Do decals expire ??

[Van Halen]

The majority of my kits left to build are from the 80's and have decals which i want to use, all the decals look visually ok - some a little faded.

I plan to use them and clear-coat over them, you know how it goes..

So what are peoples experiances with 80's/old decals ? do they still stick / do they fry when you clear-coat over them ?

[Greg Cullinan]

Great question Neal. I recently bought a kit,was sealed and a fairly new release. But the decals were with the instructions and upon removal they rubbed off.

Not to hijack,does anyone have recommendations for storing decals?

[Doughnut]

It's difficult to give a broad response to a decal question without seeing them. If they are yellowed, I would recommend the "hanging them in the sunny window" trick that I've heard works. I built the Bobby Allison Buick (80's kit) a little while back using the kit decals and they went on fine. One thing that I always recommend is scanning the decals before cutting them apart (use the 600dpi setting). That way, if something goes wrong, you can have one of the many talented decal printers use your file to create a new set. I scan my decals as soon as I open the kit. I then place them in a manila folder or three-ring binder in a dark area for safekeeping.

[diymirage]

i find that most of the times if you store decals in a dry place the stay good for a long time

(i keep mine in a old chocolate tin)

whenever i want to use decals that are ages old or just plain questionable i cut them out as close as possible and shoot a few coats if clear over the decals

make sure you give it plenty of time to dry before you put it in the water

that way, even if the decal itself wants to fall apart the clear coat will hold it together

its not 100% garantued but it seems to do the trick 80-90% of the time

[Dragline]

I agree with the storage issue as well. I have built a few 80's Monogram cars lately and if handled gently, they were ok though a couple did end up breaking. It does indeed depend on how they appear to you. And close inspection can reveal how they may act. No guarantees though, as they are thin and are definitely a perishable item within the box. The ideas laid out here [particularly the clear coating] are excellent and I plan to use them in the future.

I'm currently building [among other things] am 80's issue 1/16th Garlits dragster. The decal sheet is not large but it does look fragile. I'm cutting them out now and am going VERY close to the edge on each one. I may end up clear coating them as insurance, but I'll try a few of the smaller ones first as a test..

Testing may be the watch word in this area. Perhaps a coat of Future on the decals can help as well?

Bob

[Van Halen]

Some good tips there thanks, Scanning them at high DPI i never would have thought to do

I just realised that theres a decal on the sheet i dont want to use, i think to test, i'll apply it to some plastic and clear-coat so that if it goes wrong i know the sheet it bad.

And just another tip from a tip, use a decal on the sheet you dont need as a test first on another surface, I noticed on almost all of them their is a kit manufactor logo on thats applyable such as "AMT-ERTL" or even a model code that is water-slide-able to test with.

[Guest Johnny]

But is such a challege when what looks like a perfect decal breaks into twenty pieces just as you start to slide it onto the trunklid! Then because it is the last one to finish the model you spend the next 45 minutes keeping it wet and shifting all the pieces into their proper positions and hope it still looks decent!

[Ben]

Microsol makes a liquid decal film you can brush over old decals to help "renew" them. It would be a safe bet to get some and brush it over the whole sheet, let it dry and then use them as normal.

[Jon Cole]

About scanning... if any of the graphics are in white, how will scanning help? How can we "capture" white graphics?

Also, can clearcoating a decal after trimming make application difficult, if any of the clear... goes over the edge of the paper? This may be more applicable a situation if the clear being used is brush applied, such as Future, etc.

[Kodiak Island Modeler]

I never use the kit decals; not because of quality, but because I'm rather strange. I scan them onto my computer, and then when I want a decal, I run off what I want onto decal film. That way I can use the same decals for future projects if I so desire, and I never worry about quality, or messing up a decal. I told you I was strange.

[Guest Johnny]

I never use the kit decals; not because of quality, but because I'm rather strange. I scan them onto my computer, and then when I want a decal, I run off what I want onto decal film. That way I can use the same decals for future projects if I so desire, and I never worry about quality, or messing up a decal. I told you I was strange.

Not strange at all if you have the ability to do it that way Doug!

[highway]

About scanning... if any of the graphics are in white, how will scanning help? How can we "capture" white graphics?

Jon, here are a couple I scanned that has white on them, mainly the license plates, and the scanner picked the white up just fine.

The problem with white decals occur when you try to print them, as with metallic colors like gold or chrome. Unless you have one of the fancy ALPS printers, your standard home printer can't print these colors from what I've been told. The simple solution for the white, though, is when you buy the decal paper, make sure you by the white background decal paper, not the clear. That way, especially in copying the license plates in my scans, the colors will be printed and the white will be from the decal film itself.