Help with decals

[DKeith2011]

I've used Krylon Crystal Clear sealer on all sorts of things with and without various kinds of decals and never had a problem.

[djdood]

I prime with Tamiya white fine surface primer, then base coat with airbrushed Testors Model Master gloss enamels. Using gloss gives the slick, shiny surface that decals want to adhere to (and I don't have to gloss coat the mini before decals).

I wanted to use acrylics to avoid the fumes that come with enamels and their thinners, but I just couldn't get the results I wanted with the acrylics. I had years of using enamels from my teen plastic kit modeling days, so my experience there led me to the results I got.

I do all my detail painting with Tamiya acrylics, followed by a wash with "magic wash" (Tamiya black acrylic, greatly thinned with Future acrylic floor polish and distilled water). I then do some shadowing and light weathering with Tamiya weathering powders and a little highlighting with the base coat paint dry brushed onto high surfaces and edges.

I then apply the decals with Micro-Sol and Micro-Set, wipe off any excess decal adhesive and setting solutions, and once things dry for a day or two I seal the mini with dull-coat (store-brand/Krylon, if memory serves).

[Sergeant_Crunch]

Hmm, I think I'll just get a bottle of brush on matte sealer with next months budgetary allotment. If that doesn't keep the decals from wrinkling I guess I'll have to learn to keep a steady hand for lettering.

[Scoutdad]

Very similar to what I do... but I base coat with an air-brushed coat of thinned and filtered acrylic paint... unless I'm doing a cat-type Lyran. Those get base-coated with a brush and lots of blending gel.

I used Testors enamels on plastic mode when I was younger... but around 15 or 16 I got into D&D and started painting those miniatures. The Testor's enamels were too thick and not enough different colors, so I started using acrylics. Experience and practice has led me to the results I get now. I haven't tried the Tamiya weathering powders (although I have picked them up and looked at them several times) I still have a huge assortment of pastels that I scrape and use in a manner similar o the weathering powders.

As an interesting experiment, over the Christmas holiday I found a box in the attic that had some of the old Ral Parta and Grenadier D&D miniatures that I painted when I was 16. I took some good, close-up photos of them and then dunked them in the Easy OFF! I am now going to repaint them (in the same colors, but using the techniques I've learned over the last 27 years. Once done, I'm going to photograph them from the same angles and combine the "before" and "after" shots into one picture and post them to the website... just to see how my abilities have changed over the years.

[djdood]

Sergeant_Crunch -

The only thing I can think to suggest is that your Future gloss coat may not have been thick or even enough to give the decals the surface area they want.

Any texture (which is how matte and dull paints get their look - the millions of edges in the texture breakup up the light reflection) also disrupt the adhesion of the decals. This can also happen from the primer coat getting too much of a grain (which happens to me a lot).

The adhesive layer on waterslide decals is incredibly thin (especially after being diluted in a water bath). If the texture is coming up through the clear coat then all the decal is adhering to is the top points of those texture granules.

If so, then as the final dull coat cures it is shrinking ever so slightly and might be making the decals shear in some places (causing wrinkling).

[Sergeant_Crunch]

Hmm, good point. I'm not thinking on the microscopic scale of things.