Restore old decals

[R.D.F.]

Hi

I read an older post about this (2012) and it was said #1 choice was Microscale decal film. Also do the UV thing by hanging the sheet in a sunny window.

Was wondering if there are any updates in products or solutions to this.

Thanks

[Jantrix]

UV thing? Please elaborate.

[R.D.F.]

UV thing. Hang or tape the decal sheet to a window that gets direct sunlight most of the day. It will bleach out any yellowing on the sheet and decals.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, R.D.F. said:

UV thing. Hang or tape the decal sheet to a window that gets direct sunlight most of the day. It will bleach out any yellowing on the sheet and decals.

Works like a champ on most decals. And then coat them with Micro Superfilm. 

Another good place to do this is on the dashboard or package tray of your car, but make provision that they don't blow out or away. 

[R.D.F.]

3 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Works like a champ on most decals. And then coat them with Micro Superfilm. 

Another good place to do this is on the dashboard or package tray of your car, but make provision that they don't blow out or away. 

I came across a product.

Microscale Liquid Decal Film. Is Micro Superfilm the same stuff ?

[SfanGoch]

Yes, it is. You can also spray a light coat of Krylon Clear on the decal sheet; although, you'll have to cut each decal from the sheet because they'll all be sealed by the clear coat. Once cut from the sheet, apply them the same way you'd apply other decals. You can even use Micro Sol and/or Micro Set to get them to conform to the surface.

Edited April 26, 2019 by SfanGoch

[R.D.F.]

8 minutes ago, SfanGoch said:

Yes, it is. You can also spray a light coat of Krylon Clear on the decal sheet; although, you'll have to cut each decal from the sheet because they'll all be sealed by the clear coat. Once cut from the sheet, apply them the same way you'd apply other decals. You can even use Micro Sol and/or Micro Set to get them to conform to the surface.

Is Micro Sol and/or Micro Set different than the Micro Superfilm ?

[El Roberto]

1 hour ago, R.D.F. said:

Is Micro Sol and/or Micro Set different than the Micro Superfilm ?

Micro sol and micro set are decal setting solutions.  it softens the decals so they conform to irregularities in the surface. Wouldn't work for what you are asking for.

[SfanGoch]

Actually, it does. I use either or both on decals sealed with Krylon Clear after they've been cut from the sheet, dipped in water and positioned on a model.

[R.D.F.]

Do you think Hobby Lobby would stock these items ?

Edited April 27, 2019 by R.D.F.

[peteski]

On 4/26/2019 at 5:00 PM, R.D.F. said:

Is Micro Sol and/or Micro Set different than the Micro Superfilm ?

No, totally different things.

 

If you have old decals with cracked clear film, the need a fresh layer of clear film to hold all the cracked pieces together (while the decals are still on its dry backing paper).  Superfilm (or Microscale Clear Decal Film - which is basically the same product) are alcohol-based clear films which when applied to the old sheet will create a new solid clear film over the cracked decal graphics, so it will not disintegrate when placed in water.  Other clear lacquers (like Joe recommended) should also work, but Superfilm is made by a decal manufacturer, specifically for this task.

The Micro Sol and Set are decal softening solution for making the decal film conform better to the model's surface, after being applied to the model.

[R.D.F.]

Thank you all for your input to my questions.

[JohnU]

Got a question about micro sol and micro set. Is there a shelf life for these? I’ve had some for a couple of years and have used them with good results. But recently I tried to get some decals to settle down while working on a revell black widow and neither did anything! In the past I’ve used both products and watched as the decals almost dissolve and melt down in place then dry perfect! This time, nothing! Do they lose their potency over time?

[SfanGoch]

36 minutes ago, JohnU said:

Do they lose their potency over time?

So do a lot of guys.

Seriously though, I've got bottles of both purchased in the mid '70s and they still do what they're supposed to do. I also have new stock which isn't worth a plug nickel. In bothy our cases, it could be a bad production lot.

[JollySipper]

What about decals that are completely dried out? I have a sheet I would like to use, but the sheet is no longer even "tacky" feeling... almost like just a photocopy of the sheet.

Would the SuperFilm restore these?

[Snake45]

30 minutes ago, JollySipper said:

What about decals that are completely dried out? I have a sheet I would like to use, but the sheet is no longer even "tacky" feeling... almost like just a photocopy of the sheet.

Would the SuperFilm restore these?

Yes. 

[peteski]

On 5/2/2019 at 7:47 PM, JohnU said:

Got a question about micro sol and micro set. Is there a shelf life for these? I’ve had some for a couple of years and have used them with good results. But recently I tried to get some decals to settle down while working on a revell black widow and neither did anything! In the past I’ve used both products and watched as the decals almost dissolve and melt down in place then dry perfect! This time, nothing! Do they lose their potency over time?

Not that I have noticed (and some of my setting solutions are around 30 years old)!  If the "Sol" smells like vinegar (acetic acid) and "Set:" smells a bit like alcohol, then they are likely good.  But there are lots of different decal manufacturers using different formulas of inks and clear film.  Even the same kit re-released some years later could have decals made by another company. Some decals are very thin and easily melted by the setting solutions while others are very stubborn and even the Microsol will not affect them much. For those I use Walthers SolvaSet - the strongest setting solution I have encountered.

I have at least half a dozen different setting solutions, and sometimes it takes some trial and error to find the one which works the best on certain brand of decals.

Edited May 6, 2019 by peteski

[JohnU]

22 hours ago, peteski said:

Not that I have noticed (and some of my setting solutions are around 30 years old)!  If the "Sol" smells like vinegar (acetic acid) and "Set:" smells a bit like alcohol, then they are likely good.  But there are lots of different decal manufacturers using different formulas of inks and clear film.  Even the same kit re-released some years later could have decals made by another company. Some decals are very thin and easily melted by the setting solutions while others are very stubborn and even the Microsol will not affect them much. For those I use Walthers SolvaSet - the strongest setting solution I have encountered.

I have at least half a dozen different setting solutions, and sometimes it takes some trial and error to find the one which works the best on certain brand of decals.

Thanks for the practical advice! Been researching for an answer  to this problem and came across Walthers brand as a suggested solution somewhere else on this forum. You just confirmed it and you’re right, it seems some of the newer kits supplied decals are tougher to work with than they used to. I see Micro-Mark carries it and will have to give it a try. Thanks again!

[peteski]

Glad that I was able to shed some light on this.

[Tommy124]

On 6.5.2019 at 2:46 AM, peteski said:

Some decals are very thin and easily melted by the setting solutions while others are very stubborn and even the Microsol will not affect them much. For those I use Walthers SolvaSet - the strongest setting solution I have encountered.

I have at least half a dozen different setting solutions, and sometimes it takes some trial and error to find the one which works the best on certain brand of decals.

Some setting solutions will melt your paint aswell... I have a variety of products aswell and (obviously) did not do enough testing on them in the first place. I used the strongest of my solutions (German product) in order to make a decal lay down nicely in the panel lines of a race car model and it "burned" some not-so nice spots into the clear coat layer. Tamiya LP colors had been used for that. By now, in "normal cases", I mostly use Tamiya Mark Fit or Mark Fit Strong. They have a nice balance between a good performance and not doing any damage.

[peteski]

14 hours ago, Tommy124 said:

Some setting solutions will melt your paint aswell... I have a variety of products aswell and (obviously) did not do enough testing on them in the first place. I used the strongest of my solutions (German product) in order to make a decal lay down nicely in the panel lines of a race car model and it "burned" some not-so nice spots into the clear coat layer. Tamiya LP colors had been used for that. By now, in "normal cases", I mostly use Tamiya Mark Fit or Mark Fit Strong. They have a nice balance between a good performance and not doing any damage.

That's true, the setting solution (one that smells like alcohol) can affect some paints.  It would make sense to apply the decals before clear coat.

Edited May 9, 2019 by peteski

[Tommy124]

7 hours ago, peteski said:

It would make sense to apply the decals before clear coat.

This has been the first/ "intermediate" clear coat to make an even surface for the decals. And I assume it would have effected the (Tamiya LP color) basecoast just the same. The final clear coat for sealing the decals will be a 2k. Speaking of which, I don't suppose any kind of setting solution would harm a 2k clear coat...