Decalling race cars - how do you do it?

Just wondering what steps you take in polishing your race car decals... PMan, I expect a reply from you :iceslolan

usually...
polish, decal, clearcoat, wax, done

or sometimes...
polish, decal, wax, done

decal, clear, polish, etc, etc

decal, clear, polish, wax, done

in which way have we better result? first polish and then decals or oposite?

I'm finding the range in techniques to be very interesting.

Me...

decals, flat clear, sand, clear, compound, wax, done...

Rtuned :rolleyes:

polish, decal, wax, done

clear, decal, clear, sand, clear, sand, clear, sand, clear, compound, wax, done.

polish, decal, wax, done
Same... found that clear sometime lifts the decals and makes them stand out more.

Major :)

Polish, decal, done.

We are talking about racecars here. Being a photographer of a real raceteam (Carsport Modena - driving the Pagani Zonda at Le Mans), I've seen a lot of racecars in the making as on the racetrack. A real racecar gets stickered and that's it. Most of the time they get 1 base color and all the other livery colors are stickers or self-adhesive coats as well. Nobody bothers to mask a real racecar to give it a second coat in a different color! And certainly no polishing or clearcoating or anything. As I always try to stay as close to reality as possible, that's the way I do it also in scale.

I can only confirm what Sennake says about the real cars. However, I use Rallyraiders technique :"clear, decal, clear, sand, clear, sand, clear, sand, clear, compound, wax, done." but do 1 time less sand clear. :smile: The reason I do that is to protect the decals and give 'em a long lasting finish. I have older Tamiya models at home where you can see that the decals are aging. Not so with those that are sealed in. So although I also try to get as close the the real thing as possible, I feel this is a compromise which I will never let go.

Besides, if a model looks good, it is good, regardless how close it is to a real one.

:2cents:

What you are saying is very true Sennake. Most graphics on race cars are vinyl self adhesive stickers. There are some exceptions though, like the McLaren Formula One team, but their standards of preparation are very much higher than normal!

The edges of the graphics are only noticeable from very close. From any distance over a few meters they generally look glossy and seamless with the rest of the paintwork. Decals applied to a scale model without a clear coat generally don't look like this to me. The problem is compounded when decals have to be placed on top of each other, the ridges look very ugly and anything but realistic. Also if you were to calculate the scale thickness of some decals then they would be a centimetre or so thick!

For those reasons the clear coat looks best to me, but to each his own. On some of my models people remark that the decals look painted on, because there is no join, ridge, or carrier film to be seen. Unless you were to put your nose right up to the model. That kind of replicates the scale distance you'd need to be to a real car to see the edges of the stickers!

Huudo and Rallyraider, I can see your points and who am I to disagree? In fact, I'm willing to try your method on my next model, but being a "newbie" in this, I would like to grab the opportunity to ask a question (especially to my fellow belgian modelers since they obviously buy their material nearby) : what kind of clear coat

1) doesn't ruin your decals (or most of them anyway)
2) doesn't turn out "yellowish" after drying ?

I use clearcoats myself on "saloon cars" and most of the time I use spraycans for this job. Saloon cars MUST look shiny. I have tried to clearcoat decals in the past with the same spraycan and one thing I know is that it attacks any decal, so I'm very interested and anxious to hear from you guys how you solve this problem (instead of the decal :grinyes: )

Before using your explanation as an excuse , I tried to use the Tamiya Clear as a clear coat over one of my cars, and , applied very, very lightly, it didn't eat my declas, but then I forgot I had still to clear coat my rear wing, so I pjust did this in two mist layers and one fat layer, and alas, it solved the colours, and cracked the decal badly...

So for me, never again clearcoating , and may I add " for realism's sake" , which is the same for me as " hell, I can't do it right, so I stay away from that stuff" !

:smile:

Olivier

So for me, never again clearcoating , and may I add " for realism's sake" , which is the same for me as " hell, I can't do it right, so I stay away from that stuff" !

Olivier


Sissy! :devil: :D

:grinno:

Moderator!

he just called me a sissy!

:uhoh: Still waiting for you to finish your first car though :icon16: :grinyes:

Olivier :smooch:

What kind of clear coat

1) doesn't ruin your decals (or most of them anyway)
2) doesn't turn out "yellowish" after drying ?

Mmmm, no answer? Is this something like the magicians code? :grinno:
I guess I'll have to be a bit more patient :smile:

Well, from what I experienced/heard of so far:
Tamiya clear doesn't yellow, but must be used with care over decals
Duplicolor - the same
Multicomponent (urethane) clear - the same
and Guido actually uses Revell enamel clear through the airbrush.

Please feel free to correct me and to develop the list. Maybe we'll add this to the FAQ. So please share your experiences.

Huudo and Rallyraider, I can see your points and who am I to disagree? In fact, I'm willing to try your method on my next model, but being a "newbie" in this, I would like to grab the opportunity to ask a question (especially to my fellow belgian modelers since they obviously buy their material nearby) : what kind of clear coat

1) doesn't ruin your decals (or most of them anyway)
2) doesn't turn out "yellowish" after drying ?

I use clearcoats myself on "saloon cars" and most of the time I use spraycans for this job. Saloon cars MUST look shiny. I have tried to clearcoat decals in the past with the same spraycan and one thing I know is that it attacks any decal, so I'm very interested and anxious to hear from you guys how you solve this problem (instead of the decal :grinyes: )

Sorry Sennake, I was standing back waiting for your countrymen to jump in, however as an Aussie I'll give you my angle.

1) Acrylics and enamels should be pretty safe with decals, also "Future" type acrylic floor polishes are safe. Lacquers on the other hand will eat your decals if given the chance. You have to be very careful to start off with several very thin mist coats to build up a barrier before trying heavier wet coats. Even then don't lay it on too thick as, depending on they paint used, it can eat down to the decals anyway! Lately I've started applying the first few coats with an airbrush to get more controled and really thin coats, before blasting away with Tamiya TS-13.

2) In my experience lacquers do not yellow, that includes Tamiya type synthetic laquers and I have heard urethanes are the same if not better. I also have found "Future" does not yellow (or at least the Australian equivalent "Johnsons Magic Shine"). Don't know about other acrylic paints as I dont use them. Now enamels on the other hand can yellow a lot. I had a McLaren MP4/8 that I clear coated with model Master clear enamel and it yellowed terribly. Might have had something to do with storing it in the Tamiya box, the acid in the cardboard can affect the paint apparently.

Also another opinion I have of clear coating is that if you give the decals just one coat then it can make the decal edges stand out even more. Not sure why but I've noticed it looks that way to me. What you have to do is apply several coats so the surface us uniformly smooth. Takes alot more time, effort and patience to do it that way. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth it...

thx lot of stuff learn