That darn decal film......grrrr!! Any tips?

Try using a decal setting solution such as Micro-Sol and Micro-Set. I use both of these products and haven't had any problems with them.

That effect is called silvering and I agree with you, It's very annoying. If you're granting a gloss surface before you apply your decals that should be enough, maybe you're wetting the decals too much and they could be loosing adhesive. I dip mines 10 secs, to allow the papaer get wet. Then wait 30 secs or more till the decal releases. And then slide out of the paper with a brush. If it's a complex surface a decal solvent solution it's really helpful.

Anyway, try this: dilute some future with water, maybe 1:1 ratio. Once you have applied the decal and it's in place apply this solution. If you want to remove silvering from already applied decals this tip will work too, use future undiluted and apply it to the border of the decal, it will go beneath it and fill the air space.

start by putting down a clear gloss coat. use micro set/solvent. if the film still shows up a dull coat will help blend it in. if not.... rub some pastels on it. it will hide the film and make it look dirty.

Try to apply them onto a fresh light coat of Future (apply the Future where the decal goes). Obviously, you'll need to re-varnish the whole model after...

this is part of an article from the Tamiya website.

"After the DullCote dried, I sprayed layer of unthinned Future floor wax, by airbrush, straight onto the areas where the decals were be placed. This was a necessary step because of the thickness of the decals. The Future floor wax offers a clear built-up layer that the decal “sinks” into. Once the Future was dry, decals are applied in the normal manner and a small amount of Micro-Sol was placed over the top to ensure that the decal “snugs down” onto the surface of the model with no air bubbles trapped underneath. When the decals are dry, I check for silvering and spray another layer around the outside (carrier film) edge of the graphic. When this new layer was completely dry, I gently buff the future until there was no visible edge to the decal."

here is a link to the article
http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/plastic/tips/mmmgood.html

hope the can help you.

oh yah, personally i just try my best to cut away the excess, and that usually works. Have you tried looking into dry transfers??

Tried and true Micro-Sol and Micro-Set.