I think I'm going to cry..... can you remove decals?

Dave,

Haven't done this myself, though I've read of it being done. However, folks need a little more information before they can help you:

What was the flat finish you applied?

What was the coat under the decals?

What was the paint under that?

Don't despair—I'm sure with that information, help will soon be on its way.

Thanks.  Now that I have recomposed myself, I think I can answer those questions.  I should have done that before.  :)

I used MM enamel paints, then a coat of future and then the decals.  After applying a little wash to some of the panel lines, I used krylon spray can of clear matte.  I know, I know, it's probably not the right thing to use for a flat.  It's worked fine before, but I had always applied a coat of future over the decals in anticipation of having to apply my wash over some of the decals.  I should have done that again, but I took the short cut. :(

Dave

Here are some pictures:

I think for removing decals try MICRO SET it says it removes decals (I don't you'll be able to use them agian though, Have never tried this either) as for the clear matte would a cotton bud (q - Tip) dipped in some sort of alcohol/Windex ( not Jack Daniels) just to clear the affected area. Hope someone else will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Scott.

Scott,

I thought about doing something like that.  I was thinking of using future again over the decals to see if it takes out that cloudy white stuff.  But I was afraid i would be sealing it down and it might not have fixed it.  Alcohol or windex is another interesting idea.  At least that may not "hurt" anything if it didn't work, right? 

I have no illusions of being able to save the decals.  I'll just have to try and find another set of them somewhere.  Unfortunately, the Storch in 1/72 is not going to be as easy to find decals for as say the 109.  :/

Dave

Nothing wrong with Krylon—I've used it myself with fine results.

So you have a lacquer or enamel over an acrylic, over enamel. Hopefully, the future is a nice, thick coat.

Check the Krylon. Does it say that the material is a lacquer? (This is likely—artists don't like fixatives that shrink, and lacquer shrinks much less than any polymer.) If the Krylon tells you what solvents it contains, use one of those to remove the matt over the decals. The difficulty is that if the solvent is an alcohol, you may dissolve the Future, too. You will probably loose the decal, but that's hard to tell.

If a solvent is not listed, try on a cotton swab, in this order: methyl alcohol (Everclear), isopropyl alcohol, Windex, MEK, and lacquer thinner. Test a small area, first. You may have to let the alcohols and Widex sit on the surface for a moment, but don't do that with MEK or lacquer thinner. Use very gentle pressure and work on small areas, trying not to affect adjacent areas.

Hope this helps…

Big negatory on alcohol, ammonia and future.  :(  I used a q-tip and scrubbed the middle of on of the crosses on the wing.  It didn't do a thing.

After further inspection, I noticed something.  The swastika on the tail was unaffected by the flat..  The swastika was from a different set of decals since they don't come in the academy kit.  It was only the academy decals that this happened to.  Grrrr... I thought their thickness and inflexability were bad enough.  I used micro sol and set and even that can't get them to lay well.  Luckily, the decals on this kit didn't need to form to panel lines and stuff much.  But then I get this problem.

Dave

Triarius,

I posted below your post before I saw what you said.  I tried regular rubbing alcohol but not everclear.  What is MEK?  I'll go check the Krylon can too.

Dave

I don't see whether the Krylon matte is a laquer or not.  But it says it contains resin, toluene and acetone.  Would acetone be the solvent?

Oh, Ick! I was afraid of that.

Most commercial lacquer thinners contain both toluene and MEK (methyl ethyl ketone). Some contain acetone, too.

I do not know whether MEK or acetone will attack Future. Both have a tendency to dissolve or soften anything that even vaguely resembles an oil, and I've never tried either on Future. Toluene (toluol) should not. Lacquer thinner may or may not. (See above.)

One thing that might be worth trying is ordinary mineral spirits. They will not attack the Future, thus protecting the underlying enamel. It will also only slowly affect fully cured enamels, giving  you a further safety margin.

Of course, use adequate ventilation and don't get any of this stuff on your skin if you can help it.

Keep me informed…

Ok I will start from the least harmful to most, Mineral Spirits and Laquer Thinner.  (I don't have Toluene.  :/  Am I trying to use this stuff to see if it will clear up the cloudy white stuff, or trying to totally remove the decal?

Dave

TryintoModel wrote:

Am I trying to use this stuff to see if it will clear up the cloudy white stuff, or trying to totally remove the decal?

Yes.

If it just clears up the clouding and leaves the decal, great! If it damages the decal, well, that's acceptable.

OMG!  Mineral spirits just might work.  I started on one of the crosses on the underwing.  I scrubbed too hard and too often at first and ruined that decal by rubbing off the black exposing the white part of the decal underneath.  However, I then just wiped over one of the black numbers and left it for a minute.  Then I came back and wiped over it again.  It's started looking more and more pure black.  I started on all of the underwing decals and it seems to be working, albeit a slow process.  I have to go to dinner, so I have to take a break.  This looks promising though, as long as my future holds up and it doesn't start to damage my paint underneath as I leave a little MS soaking on the surface (not much at all though, but it inevitably goes over the edge of the decal).  I'll try to finish later tonight and let you know. 

Thanks a ton for helping me out.

Dave

Nope, false hope.  :(  *cry*  Once the mineral spirits dried up, the cloudyness came right back. So then I moved on to laquer thinner.  I strips the decal right off, but the paint comes right off with it.  Looks like I didn't have a good enough coat of  Future.  I'm screwed.  Damn, I thought it was a cool model too.

Dave

Shame about the Storch, but you can always strip and repaint. Builds character! So they tell me...

TryintoModel if you can save the model I have some decals you could probably use (they go to a 1/72 BF-109 from academy)

Thanks for the responses guys.  I think I'm just going to have to put this one up for now.  Maybe someday I'll get a wild hair to try and fix it.  Sad though, I really liked that plane. 

Dave

TryintoModel wrote:

Thanks for the responses guys.  I think I'm just going to have to put this one up for now.  Maybe someday I'll get a wild hair to try and fix it.  Sad though, I really liked that plane.  Dave

Well, it's your model—I can certainly see setting it aside for awhile, but I wouldn't give up. I've seen several posts here, and tips in FSM, about using brake fluid to completely strip paint from a model. Apparently, works like a charm with minimum fuss (though I've not tried it myself, mind). Then just repaint.

Think about how much more this model will mean to you after you save it!

Comrades I have hope!!

Here is a set of storch decals

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-ABT-1-72-SCALE-WWII-GERMAN-Fi-156-STORCH-DECALS_W0QQitemZ6037730848QQcategoryZ50296QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Nice find!  However, I think what I'm going to do is wait for Hobby Lobby
to have another sale and then see if I can find this kit again.  It was only around
$10-$15 and then I got it 1/2 off.  I figure I could re-use some parts and also
get the decals.  The only problem with that theory is finding another storch kit. 
I found this one a long way from my local hobby lobby.

Dave

Removing the decals will surely damage the paint underneath.

 

Doug