I just finished an old academy kit of an SR-71A Blackbird in 1/72. The kit itself was not too bad, some of the usual fit problems here & there, BUT... I really didn't have any problems with the decals. All of them had that creamy 'film' on the front & back. I dipped them in water for about 20 seconds, took them out, used a brush wet with water & brushed the 'junk' off the top. Dunked them back in the water real quick, and them let them sit long enough for me to get the MicroScale Decal Set applied. Then dabbed the edge of the decal to suck most of the water off. Slide it on, positioned it, & kind of pushed the water/decal set/air bubbles from under it out from around the center of the decal. Then applied the MicroScale Decal Sol. Of course it looked all creamy under the whole thing, but about 20-30 minutes later, it had applied & stuck on really nice. Of course I applied the Future first, two to three light coats. Then another coat of future after the decals to seal it. I saw Brett Green use warm water with a dab of dishwashing liquid to dip & loosen decals. That's what I've been using, along with the Future & MicroScale stuff & I've had no problems with any brand for that matter. If you can make sense of what I said, I hope that it may help.