Old Decals

[fshoemake]

I have heard if you use future floor polish on old decals it will keep them from falling apart while soaking and make them plyable.Has anyone done this before?.I have the origional CHIPS Kawasaki motorcycle and i would love to use the origional decals.Thanks for you help in advance

[peteski]

I would not use Future. It is water soluble, and so is the glue  on the backing paper.  It is safer to spray them with a solvent-based clear lacquer.  Or better yet, use Microscale Liquid Decal Film (this is actually the same film that is already on the decal sheet).

[Snake45]

2 hours ago, peteski said:

Microscale Liquid Decal Film

This, or their similar product Superfilm (might be the same stuff with a different name). Ask for them by name. Accept no substitutes. 

[ksnow]

You apply the decal film to the sheet before soaking the decals? That would be very helpful with my older kits.

[Snake45]

47 minutes ago, ksnow said:

You apply the decal film to the sheet before soaking the decals?

Absolutely. And do it before you CUT them off the backing sheet, too, or you'll wish you had. 

[ksnow]

Hmm, I'll have to find some of that stuff. The gold pin stripes are giving me a fit on this 25 year old AMT trans am kit I am working on.

[peteski]

8 hours ago, ksnow said:

You apply the decal film to the sheet before soaking the decals? That would be very helpful with my older kits.

Yes, you are basically applying a new thin clear film over the old cracked decal film with images  on it.  Of course, you will then have to trim each image on the sheet, since the new clear film covers the entire sheet.  I suppose you could get fancy and apply the liquid clear film carefully only over each image on the sheet, but I have never tried that. I just brush-paint the liquid over the entire sheet.  I use multiple coats. I  think last time I did that, I used 3  coats.

Edited September 10, 2020 by peteski

[fshoemake]

Thank you very much for the tip.I will be purchasing some of that.I knew I would get my answer on here

[Snake45]

I used to put the Superfilm on with a Q-tip, figuring a new one would be perfectly clean every time. But I found an even easier way. Now I just put a finger tip on the bottle top and turn the bottle over and then back again. This leaves a big drop of the stuff on my finger, which I then quickly smear on the decal sheet. I find ONE THICK coat works best--just get enough on that you can see it shiny and wet everywhere at the same time and you're good. It will dry so thin that you'll think it hasn't done anything, but you're good. Two or three coats not necessary. 

[Rodent]

I would also take a high quality scan of the decals before you try to apply them. CHP or Trans-Am decals have gold, so you won't be able to accurately reproduce them on an inkjet printer, but if you have a high quality scan you can probably find someone to print a new set for you.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Rodent said:

I would also take a high quality scan of the decals before you try to apply them. CHP or Trans-Am decals have gold, so you won't be able to accurately reproduce them on an inkjet printer, but if you have a high quality scan you can probably find someone to print a new set for you.

Great idea! And stick a ruler in the scan so the new decals can be sized accurately. 

[STYRENE-SURFER]

On 9/10/2020 at 4:13 PM, peteski said:

Yes, you are basically applying a new thin clear film over the old cracked decal film with images  on it.  Of course, you will then have to trim each image on the sheet, since the new clear film covers the entire sheet.  I suppose you could get fancy and apply the liquid clear film carefully only over each image on the sheet, but I have never tried that. I just brush-paint the liquid over the entire sheet.  I use multiple coats. I  think last time I did that, I used 3  coats.

After applying that decal restorative,  is it still possible to use decal setting solutions like Walthers solvaset or 

some other brands to get them to settle into nooks and crannies?

 

[Snake45]

10 hours ago, STYRENE-SURFER said:

After applying that decal restorative,  is it still possible to use decal setting solutions like Walthers solvaset or 

some other brands to get them to settle into nooks and crannies?

 

Yes. Done it many times. 

[NOBLNG]

Could that stuff be airbrushed on... or just not worth the extra effort?

[Snake45]

9 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

Could that stuff be airbrushed on... or just not worth the extra effort?

I can't see any advantage in it. The Q-tip and finger methods are both fast, easy, don't waste any product, and produce perfect results. 

And you'd need to thin it to airbrush it, and I'm not sure how well that would work out, having never tried it. 

[ZTony8]

Spray  some clear lacquer on the decals( NOT Tamiya). Testor Ultra Gloss is good for this.

[peteski]

On 9/11/2020 at 10:08 PM, STYRENE-SURFER said:

After applying that decal restorative,  is it still possible to use decal setting solutions like Walthers solvaset or 

some other brands to get them to settle into nooks and crannies?

Yes, as I understand that liquid decal film is the same stuff Microscale uses as the clear base for their own decals.  It will be affected by decal setting solutions the same as any other decal. 

[NOBLNG]

Can the decal sheet be cleaned with something before applying the decal solution?  I don’t think these are too bad but...

[peteski]

Greg, that decal (printed in Italy) is likely made by Cartograf (one of the top decal makers in the world).  Those are high quality decals. Do you think they really have cracked clear film?  Do you really need to seal them?

[NOBLNG]

7 hours ago, peteski said:

Greg, that decal (printed in Italy) is likely made by Cartograf (one of the top decal makers in the world).  Those are high quality decals. Do you think they really have cracked clear film?  Do you really need to seal them?

They don’t appear to be cracked, but they are very old and very thin. The tiny round one that goes on the rear speaker came apart while trying to position it. I‘ve got one shot at applying these, so I’d rather be safe than sorry. I assume that the Microscale liquid decal film is compatible? Thanks.

[peteski]

14 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

They don’t appear to be cracked, but they are very old and very thin. The tiny round one that goes on the rear speaker came apart while trying to position it. I‘ve got one shot at applying these, so I’d rather be safe than sorry. I assume that the Microscale liquid decal film is compatible? Thanks.

Yes, the MS Liquid Decal Film should work well.   Obviously you can't wet them to get the surface clean, but maybe brush any debris off with a brush and some compressed air.

If you are careful, you can even try to brush the film only over the images (instead of just covering the entire sheet).  I would apply multiple layers (2 or 3).  That film dries very thin. Test the film thickness on some unused image (like the legend lettering on the lower left).