Yellowed decals after being applied?????

[Sledsel]

I have had a project on the back burner about 6 months. Well, I pulled it out the other day, and the decals have turned yellow (kit is white, so it stands out) They were fine when put away.     Luckily the body is not clear coated yet.

Has anybody experienced this and have a solution?

I had a kit packed away for a long time and a large decal looked foggy. You could see the entire decal on the kit (this one was not white) Well, I used Microsol or Microset on that one. Sat and bushed over and over, soaked it good, worked the edges with the brush and it cleared up. Thinking of trying the same on this kit.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks in advance

 

Edited January 13, 2017 by Sledsel

[droogie]

I have bleached out the yellowing by placing the decal sheet in a ziplock baggie and taping it decal side out to the inside of a south facing window for a few weeks (the baggie is just to keep any condensation that may form on the inside of the window from damaging the decals), Since you already have applied the decals to the model, you could try putting the entire model in a location where it will get direct sunlight to see if that will bleach out the yellowing. I've heard from other people who tried this trick that, in some cases, the yellowing eventually returned. Good luck.

[Snake45]

I too have bleached unapplied decals by putting them on the package tray (rear window) of my car for a few days. Do NOT try this with a built model!

As Droogie said, you might be able to unyellow applied decals by putting the model in a window in your house. Never tried this but it might work. It probably won't get hot enough in the house to melt the model, as it will in a closed car, but if the idea bothers you, you could set up a desk fan to blow on the thing continuously.

Come to think of it, it might work to leave the model outside on a few sunny days, if there's a place you can do this safe from theft, animals, birds, etc. Can't promise this wouldn't hurt the paint, though.

[Sledsel]

Maybe I will just brush bleach on it! LOL

 

[espo]

When not sealed and protected from any type of moisture decals will deteriorate over time . This includes a painted model and seems even worse for some reason if it is  on an unpainted model. While some discount this idea it is why I always clear over any decals I use on any model.

[Sledsel]

When not sealed and protected from any type of moisture decals will deteriorate over time . This includes a painted model and seems even worse for some reason if it is  on an unpainted model. While some discount this idea it is why I always clear over any decals I use on any model.

I had them yellow even when cleared.

 

[espo]

I had them yellow even when cleared.

 

Wow that has never happened for myself.

[Sledsel]

HOLY SMOKES!!!!  I put some bleach in a little bowl, dipped my finger in and rubbed the decal lightly. Kept dipping to keep it wet, rinsed with cold water, dabbed dry with a paper towel and the yellowing is almost gone. Needed to do it a bit longer

I will try to get a pic, but my camera sucks

[Sledsel]

Right side I rubbed for a few minutes, left I did not. There is a difference. Will do it more and update

 

Edited January 13, 2017 by Sledsel

[Jim N]

Sledsel,

What you are experiencing is old glue.  When I see the entire area under the decal turning yellow, I flood the decal with water and then brush away the yellowed glue as it comes out from underneath the decal.  Dip a paint brush in water and apply very generously over the decal.  I have paint brushes that I only use for decal setting solutions and I use one of these brushes for this.  You may have to soak the decal a few times.  This will usually flush out the glue. Once you get all or as much of the glue out as you can, blot the decal dry with a paper towel.  You have to take some care as you can wash out all of the glue and the decal will not stick.  My experience has been by blotting the decal dry, you preserve enough of the glue under the decal so it will stick.  I always clear coat a car in which this happens so there is another bonding agent for the decal.

[droogie]

HOLY SMOKES!!!!  I put some bleach in a little bowl, dipped my finger in and rubbed the decal lightly. Kept dipping to keep it wet, rinsed with cold water, dabbed dry with a paper towel and the yellowing is almost gone. Needed to do it a bit longer

I will try to get a pic, but my camera sucks

As long as the bleach doesn't damage the paint, I'd say you have a winner.

[Sledsel]

As long as the bleach doesn't damage the paint, I'd say you have a winner.

So far so good, gonna mess with it more later.

[Jim N]

 

 

For what its worth:

Here is an example of what I was describing above.  The decals went much like the Hooters car above with all of the yellow and brown under the decals.  I used the method as mentioned above and there is almost no appearance of yellowing with the decals.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Jim N
wanted to clarify