decals... seal the deal

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I’m new to decaling so a friend helped me apply some to my class A locomotive. I have a few more small, very small ones to do. But I know I need to ‘seal’ the decals as the last step but now sure what to use. I have regular dullcote, Tamiya flat clear and tamiya clear. Which is best to use on my locomotive? Do I try to mask off the engine except for the small area containing the decal or spray the whole side?

Thanks,

Jarrell

2

I’d say depending on the look you want use a flat clear overspray or a semi-gloss overspray. I’ve done some decaling on my O Gauge engines and like the look of the semi-gloss but you may want something different for your HO engine.

I’s suggest trying a test spray on a plain painted surface first and see which one you prefer. I should add I’ve been using Tamiya paints and like the results. Tamiya clear is going to give you a high gloss finish so for modeling I’d stay away from that one although it does have its uses in certain applications.

Other posters may (and should) sound off on this topic.

3

Testors works for me to seal decals, but do from a distance to avoid the decal moving around.

4

I use a Krylon semi-gloss or gloss if I’m doing something I want “new” like a trolley. I usually do the whole car before decaling, so I only need a touch-up over the decal.

5

I wouldn’t use a flat clear unless you are spraying the engine shell and tender. If you’re spraying just the tender, I would try to match the sheen of the locomotive. Is the Tamiya clear a gloss?

6

Chuck, I have two Tamiya, one just says ‘clear’ and the other ‘flat clear’. I’m assuming the ‘clear’ is on the glossy side while the other is not. I wish I had an old tender I could try them on. And, it’s been so rainy here for a few days I’ve got to wait until fair weather because I have to spray outside.

Jarrell

7

Thank you, Mr. Beasley!

8

Jarrell,I would try both cans of Tamiya paint on an old body shell. A boxcar, an old structure, anything, just to check to see which one matches what you want before you spray your steamer. Believe me, I know all about the rain…we’ve had a lot of it here!

9

I usually spray gloss-cote first.

It seals the decal and helps hide the edges of the decal.

Then once that has dried ( about 3 days ) I spray on dullcote .

Edit: I discovered by accident , that if you spray dullcoat directly onto a Gold decal ( like pinstripes, or gold outlined letters) without spraying on glosscote first, the dullcote will cause the Gold to run.

With a little trial and error, I figured out how to use this to my advantage.

Makes Gold pinstripes look like their faded , bleached out, and 40 years old.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a y pictures to prove this theory…

Anybody at the Mount Hood Model Engineers got a picture of the White Horse Railway Locomotive and combine/caboose I left there ???

10

Since the decals are shiny, I normally use Gloss Clear first, as that helps hide decal edges, then finish with either semi-gloss, satin, or dead flat, depending on age.

11

Thank you, Chuck. I do have some old box cars around I could experiment with.

Jarrell

12

I appreciate the tip on gold decals!

Jarrell

13

Thanks Ricky. I think I’m going to try semi gloss first and then dullcote since the steamer has very little shine to it.

Jarrell

14

I have always used Testors #1260 Dullcote for everything. It is not as flat as it used to be.

I have some in a bottle to be airbrushed now. I have heard the bottled Dullcote is still pure flat, but I have not tried it yet.

-Kevin