About decals...

Another question from a learner...

After polishing decals, is it typical to be able to see the edges of the decal if the light/reflection is right, even if the top surface of the polish is completely smooth? I'll see if I can illustrate in ASCII...



_____________________________________
************* ______________________ <Top polish layer
_______________|______________________ <decal

*************^ That line is visible when you catch the light right...

Sorry, but 17 page views and no reply? I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about!

Consider this a Bumpity, bump, btw...

not sure, but Microsol could be your friend on this one

Originally posted by Vric
not sure, but Microsol could be your friend on this one

So you never see the decal edges no matter how you bounce the light at it? I've never seen a top pro decal and polish job in person, so I don't know if the edges ever completely "disappear".


I do use Microsol, but it doesn't 'remove' the decal, there are still visible edges.

I have that problem sometimes depending on the thickness of the decal and the thickness of the clearcoat.The only thing I can suggest is use a couple more coats of clear but that still won't guarantee that it won't happen again.:)

Think about it, the decal has thickness to it, no setting solution is going to completely flatten a decal out, so when you hold a model at the right angle in the right light, you will see the edge.

Clear coating may make it less noticeable, but there will always be an edge to a decal.

Ray

Originally posted by freakray
Think about it, the decal has thickness to it, no setting solution is going to completely flatten a decal out, so when you hold a model at the right angle in the right light, you will see the edge.

Clear coating may make it less noticeable, but there will always be an edge to a decal.

Ray

Well, yes. That's what I was thinking, and what concerned me was that I never see any edges on any of the pics you guys post. But I always scrutinize my work under a really bright light, so it's easy to notice these flaws. I'm doing the final polish and coat of Future on my test piece tonight, so I'll see how it comes out...

Well, not sure what your describing but:

1. Always apply one coat of clear prior to applying your decals. The clear coat will interact with the paint, in many cases, and actually change it's color slightly. By applying the decal directly to the color coat, you prevent that interaction, thus you will see a slight difference in color.

2. Depending on how many coats of clear you apply after the decal, you can polish and rub the clear. I have several models with decals, where regardless of the angle, you will not see the edge of the decal. This is because I have essentially built the clear coats up the the level of the decal. This takes several coats of clear and several polishings.

What´s the problem? Paint the body, put on the decals and spray 2 or 3 layers clear coat over that and then polish the body. That´s it.