Hi
I just finished applying decals to an armor build and the results looked like the decals where stuck on with scotch tape. The adhesive area around the design looked cloudy and the outline can be seen. Is this called 'silvering' ? I've laid on decals with good results before but that was when I didn't use pastel chalk for weathering. Perhaps the sequence in which I went about finishing the model was wrong. Here's briefly what I did :
1.pre shade ( acrylic )
2.base color ( acrylic )
3.dry brush ( enamel )
4.pastel chalk weathering
5.gloss coat with Future and left to dry for 48 hrs
6.wash
7.apply decal
8.brush decal with Gunze's MrMark Softer ( after water dried )
9.coat with Gunze's flat base mixed with Future
10. pastel chalk again for some areas made less distinct by the gloss and flat coats.
Perhaps No.4 should be left till last ? Did the pastel chalk, even with a gloss coat over it still somehow rendered the surface 'unsmooth' for decals ? This is the only conclusion I can come to. I used ro get rid of 'silvering' whenever there's any after the flat coat, with a once over of Future ( compressor set to 30 psi ). This gives the finish a realistic semi-gloss, 'metal look' but this time Future couldn't come to the rescue. Anyone care to tell me what I did wrong ? I'm going to start on a 1/48 Corsair with markings for Maj Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington soon as I've always wanted to build his aircraft after following the TV series 'Black Sheep Squadron' and I'd really love for this long awaited build to be perfect especially the decals. Many thanks in advance and best regards.