Issues with Microscale Liquid Decal Film- any suggestions?

M3 · Post by M3 » Wed Dec 31, 2014 11:35 am

I have a ton of older/larger decals that I'd like to use, but whenever I try to brush a thin coat of Microscale Liquid Decal Film over them to keep them from breaking as I've been advised to do in the past, the liquid decal film thickens the decals to the point that they become really obvious as decals. The film also turns out really uneven in spots.

1. Is there some other form of liquid decal strengthener I can use to strengthen old decals so they don't fracture, dissolve, or break?

2. Does anyone recommend an aerosol product I can use for the same purpose?

3. Can Microscale Liquid Decal Film be thinned? If thinned, can it be used in an airbrush?

TIA!

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Wed Dec 31, 2014 12:37 pm

I have thinned it and sprayed it with an airbrush. What I thinned it with I have no idea. It was years ago. Water would be my first guess.

Ah-hah! A little digging and found that alcohol is best used so knowing me I used Tamiya thinner.

Chas · Post by **Chas** » Wed Dec 31, 2014 5:09 pm

I've just been corresponding with Greg (Turkeyvolume guessingman) about this very issue. I tell you what I told him.

I've had success spraying microscale decal film through my airbrush. I have a .3 mm needle a d went at around 25 psi. I didn't thin at all (affraid extra iso alchohol might encourage running or streaking of the ink - these were inkjet printed). Worked quite well.
I've heard that some folks use future instead of decal fix. It apparently goes on in thinner coats. Not sure if they are brushing or spraying though. There is also a Krylon product It's call Crystal Clear, that I've heard falls between the decal-set and the future in terms of thickness of the coats.

Of course the thickness is dependent on the number of coats used, so I'm assuming that these differences are from single coat applications.
If you can get future that might be worth a shot as it is touted by many to be 'Self-Leveling"
Here is a link to a site with some good info on decals: http://www.oldmodelkits.com/blog/plasit ... ld-decals/

Oh yeah and if you do overcoat them with decal-fix just remember that after this operation you'll need to cut out each decal carefully around the art because it's now got a continuous top coat.

This was Greg's response to the info I sent him.

Thanks for that trick about airbrushing the Microscale liquid decal film onto the decals. I did this for the Italeri Blackbird I'm working on, and although I couldn't tell if it was even doing anything (the decals didn't even seem to get wet), I think it really helped make the decals very durable. I had to move some decals after application, even a few hours afterwards. I got them wet again with Micro Sol, and I could reposition them. Wow!

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Wed Dec 31, 2014 5:18 pm

Crustal Clear can get heavy but all you need are a few quick passes.

TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan · Fri Jan 02, 2015 12:04 am

Yup, what he said. Or I said. Yeah, while I was spraying it, I could barely see anything coming out of my airbrush. In the past, I'd used Testors Decal Bonder from the rattle can, and that always soaked the decal sheet. I just put Microscale's decal film directly into my airbrush without thinning, and it worked well. However, as M3 said, the decals did seem rather obvious as decals. This could be due to the decal film. I'd have to test it with another company's decals on a spoon or something to see if it happens again. Not all of them were like this, though.