I was decalling along nicely on my new Focke-Wulf when I had a rare faux pas on one item, the green dash for the port side. I left it to soak too long and the glue, fairly resilient in the first minute or two, pretty much dissolved away so that when the decal was applied, it barely stuck and would rather curl up as it dried out.
What to do? I could paint it, maybe, but I didn't fancy another foray into paint at this stage. I remembered a few saves involving white glue, I did something with a decal many years ago, but I had no white glue to hand. The decal was drying, crisping on the model as I watched, so what did I have close by that would do the job?
I quickly rummaged in my drawers and found Micro Krystal Klear, a PVA derivative meant for attaching canopies without crazing the plastic, or making windows by exploiting the glue's surface tension. The bottle was new, rarely, if ever, opened...
I dipped a fine brush in the stuff and laid in a bead under the up-curled edges of the decal. Then I smoothed it down with the brush rinsed and wetted with water, which squeezed out excess glue and washed it away. Wallah... Couldn't be easier. The decal laid down at once and never moved again, and the glue was invisible against the surface, whatever residue was left.
The moral of this story (besides remembering your decals when they're soaking) is always have a well-stocked supply drawer, and even if it takes years to find a use for a product, rest assured it'll turn up eventually.
Now, on with those decals...
As to the decals losing their glue while soaking in water, there is a simple solution: DONT soak them.
ReplyDelete"Huh?" you may ask. "You have to get them wet, don't you?"
Well, yes - but not sopping, soaked-in-water wet. That is one of those long held practices in modeling that can stand some updating.
What I do is wet a paper towel, dip the decal in water and then let it sit on the wet towel. This keeps the backing paper wet and loosens the glue slowly. I dont "soak" them anymore.
I also use a thin wash of PVA glue to help them adhere when in place, just like your Micro Kleer.
Ive also experimented with a tiny dot of acrylic floor finish as a setting agent.
Hi Dav,
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact I do use the paper towel trick, more in the past than lately, I admit -- some decals are just stubborn and refuse to move from their backing at all unless thoroughly soaked. Good quality decals need only wetting, but poorer ones can take a long time to free off.
The truth is, my mind wandered and that one was soaking too long... Mea culpa!
Cheers, Mike