Clear coat after decals?

I need help for my Impreza WRC 2001.

Thinking about how to achieve best results on a WRC body (a lot of decals).
This is how I plan to do:

-Prepare body
-Spray body with TS-50
-Paint lists
-Put decals on
-Spray with clear coat (1-2 times?)
-Rubbing
-Waxing

Is this a good way and what do I need to be careful with?

Thanks all :smile:

I need help for my Impreza WRC 2001.

Thinking about how to achieve best results on a WRC body (a lot of decals).
This is how I plan to do:

-Prepare body
-Spray body with TS-50
-Paint lists
-Put decals on
-Spray with clear coat (1-2 times?)
-Rubbing
-Waxing

Is this a good way and what do I need to be careful with?

Thanks all :smile:

Sounds good to me. What do you mean by paint lists?????

-Make sure your color coat is smooth before decaling or clear coating.

-only things you need to be careful of is putting clear over your decals. Dont spray it on to heavy otherwise it will eat the decal. A good idea would be use a decal that wont be used on a model and test the clear coat with it.

-Also be careful when you start the rubbing process and make sure you dont go through the clearcoat to the decals.

Might be a good idea to apply TS50, clear coat (1), decal, clear coat (1 light, then 1 heavy coat).

Be sure to take care about decal that goes on rear sides (that big hump over the wheel). That place is the worse one when you put clear coat because it is very sharp and decal look like it seat OK but after clear coat bubbles come out.

Lists! Ok, I mean window frames

Thanks for the answers so far

Lists! Ok, I mean window frames

Thanks for the answers so far


I thought that after I replied....cant help you on when they should be done cause I'm always unsure myself mind you I try to stay away from clear coating if I can. Would be interested what the thoughts of others are though.

In my mind the frames should be done after the clear cost because if you look at a 1/1 car the frames generally arent glossy they are slightly flatter. I suppose hence the reason Tamiya suggest x18 for the frames.

To achive a realistic look you shouldn't clear coat after the declas at all. Why? you ask! They are decals on the real thing as well and they doesn't clear coat so neither shall you. But if you deside to put on a protective coat "exhaust smoke" has the answer on the order to apply it.

Niclas "happy to see another Swede" Proos

To achive a realistic look you shouldn't clear coat after the declas at all. Why? you ask! They are decals on the real thing as well and they doesn't clear coat so neither shall you.

Very true, but I doubt decals will have much of a shelf/display life without clear. :grinno:

In terms of painting the frames, the cleanest way would be to finish the decals and once the clear has fully cured, then mask off all but the frames and give them blast of Tamiya X-18 (or similar). This will give a nice clean finish to the frames. It is best to leave the window installation when this procedure is complete.

To achive a realistic look you shouldn't clear coat after the declas at all. Why? you ask! They are decals on the real thing as well and they doesn't clear coat so neither shall you.
Niclas "happy to see another Swede" Proos

Well not always. Half of the time, the decals are "paint scheme" that do need to be clear coated.

but in this case (Impreza) it's not needed

decals always stick to a glossy surface better than a flat one. No matter how glossy the paint it...it will always adhere to a clear coat better. If you use Tamiya clear coat spray it in light mist coats...it WILL eat the decals. Also wait at least a MONTH before clear coating. Lacquers take a while to fully gas out and if you clear coat too soon the coat will develop cracks.

Yeah, it's true. Overcoating with clear laquer will all too often 'eat' decals. It can be done, but if it works, it's often as much being lucky as being carefull. This is why Tamiya recommends not clear coating. With a beautiful, complicated decal scheme like the Impreza WRC, it'd be painfull to ruin them!

If you must clearcoat (and decal longevity is a pretty good argument to do so), then I'd recommend airbrushing an acrylic clear, very lightly, in several (4-6) layers. Tamiya clear (X20?) is my favorite for this. :sly:

what about future? that stuff is acrylic...?

what about future? that stuff is acrylic...?

Future is acrylic, but I've had very mixed results with it. When spraying it as clearcoat, I've had it dry unevenly and craze. I had much better and more consistant results after switching to Tamiya acrylic clear. The best thing I can say about Future is that it's cheap! :rolleyes:

As for shelf life of decals, this one is brushpainted and decaled without any clear coats and it's about 15 years old and doing just fine :iceslolan
http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=y25l3p&outx=600&oq=0
And this one, though not as old as the Camaro, but looking good anyway without any protective coat.
http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=y1rkd6&outx=600&oq=0
I agree on the fact that the decals representing paintwork needs to be clear coated in order to get the right apperance.
When I clear coat I usually use Modelmasters Metalizer sealer with great results, dries in an instant and polishes out very well. Havent had any problems with it eating the decals, just spray it on and you'll get a miles deep finish with some coats on. I have put on some 30-40 layers on my Merceds CLK-DTM Orginal-teile with sanding between every second to third layer and a final polish and wax treatment. You can have a look at
http://www.niclasproos.fotopic.net
Niclas

Hmmmm,

Seems like there is a risk with clear coating after decals and I must admit that Proosens Impreza looks very nice without clear coating.

So to be on the safe side I should proceed like this.

-Prepare body
-Spray body with TS-50
-Spray with clear coat (1-2 times?)
-Paint window frames
-Rubbing
-Waxing
-Put decals on

when i clear a car, i clearcoat before i put the decals on, and then after.
i find doing it before makes the surface nice and smooth, and the decals lay sown really nice
thats what i did on this car
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v299/cb1000_f/havick1.jpg

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v299/cb1000_f/harvickside1.jpg

wow thats a beautiful car!!

I just did the decals on my Honda RA-272 and I painted the color coat, waited for it to dry, then wet sanded it slightly with 2000 grit paper to remove any dust nubs heavy orange peel and such. Then I applied the decals with micro-sol.

The next day I clearcoated with three very light coats with a long dry time in between. Then followed it with two medium coats. I wet sanded it and polished it a week later and it looks great. No lifting of the decals at all and very little if any evidence of decal edges.

Best of all, I did it with Model Master spray cans on my patio. (sold my air compressor and stuff and moved into a tiny apartment, what can I do?) You probably don't believe that it turned out, neither can I!

I think the key is to be patient and put the clear on very dry so it doesn't have time to attack the decal. Once the dry coats seal the decal, you can come back and put on a smoother coat.