My June issue hit my mail box this morning. Nice article on improving a Blue Box Athearn boxcar. Since I have a LOT of such cars, I read with interest. Good Photos. All looks reasonable until we get to step 10, Apply Decals. “To reduce silvering, I brushed on a thin layer of white glue immediately before applying the decals.” Photo shows a little squeeze bottle of Elmer’s School Glue.
Interesting idea. I never heard of anyone doing that before. Does it work?
I would doubt seriously the author would suggest it if it didn’t work!
This modeler’s website sort of give some more explantion (see ‘Look Ma No Silvering’). I had only scanned the MR article on that boxcar upgrade (actually only scanned the issue due to lack of time).
Seems like time for a test run with scrap styrene with flat primer and some leftover decals…
There’s another thread with a title that suggests it must be about this. I just thought it was weird and moved on to seemingly more important stuff. However, this might just work, but I suspect a trick if you need it for a shortcut more than the way I’d want to do things. A lot of NG decals are very thin, Thin-Film, etc for instance. Not sure if you want to get too far away from the recs with them. They tend to explode on me anyway if I’m not careful…[sigh][banghead][(-D]
I was taught to apply a gloss coat under the decals, pop any bubbles with a needle, set them with micro sol, and put dull coat over the top.
I guess this author uses Elmers as his gloss coat.
I believe that he is using Future as the gloss coat. I don’t know what to think about the Elmers.
I read this article today and was confused about the Elmer’s glue use too. I re-read that section a few times and still don’t get why he used it. Anyone care to explain?
Thanks
I would try to explain but I am just as lost as all of you. -Alex
As the link in my post above concerning adding glue under decals states, you use the glue mix if you have an uneven flat finish so you don’t need to spray the model to a gloss finish - the glue will fill and level out the uneven surface so no decal silvering occurs.
But since the model in the MR article by Andy Renshaw already had a gloss finish due to the floor polish, the glue layer seems pretty unnecessary unless the floor polish application was rather sucky.
I’ll not be using any Elmers white glue or as far as that goes floor polish for decal work since I prefer a flat finish to decal over…
I’ll let you guys decide for yourself if it’s a good,bad or ugly idea.
If you’ve been building, painting and decaling for a while, you come up with a process that works for you. If you feel you have a really good method and want to provide the magazine with an article on how you do it, you provide the sequence you’ve come up with that you feel confident with. I, for one, like to read about new ideas and see how they work as I feel I always have room for improvement. If you have the best mouse-trap on the planet, maybe you don’t need to read any new/different ideas on how to do stuff!
I do a lot of old Athearn BB (and others) kit and built-kit car repurposing. In some of these- as I pick them up at swap meets- I find old yellowed “white glue” used to secure coupler box metal covers, roofwalk studs (on the interior of the roof of the boxcar shell) etc., where the white glue has basically crystallized over time. I am a bit suspect of using white glue with decals, as I have seen what the old white glue devolves to from my car work. I prefer to utilize a sprayed-on gloss paint finish as the decal base, then overspray with Dullcote or similar matte finish.
Cedarwoodron
I too am always looking for better ways to do things, but an interest in new ideas doesn’t imply a willingness to jump onboard without critical thought.
Of course…But,those old fashion mouse traps still work…[(-D][swg]
As I stated many times…I never been a follower of “new and improved” modeling ideas. On the other hand what ever floats your tug boat is ok by me.
I’m with you. I decal right over auto primer (red for boxcars, dark gray for steam locos) and it works fine for me. I use Solvaset. Decals go on, settle down and work.
I gleaned that the guy uses techniques familiar to him from fine scale military modeling, and I know that those modelers use a number of methods and techniques that model railroaders do not. Kalmbach’s fine scale modeler book on airbrush painting has a number of points that came as news to me, for example. If there is a way to avoid applying a “gratuitous” layer of gloss coat just so decals will adhere (or as an old boss of mine said, “adhese”) it may be worth at least a try.
Dave Nelson
I have never heard of using Elmers as a gloss coat under decals.
I did a search of Armorama.com (a military modelers site with some very accomplished members)
The closest I found in a post by “Tank’ Carl”: " I use gloss coat in the area, then, microset on the location. In the decal water, I add 1 drop of micro set, and 2 drops of white glue. " and in another post by the same member " I put, about 4 drops of Elmer’s Glue, into one of those Model master smaller mixing jars (3/4 oz ?) then add water. Also, I do gloss then decal, then I regloss. That seems to level and seal the edges. Then I weather, and dull cote. "