Surprising Decal Silvering Problem

[aferguson]

I applied Future over a model i was working on, then decaled the next day, then applied another coat of Future the day after that. Model looked great...not a trace of any decal silvering.

The next day i dullcoted. Model still looked great.

Then i looked at it a day later and all kinds of silvering had appeared around the decals. I've never had this happen before.

Anyone know the cause? Is there a fix for this?

[cnq]

I have similar problem too in some models that I built before mostly the old decals/kits. You can try to re-apply more Micro Sol solution until the silvering goes away, then re-seal it with Future. That's what I did.

[aferguson]

yes the decals i used are very old. Probably 30 years...lol. They went on so beautifully i didn't expect this problem.

I ended up just touching up with paint all around the decal, covering up the silvering. Tedious but it looks far better now. I'll try your suggestion next time if this happens again. I didn't think that micro sol would penetrate the Future.

I hate silvering. Always have, always will.

[Epap]

This happens somtimes, AF. In some cases, it's the way the Dullcoat spray is applied. If you spray too close or from directly above, there can be an adverse chemical reaction on the decals and the paint. On other occasions, the decal may seem to set correctly but actually, some air bubbles remain.

As for the cure, depending on how bad the silvering is, I often over paint the decal, then, wait 24 hours and re-apply Dullcoat. Sometimes I begin by applying Microsol, which penetrates the decal and, often, quashes the bubbles. A slight pinprick sometimes helps to give the solution access to the area where the air is. Then---if I get a good result---its Future and some light Dullcoat spraying.

[mountian-man]

I don't understand why water-slide decals are still so popular given their frailty, silvering, non-archival aspects. I always thought dry transfers had huge potential, but many of the manufacturers have closed shop.