in the past i have seen several articles about how to restore old decals to usable condition.i cannot remember what i read.hopefully someone out there can help me out.thanking you in adavanc,i am tuxedo!
I had some old decals that were falling apart when soaked. I sprayed Testors Glosscoat on the sheets to save them.
While I haven’t used it for old decals (clearly states that you can use it for that) I have used it on a rather large complex decal that I only had one shot to apply. Worked out great. Definitely something to have on hand.
Microscale’s Liquid Decal Film is the right stuff. Make sure the decal is absolutely clean, anything left on the sheet will be permanently sealed in with the film. Brush it on liberally with a wide brush (new 1/2" cheap chinese brush), spread it out as even as you can, it’s self leveling so you don’t have to worry about brush strokes. Let it dry, (about 15-20mins), if the are 5 years or older, give them another coat, let them dry for an hour and you can start cutting them out and applying them as usual.
Modeler’s Tip: Use some 400 or 600 grit sand paper and sand, (a few swipes) the edges of the decals at a 45 degree angle, this will soften the edges of the decals and help them blend in when sealing them with the clear coat.
To emphasize something Jay said, be sure that the brush is clean. Otherwise it’s really easy to leave a flake of dried paint from a previous project sealed into the decal. Experience talking, here.
A new, cheap brush such as he recommends is usually a lot less expensive than what it can cost to replace an out-of-production decal set, if you can even find another copy. This is definitely a case where using the right tool for the job makes a difference.
If you are doing an entire sheet, pour a small amount of the decal film liquid on the sheet and spread it around with those cheapie foam wedge brushes. Really makes a nice spreader for the stuff !
Mark.
Here are a couple of sites I found recently. They cover some simple to very complex restoration techniques.
http://www.oldmodelkits.com/blog/plasitc-model-kits-how-tos/more-on-using-or-restoring-old-decals/
Good luck,
thank you and everyone else who replyed to my question.i am well on the way to restoring my old decals.thank you all very much. i am johnk