Clear gloss under decals question

You got it chief.

Most experienced buildes just gloss the area where the decal is to go, in fact in the most recent FineScale mag, a builder tells how he puts a dab of Future mixed with water where the decal is to go, and applies the decal before it even has a chance to dry.

Since most of my aircraft models are either a gloss or a satin/semi-gloss finish, so I do not feel like glossing out the whole plane just to apply decals to a spot here and there. Unlike armor, I generally don't care for a dull finish for aircraft, since unless the aircraft has been sitting in a junkyard, or otherwise unattended for a long time, they usually show some shinyness, if nothing else due to the maintenance crew's clothes rubbing the oxidized paint here and there. But of course, that is another subject.

Tom

Awesome, thanks Tom for the tip! I'll try it tonight!

One more follow-up question: Lets say that I apply a patch of glossy clear directly where the decal will go (Don't have access to Future yet so will be using an acrylic model clear airbrushed). Then I place the decal. For the next step do I need to clear coat the whole part with gloss clear then dull clear or can I go over the whole part directly with the dull clear?

Thanks!

Greg

 I've been modeling for years and have never gloss coated any of my aircraft models where the the finish is flat. When I paint with flat paints I make sure the paint is good and dry (three to ten days). After that I use a soft "scotch bright type" scrouring pad and rub down the entire paint surface. This removes alot of the flat tooth of the paint, and makes the general apperance of the part(s)  look even better and more realistic when assembled.

Next, I decal using the Microscale System and then finish treating the decals with a flat clear coat which makes the decal edges disappear.

I do mostly out of the box aircraft and have won awards at the 1995 nationals using this decaling method.

Hi Biff,

Thanks for the advice!

How do make sure that when you are using the scotch bright pad you are not rubbing through the paint exposing primer or plastic? I'm especially worried about this on corners, etc. With your preferred technique do you have to use multiple coats of paint to avoid this?

Can you use the scotch bright pad on the area only below the decal? How about using a fine grit sandpaper instead of the scotch bright pad (not sure if they even sell those pads here in Japan...).

Greg

If you have applied a dull finish, you can either buff or apply a coat of clear gloss to the general area that you are going to apply your decals.  After applying the decals and setting solutions, let the decals dry a minimum of 24 hrs and then overcoat w/the dull finish.

One thing I've read about on a couple of the forum but haven't tried yet is to soak the decals in a mixture of Future and water and apply the decals directly to the dull surface.  Apparently, the Future does two things, prevents silvering (the main reason for the gloss coating) and acts as a setting solution.  You still have to apply either a semi-gloss or dull finish when the decals are dry (depending on which type of finish the model has) 

Gaijin Modeler wrote:

Awesome, thanks Tom for the tip! I'll try it tonight! One more follow-up question: Lets say that I apply a patch of glossy clear directly where the decal will go (Don't have access to Future yet so will be using an acrylic model clear airbrushed). Then I place the decal. For the next step do I need to clear coat the whole part with gloss clear then dull clear or can I go over the whole part directly with the dull clear? Thanks! Greg

Just a dull clear should do the job.

Any good clear coat, whether you use gloss, semi-gloss or dull essentially seals the decals to the model's finish.

I have used Testors enamel, lacquer, and acrylic clear coats, all with essentially the same degree of success when it comes to decals, and especially since I can get the nice big bottles of Testors acrylic clear coat products at Hobby Lobby that so far have worked very well with me, I have yet to worry with paintng my models with the bottle of Future I bought a while back.

The main thing you have to watch ouit for is if you get a little too heavy of a coat of Testors acrylic clear on a decal, it can start to dissolve the decals colors.

So far, my best appliction I have found for Future, besides the linoleum kitchen floor, is making clear parts clear again if they get marred or dulled somehow.

For that I have a small wide mouth jar of just plain unmixed Future, that I simply dip the part into and dab it onto a paper towel to bleed off the excess.

I understand that this also makes it where you can use CNA glue for the clear part's assembly as normally CNA will damage the finish of clear plastic.

Tom

Hi Greg,

I never use a new scotch bright as they are to corse, use one that has been used for a while, but make it is clean by washing it in a good oil cutting soap and hot water.

Micro-Mark the small tool specialists has Micro-Mesh soft touch pad in geits from 2400 to 12000. I use the 4000 and 6000 grits often just like the scotch bright.

You can shop on line at www.micromark.com for these pads a much more. At times my wife tells me that I'm keeping them in business"HA HA"

Good Luck with your models.

Biff