use by date

I recently built a Matchbox kit that i had for about 20 years, and it hadn't been stored very well. I was expecting real problems with the decals, which ain't the best to start with. But they went on great, i was very surprised.

So i would say no, its really down to how they are looked after and how they are applied.

I've never heard of any problems with Cartograph, usually good stuff. The longer it takes to soak off the backing sheet, I would assume there is more chance of the adhesive being lost. Not familiar with your clearcoat - is it an enamel/laquer base? Some of those dry to the touch quickly, but take days to properly cure & off-gas. If the decals weren't in perfect condition to start with, ad there was still some curing to happen, it could have affected the way they settled down.

Well they were for a 2001 f1 car so were not more than 11 years old and were studio 27 decals by cartograf so were supposedly good quality and stored in the box still sealed in their bag. They took an age to soak off the paper tho'. All were applied with mr mark softer/setter. I am wondering if it was the clearcoat shrinking the decals. it was zero paint two pack clearcoat. Is this possible? If so i'll dump it for a new type.

thanks

JH

There probably is a best before, but would depend on initial quality, how they were stored etc etc. I recently dealt with decals on three 20+ year old kits (2 Airfix, 1 ESCI). One set I had to use some liquid decal film to rescue, the others went down fine but took quite awhile to soak free of the backing paper. I guess "results may vary" applies here. Always try a test decal when possible, especially if it's not a brand-new kit.

Silvering is usually more of an application problem than a decal aging problem.  The lack of adhesion might be an age problem but can also be due to other things.  The biggest age problem is cracking- that is almost always due to age.  I have generally found decals of recent kits not to have an aging problem, so I would assume decals last at least for several years.  By the time they get about ten years old or older I get worried.

Lately, in fact, I always scan decals, so I can try to re-create them if things go wrong, before I soak them.

Yellowing, another old-age problem, can often be solved by bleaching in sunlight, though I always worry that that treatment may make them more likely to crack.