixed with Future allows you to control how flat the finish is. About 4 parts Future to 1 part XF-21 is very flat. Five parts Future to 1 part XF-21 is usually semi-gloss.

  3. Spray / brush the whole tank / truck with the MM flat base so that it all matches. It will probably still be slightly glossy all over. My experience with MM clear flat is that it doesn’t cure dead flat but with a slight amount of sheen.

3

How about using a setting solution or some vinigar to soften the decals…? (next time, before the final coat)