Decals wrinkled - can they be saved?

[atomicholiday]

I’m having problems with these decals.  What’s odd is that I didn’t do anything different than what I’ve done several times in the past.  Here’s exactly what I did.

These decals are from the AMT Mercury Comet Cyclone kit, dated 1993.

First, dipped the decals in water for about 10 seconds and then set them on a paper towel to soak until they released from the backing.  While that’s happening, I applied Micro Set to the area on the body where I wanted the decal.

Then I applied the decal like normal.  They laid down great.  No issues whatsoever other than not sinking down into the panel lines.  This was expected.  I waited until the next day to do anything about that, and they still looked great 24 hours later.

Then I put Micro Sol on them to get them to lay down into the panel lines.  As expected, the decals wrinkled.  No problem, that’s normal too, right?  I left them alone for another 24 hours.

The next day they were still wrinkled.  So I put more Micro Sol on them and let them set again.  No chance.  Still wrinkled.

When this didn’t work I tried Mr. Hobby Mr Mark Softer.  It’s supposed to be a little stronger than Micro Sol.  It actually made things worse.  
 

The last thing I tried (and I didn’t really expect it to work) was to brush on a coat of Mr Hobby Mr Mark Setter.  No change.

It should be noted that there was nothing unusual about the paint.  Just plain old Tamiya lacquer, not even polished yet.

Any suggestions?  Or am I just out of luck?

Here’s the before and after.

 

 

[Bainford]

I don't know if I have any answers, but I am curious why you waited a day for the decals to dry before applying decal solvent. Is that your normal process? That part seems unusual to me, and may be the problem. I use decal solvent during the decal application process so that any positioning, softening, and settling is done in one process, then everything is set aside to dry in its permanent place. It would seem to me that once the decal was positioned & dry and the adhesive set, any further attempt to do anything with it such as applying a decal sol would only disturb the decal adhesive.

Just my thoughts...

[yh70]

you are waiting way to long to apply the Micro Sol.. after i have applied the set to the body i keep brushing it on top of the decal for maybe a minuet.. let it set a minuet then ill take a paper towel and press down the decal and then come over it with a good coat of the Micro Sol.. i do all this within 20 minuets or less...been doing it this way since the 80's..

[Dave G.]

3 hours ago, yh70 said:

you are waiting way to long to apply the Micro Sol.. after i have applied the set to the body i keep brushing it on top of the decal for maybe a minuet.. let it set a minuet then ill take a paper towel and press down the decal and then come over it with a good coat of the Micro Sol.. i do all this within 20 minuets or less...been doing it this way since the 80's..

Ya, it's been a long time since I've used Micro Sol but when I did use it years ago it was the same as you're describing. By the next day I want it all over with, I don't want to be disturbing them at that point lol .

[atomicholiday]

Thanks for the replies gentlemen.  Interesting.  I’ve done this several times in the past without incident.  This is the first time it has caused me any problems.

That being said, are these decals salvageable?  I’m open to suggestions.  They feel pretty thick and are still in good condition other than being wrinkly. 

[atomicholiday]

Problem solved.  Sort of…

I gave up on the black decals.  There was a set of red in the same kit I got them from, so red it shall be.

 I did everything in one sitting this time, and the results are better.  But still not perfect.  There are still some very tiny wrinkles if you look close enough.  I’m wondering if the decals were bad or starting to go bad.  Never had this much trouble before.🤔 They looked great, but I got them used, so who knows.

Anyway, wrinkles or not, I’m calling it good enough.

[yh70]

1 hour ago, atomicholiday said:

Problem solved.  Sort of…

I gave up on the black decals.  There was a set of red in the same kit I got them from, so red it shall be.

 I did everything in one sitting this time, and the results are better.  But still not perfect.  There are still some very tiny wrinkles if you look close enough.  I’m wondering if the decals were bad or starting to go bad.  Never had this much trouble before.🤔 They looked great, but I got them used, so who knows.

Anyway, wrinkles or not, I’m calling it good enough.

one thing i forgot to mention in my first post after the decals wrinkle a while like 10 minuets press them down with a paper towel..

[Rich Chernosky]

Jeremy...there are always several solutions.  If you really want   a black stripe there that can easily be replicated with vinyl tape. Lay the tape on a piece of glass and cut it to size with a sharp blade and metal straight edge.  It will have to be done in three  pieces.  Cut it as many times as needed to get it to look right. Once  ( try not to stretch the tape)  applied and you are satisfied give it a coat of Tamiay x-22 to hold it in place. I have done this many many times.

[atomicholiday]

Thanks for the tip Rich.  I might very well use that sometime.

 I’m going to leave this one as is.  Interestingly enough, red striping was my original concept for the car.  But I changed my mind at the last minute and went with black.  Now that it’s done, I like the red.  So it all worked out.  Maybe black stripes weren’t meant to be.👍

[Dpate]

Yeah just got to let set dry for a little, and then go for sol. Lot of times you can just skip set all together. Are you cutting the decal between the door seals or letting sol sink it down? Also be careful with Mr hobby’s decal solutions it’s strong stuff like solvaset if not stronger. I think it’s the blue bottle you need to make sure, and shake good too cause all the white stuff settles. If decals are thin I’ll use set & sol, and if they’re thick or being annoying I go for the strong stuff. I use a water brush a lot too (those brush’s that you can put solution in, and squeeze.) I don’t put solutions in them just use them to apply decal solutions while rubbing down the decals can burnish them down real good especially in door etc. 

Edited July 29, 2023 by Dpate

[atomicholiday]

Thanks Dusty.   I hadn't cut the black set, but I did with the red ones.  These were pretty thick.

[Dr Crapologist]

To echo previous sentiments, it's all in the timing. Microscale instructions say to apply your Set, WAIT one hour, then apply the Sol. Do not touch! Let it do its work. Over the years, modelers have found ways of short cutting the Set and Sol wait time with various results, I prefer to follow the instructions. The solutions originally came in dropper bottles which is how it's supposed to be applied, thereby negating any touching/ mechanical interference. ADDITIONALLY you want your surface to be on a horizontal plane so the solutions don't dribble away too fast thereby obstructing the ability of the solutions to do their job.

Hope that helps,

Doc