Decal problems

Callandor · Post by **Callandor** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:21 pm

I have been having trouble with some of the larger decals I have applied. I will apply them and everything looks fine, however, when I put on the top coat of future, air bubbles start to appear. I am not sure if the future is causing areas to lift off a bit or if the future is causing existing bubbles to show up more. Thoughts? Advice?

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:22 pm

How long did the decals dry before the overcoat?

Did you use any solvents or setting solutions?

Were the decals applied over panel lines or something similar?

I think what might have happened is that there were some invisible air bubbles trapped around details, maybe the decal bridged the gap, Future can act as a setting solution for some decals so it may have softened the decal enough for it to settle around the bubble.

Try pricking the bubble and applying some Future to the area, it should pull back down.

Ken

starmanmm · Post by **starmanmm** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 7:51 am

I believe, in the Decal section of this thread, someone stated that if you poke a hole in the decal (where you have the air bubble) and then apply some future... that should settle everything back down flat.

Callandor · Post by **Callandor** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 7:14 pm

The decals that are bubbling up were rather brittle when I applied them (apparently a bad batch from PL). Could that have been a contributing factor? It is almost like they are trying to expand a bit and are causing wrinkles.

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 7:29 pm

There's a good chance that the bad decals are part of the problem, hard to say w/o seeing it in person.

I'd try pricking the bubbles with a sharp hobby knife or straight pin and applying some Future and see what happens.

Sometimes heat can be used to get stubborn decals down, either a hair dryer or a hot water soaked towel (think near boiling, not tap).

Ken

Callandor · Post by **Callandor** » Sun Jan 03, 2010 1:28 pm

Sticking the decals w/ a knife and adding a bit more future got rid of most of the offenders. The ones I could not get rid of were the ones where I had a decal on top of another decal. I put some future on between decals, but maybe I did not get enough. This was my first attempt at using aztecking decals. The aztecking decals were great. If only the PL ones were not crap!

Apollo Adama · Post by **Apollo Adama** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 5:00 am

Callandor wrote:Sticking the decals w/ a knife and adding a bit more future got rid of most of the offenders. The ones I could not get rid of were the ones where I had a decal on top of another decal. I put some future on between decals, but maybe I did not get enough. This was my first attempt at using aztecking decals. The aztecking decals were great. If only the PL ones were not crap!

Try the "poke holes" technique with Solvaset or a decal softener instead of Future. I wouldn't keep trying to poke holes in them and continuing to shoot Future in there, though. You run the risk of overdoing it and creating hard little bumps simply because you don't have any accurate way to judge how much you're using where you shot it in. I speak from experience on that one.

Also, and it depends on the model I'm working on, sometimes instead of applying a little puddle of water to where I'm going to apply a decal, I apply a puddle of Future. I've discovered that for particularly unooperative models (or just simply models that I didn't airbrush enough of a gloss coat on to begin with before decaling) it is very effective at eliminating those kind of problems before they begin.

I'm currently working on a 1/1400 Nebula Class (Ertl/DLM conversion kit) and I started by using Future as my application puddle and two decals in I realized it wasn't necessary and went back to water. after I apply a decal, though, I always then apply a softener and then if after it dries Solvaset on anything other than a complete flat surface.

One last thing: you might want to consider sealing your decals with Testor's decal bonder (9200) or other lacquer finish (dull or glossy) but I would avoid Hardware Store rattle cans as they are too heavy in my experience. I understand that these decals were from the manufacturer but personally, I seal all my decals whether I made them myself, bought them after-market (and the producer claimed they'd already sealed them) or they came OEM out of the box. It can't hurt them and I've discovered that I run into a lot less problems with them when they have been selaed.

These tricks have all worked for me but your mileage may vary. You really need to do a lot of trial and error with decals depending on the kit to find what works best for you.