I am having a problem applying decals. I have painted a plastic diesel with an airbrush using Polly Scale paint which produces a flat finish. Therefore, I have coated the loco with Polly Scale gloss coat to prepare the surface for decaling. When I apply the decals, they will not stick to the surface. I have tried both Microscale decal setting solutions, and Walthers Solvaset to melt the decal into the surface, but with no luck. I have tried applying the solutions numerous times over several days. I could still lift large portions of the decals off the model with tweezers. There was almost no bond between the model surface and the decal. Should I try a different brand of gloss coat? If so what has everyone had good luck with. Any suggestions will be appreciated
You need to seal it after being applied using Dulcote or another clear coating. Without this the decal is just lying there and will come off. It might work without for say a building, but rolling stock, seal it up.
Although some people prefer testors clear coats, I’ve never had a problem with decals not sticking to Polly Scale gloss clear before, and I’ve used it quite a bit. How did you apply the gloss? With Polly Scale you need to put the coats on pretty heavy. It’s possible you may have dusted the coats on which will produce a rough finish and trap alot of tiny air pockets under the decal. How glossy did it come out? It should look smooth with no texture to it.
Are the decals even settleing into the little nooks and crannies on the model? What decals are you useing?
I’ve never had a decal simply lift off with twezers after being properly set with a setting solution. It is true they should be sealed after applied, but it’s more to protect the decal and hide the film, not hold the decal to the model. A properly applied decal is very hard to remove without re-appliying a setting soulution.
" How did you apply the gloss? With Polly Scale you need to put the coats on pretty heavy."
Thanks for responding, I airbrushed a fairly heavy coat of gloss coat on, the model looked glossy.
When I lifted the decals off with the tweezers, They were actually molded by the setting solution so you could see the shapes of vents etc. in the decal.
The decals were by Concord Car Shops which I think were actually made by Accu cal but I am not sure. They were an older set but in really good shape
You have a problm, decals shouldn’t lift off with tweezers. How long did you soak the decals in water before application? Too long in the water and the decal stickum can wash away. I’d think the problem is in the decals and not in the gloss coat. Either no stickum, too old, too long in the water, something in the water that spoils the decal stickum like soap. Have you tried other decals on a test strip of plastic?
That said, I have had excellent luck applying decals to flat paint. I don’t bother to put a clear gloss coat over flat paint. I just decal onto the paint surface.
I’ve never used those decals before, but “dstarr” brings up a good point about over soaking. What I do is just dunk the decal in water and then set it on a paper towel until the decal will slide from the paper. If you feel your not over soaking them, then it’s likely there is something wrong with the decals.
I’ve set decals onto flat finished also with good results, but it usually involves lots of pokeing with a needle to get rid of the “silvering” and extra applications of setting solution to get good results. If I’m telling someone else how to decal, I usually go by the book, since it’s easier to get good results that way.