I have several old, unopened decal sets from Microscale. Today I tried decaling a pair of Athearn USRA 2-8-2’s (actually, the tenders). I’d removed the old pad printing before trying to put the decals on. I followed Microscale’s instructions on the back of the package with no luck at all. The decals kept tearing apart when I tried to slide them off the backing, no matter how gently I handled them. Is there anything I can do to use these? Or am I sol? The alternative are CDS dry transfers.
I’ve had that happen before and the trick I’ve found to getting around that if you think it’s going to be an issue is to shoot some clear paint onto the decals before you soak them. If you’re very gentle and soak them until the decal almost floats off the sheet them you can get them on the model without them turning to dust.
Microscale decals are very thin film and have limited shelf life compared to some others. Clear-coat may help in some cases, but seems not to work on large areas and long thin parts like spelled out names and stripes. Best to use them as soon as needed. Also try to keep them away from heat and light and keep the humidity from swinging wildly. Best luck I had was in file folders in a file cabinet in the basement where the temp is stable and fairly moderate - not too hot in summer or too cold in winter.
Micro Scale also makes a product called “Liquid Decal Film” that they say is designed for this. I haven’t used the product but it might be worth looking at.
From their product description:
Everyone should have Micro Liquid Decal Film who models and uses decals. Especially if you have been at it for some time. The typical decal scrap box is not the best place to store decals. Exposed to air, sunlight, and moisture, great swings of temperature or general abuse, and decals will go bad. Or maybe you just always had trouble putting on thin stripes. Micro Liquid Decal Film solves all of those problems and makes a decal which for whatever reason is bad, work again just like new almost immediately. Of course if you have already put it in water it is too late. So if you have some old decals you really have to use, coat them with Micro Liquid Decal Film to be sure. Or if there is any indication that you might have a problem, don’t take a chance, you can solve the problem on the spot. Simply take a small brush and coat the image on the decal you want to use. Allow to dry for 20 minutes. Apply the decal as usual. It’s that simple.
Regards
Ed
=======================================================================
I have used the liquid decal film and it works great!! Follow the instructions and those pesky disintergrating decals will be usuable again.
I’ve had good luck with using clear coat, but I’ve heard it’s not that good if you have a lot of contours and details to go over.
Overspray old decals with a light coat of Dullcoat or airbrush on a light coat of Future floor wax. Works great on on old HK and MS decals. I use the same method on all my Alps-printed sets as well to prevent scratching after printing. Just make sure to use a very light mist.
Thanks to all that have replied. I hadn’t decaled in years and was beginning to doubt my touch in application. It seemed that no matter how gentle I was, I had the decals come apart. I’ll give some of the things mentioned here a try. If this works, I might even take a stab at decaling an RS3 shell in lightning stripes I’ve had sitting around for ages.
Robby:
Do you still use your Alps printer? Where do you get ink for it if you do use it? I have one that I’d put away for safekeeping when I couldn’t get ink for it anymore.