Clear Coat On Decals To Stop Yellowing?

[oldcarfan]

If it's been asked before, I couldn't find it, but I have an 15 year old build that was painted white and the decals and the carrier film yellowed. I have another painted the same color from about the same time that was clear coated with Model Master or Tamiya clear lacquer, I'm not sure which, and the decals don't show any yellowing. So I guess the question is, does clear coat prevent the decals from yellowing or was this a coincidence?

[Can-Con]

Don't know about decals but I do have an AMT '59 Elky that I used good old Testors bottle paint enamel white on the roof and around the bed. I cleared it with Tamiya acrylic X-22 and it hasn't yellowed. 

The white Testors enamel is notorious for yellowing but it was painted over 30 years ago and is still as white as when I painted it.

Edited yesterday at 01:46 PM by Can-Con

[gtx6970]

Enamel clears are what causes the yellowing over time

[Fat Brian]

Testors/Model Master will yellow, everything a used it on now has a slightly golden hue.

[Dragline]

The white portion of my Bud King funny car has yellowed due to using Testors clear enamel. I was advised to place it in the sun (which seems counter intuitive) but I'll be hornswoggled! It brightened up significantly. As to whether it will stay that way? Probably not. But I buffed it out and it's fairly bright now. 

Edited 22 hours ago by Dragline

[rattle can man]

Enamel clear does yellow.  As for protecting decals from yellowing, it depends on which clear coat you use. Some seal the paint and decals better than others. They may be formulated to prevent oxidation, protect from UV , etc. Actual automotive clear coats are formulated to protect color coats from environmental damage, so I beleive they would be best.

[Zoom Zoom]

A lot of 3D printers include a wash and UV cure station for the parts. I've heard that you can put old yellowed decals in one of those boxes for curing the resin and it'll do the same trick as putting the decal sheet in a window and letting the sun do it's magic.