I’m sure this is discussed a lot in the past.
Anyway, is there a quick answer? I’ve applied some Champion decals to some flat railcar red colored cars and now I want the gloss patch of the decal to disappear.
Will more and more applications of Microsol do that, or do I need to spray over the car with some matte spray?
Thanks.
Apply a top coat of Testor’s Dullcote over the entire model. The Dullcote will make the shiny decal film become invisible.
Microsol or Solvaset make the decal film go soft and stretchy allowing it to snuggle down around rivets, joints, wood grain, and other irregularities in the surface under the decal. It won’t do anything about the shine of the decal film.
Probably your best bet is to spray over the car with some matte spray. That should eliminate most of the decal gloss.
Hint: Next time you apply decals to a freight car, first apply a gloss spray to the car itself, (Testor’s Glosscote works very well for me) then apply the decals to the gloss finish. Then after you’ve set the decals with Mircosol (making sure that there are no ‘bubbles’ in the decals), overspray the entire car with a flat matte finish (I use Dullcote, myself). The car and decals will dry to a flat finish, and should look as if the car came directly ‘out of the box’ that way.
I use this techinque on all of my steam locomotives and tenders, and it works like a charm.
Hope this helps.
Tom [:)]
Yeah, what Tom said. It also helps to trim the decal very close to the printing to reduce the amount of film in the first place.
Mark
It is a bit more difficult to avoid decal sheen on wood surfaces because they aren’t initially as smooth as metal or plastic. But it can be done as shown here on this HOn3 kit-built model:
Mark
Testors Dullcoat or Future wax. Always decal BEFORE weathering. Cut the decal as close as you can to the printed pattern with a sharp hobby blade. Try to be as precise as you can when placing the decal on the model’s surface, once placed just try to adjust it into position in the least movements possibles. Decal glue will leave a stain on your paint work if you strat sliding the decal arround. Luck!
A clear “satin” or semi-gloss coat is another option. I like to use this as a pre-coat to get a smooth surface prior to decalling. It is just as smooth as gloss, but far less shiny. After the decals are applied, a second spray of satin will tone down the decal’s surface without flattening it completely. This is nice, for example, if you want a “new-looking” engine or passenger car without the brand-new-car shine to it. If you want the whole surface flat, then Dul-Cote works well at the top layer.
Nice little plow, by the way, Mark.
