Alclad and decals

I am not sure about a cure, but you don't need to ad anything on top of Alclad before adding the decals. From the times i have used it, the decals go down just fine.

To me, it sounds like the setting solution "softened" the Future where the decal was.  I'd let it sit and dry, and the staining should go away.  If it's the "problem" that I've run in to, the clouding should clear up as the decal dries.  If you still have a bit of haze, a bit more Future should clear it up.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.  I think it's the same thing you're talking about.

You can see in this second picture that things "cleared-up" (pun intended) once the decal dried.

I don't know if we're talking about the same thing, but I hope his helps.

Cheers,

-O

Bish

I am not sure about a cure, but you don't need to ad anything on top of Alclad before adding the decals. From the times i have used it, the decals go down just fine.

 

oortiz10

To me, it sounds like the setting solution "softened" the Future where the decal was.  I'd let it sit and dry, and the staining should go away.  If it's the "problem" that I've run in to, the clouding should clear up as the decal dries.  If you still have a bit of haze, a bit more Future should clear it up.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.  I think it's the same thing you're talking about.

 

You can see in this second picture that things "cleared-up" (pun intended) once the decal dried.

 

I don't know if we're talking about the same thing, but I hope his helps.

 

Cheers,

-O

 

Alclad is pretty smooth so setting solution should be applied very sparingly.When I chromed my 61 ,I did not use Future nor setting solution underneath thd decal.I applied Micosol only on the decal and not on the Alclad.Worked  just fine.     

The effect you describe it actually the micro sol affecting the future, not the alclad. I have had this a few times when using future as a gloss coat on paints for decals.

On alclad I have never used any clearcoat for decals, they go on smooth directly onto the "raw" alclad.

I also use only alclad's range of clearcoats as a final clearcoat to seal the decals as it does not alter the look of the alclad.

Theuns

First and foremost, you do not need to use a clearcoat over Alclad, period. In their website they say you have to clear coat the surface when using decals on high shine colors, yet I find this to be unnecessary. On high shine Alclad paints, I have succesfully used Solvaset which is ten times stronger than Set and Sol and had absolutely no problems at all. You have to let it cure for at least 2-3 days to be on the safe side. I rather use over abundance of caution than ruin a paint job.

The problem you are experiencing is a reaction of the decal solution on the Future which was not fully cured. You need to let the Future cure at least 2 days to avoid problems. Cold and humid climates may require more time.

A couple of years back I was in a rush to complete a 1/48 Me163 for a show. I applied the Future and attempted to decal about 10-12 hours later. I ended up sanding and repainting the wing cause the cloud would not go away even after re applying Future. 

Thanks, practice, practice, practice. Great advise and I will follow all the info I got back from you and the other modelers. Thanks to all.

Bish is right that Alclad doesn't typically need a gloss over it for decals to be applied, but I will say that I always put a gloss coat down because of the way it changes the shine of the Alclad, which shows through the carrier film around a decal.

Since the decal carrier film around the markings preserves the original shine, it shows up as a different shade if the Alclad isn't gloss coated first.

This is an older work of mine, but look at the decal under the exhaust manifold on this one. I applied decals directly over Alclad Polished Aluminum, then sprayed with Aldlac Klear Kote, and it was like carrier film Hi-Liter. There was no silvering visible before the Klear went down. Now, it's possible that I didn't wait long enough to clear it, and the solvent changed the Alclad hue, but I haven't been willing to risk it since.

-BD-

To avoid the "carrier film highlighting"  I cut the film off the decals as close to the print as I dare. It's a pita and takes lots more time to apply the decals but sometimes it's woth the effort. The only problem is with the tiny stencils like "no step" etc. I haven't figured out how to make these more realistic yet in the final result.  I did a  P-47 in Alclad NMF about two years ago and  initially , the decals came out very nice, but I just took a look at it and you can really see the excess carrier film on the tiny ones now.

Here is my 1/48 mustprang with thick tamiya decals directly over alclad dark alluminium and alclad semi matt clearcoat over it all.

1/48 hasa 104 with airframe allu, decals directly onto that no glosscoat first.Note the large USAF decal on the nose shows no film. All was sealed with alclad gloss clear.

1/72 Trump Hun, airframe allu aldlca, decals directly over that sealed with semi gloss alclad clear. Again no carrier film visable and I had to use loads of microsol.

1/48 Hasa 86, decals dircetly onto airframe allu alclad , sealed with semy gloss clear.