HOW TO??:get decals off a car and reuse them?

Just being curious: Is there any known technique of getting decals off a finished car and keep them reusable for other builds?

Thanks for answering another of these how to questions by me!

None that I have heard of.

None that I have heard of.

That sucks! :banghead:

Nope, can't really be done. When removing a decal from a model, the decal is usually completely destroyed.

Just being curious: Is there any known technique of getting decals off a finished car and keep them reusable for other builds?

Thanks for answering another of these how to questions by me!

MicroSet might be able to do that. That's what it says on the bottle atleast.

MicroSet might be able to do that. That's what it says on the bottle atleast.

MicroSet will soften the old decal to the point it is easy to remove, but at that point, the film the decal was printed on is so soft it virtually dissolves as it comes off.

godfather23- what decals are you trying to save?

godfather23- what decals are you trying to save?

I´m trying to save my challenge stradale stripes. I must have been blind when I put them on. The front hood has the red left and the stripe on the roof has the red on the right side :banghead: ! How dumb and blind can human beings get? I´m so mad at myself!!!

But if I can´t change it, I simply stick with it. Ruins the whole damn car and build, but I think, I deserve that kind of punishment!

For the forum, I only will post b/w oictures os that the mistake is not noticeable!!

Depends on how thin the decal is and if you used solvent on it and of course how slick the paint is.
You might be able to 'float' the decal and turn it around...
Use a lot of water with a tiny amount of dish soap in it and see if it loosens up on its own.
My experence with modern decals would suggest that you are SOL...
Sorry to say.
:eek:

Umm.. I'm stupid.. so.. maybe .. if you are that desperate.. I wonder if you can paint over the decal? You can use masking tape and mask around the decal and then just paint it.. ever so nicely so that it's perfect? Or.. if you can't paint over the decal you can mask it first.. then remove the decal with the mask on so where the decal was stays masked and just paint it.. wonder if that will work or will the tape come off cause the stuff you use for the decal? I wonder....

I know this guy who owns a store and is a really really good modeller.
I once asked him about taking the decals off and he told me to dip them in boiling water.
Never tried it!
I'll report to you when I try :P

What happened to the extra set of Stradale stripes that I sent you to fix this problem? :dunno:

Cut the new decal out and just use it. If you're not going to use them, send them back and I will. :)

I know this guy who owns a store and is a really really good modeller.
I once asked him about taking the decals off and he told me to dip them in boiling water.
Never tried it!
I'll report to you when I try :P

WARNING!

This is also a technique you can use to fix warped bodies... so if you try it to remove decals, be vary careful that you handle the body gently and maybe even brace it up a bit before dunking it. I may even warp on its own. I have no clue if it'll work for the decals or not, but I'm just saying, be careful.

Anything over 130 degrees F will start to make styrene unstable. Boiling water (212 F) will ruin the body... - Mark

Okay, I've tried it. Here's the conclusion:

It is possible to peel of the decals using boiling water but the result is not as good as I expected.

The idea is to dip the decals is warm water to allow it to get under the decals so that when water is just below the boiling point and starts to form bubbles these start to lift off the decals.

It really works, if you're careful you can lift the decals with a brush.

If you leave your part too long in the water it will melt. but only if the water is boiling. If you can keep it just below the boiling point you should have no problem.

When the decals you just took off dry up they will shrink an become unusable so you must place them in the new part right ahead.
They also became a bit yellow and the transparent part is not so transparent anymore :P

I used a pair of wood spoons to keep the part away from the strainless steel.

BOILING WATER BURN SCARS ARE FOR LIFE! IT'S NOT LIKE PLAYING WITH THE X-ACTO KNIFE! BE CAREFUL!

What happened to the extra set of Stradale stripes that I sent you to fix this problem? :dunno:

Cut the new decal out and just use it. If you're not going to use them, send them back and I will. :)

Hey CADGuy,

the thread started before you sent me the decals. I just didn´t find the time to rework the decals. So don´t worry. They´re in good hands over here. I guess some people found this thread and worked on it even though the problem for me was solved by your kind help.

hey! not everyone has friends with extra decals sets! :P
:P