Decals... To clear coat or not?

Hey all, had a question. Did a search but didn't find an answer.

Wondered what the majority here think about adding decals before you clear coat? I would think this would protect them, but I dont know if it can cause any unwanted results...

So do most of you rec. putting on the decals before you clearcoat or after? And if after, is there something I should use (aftermarket) to help protect em?

Thanks for any advice.
-Bruce

Bruce, this has been discussed before, and the general concensus seems to be that it's a matter of personal preference. Myself, well, I don't even have a definitive answer for myself. For most part I like how decals look clearcoated and I do like how clear protects them, but on the other hand some clears are notoriously hard to apply over decals without damaging them. Also you'd need to be pretty damn confident in your painting skills and, well, luck, because if you somehow mess up clearcoating over decals and you need to strip the model, you lose the decals. So really it's up to you to decide based on risk, experience, confidence, decal protection and appearance.

To be honest 90% of the time I never use clear over decals.It adds an element of risk.You can easily make a mess of a nice model and be left with nothing as a result of spraying clear over the decals.There are times when it can be beneficial to spray clear over decals and I know some swear by it.But my preference generally is not to.

Bruce, this has been discussed before, and the general concensus seems to be that it's a matter of personal preference. Myself, well, I don't even have a definitive answer for myself. For most part I like how decals look clearcoated and I do like how clear protects them, but on the other hand some clears are notoriously hard to apply over decals without damaging them. Also you'd need to be pretty damn confident in your painting skills and, well, luck, because if you somehow mess up clearcoating over decals and you need to strip the model, you lose the decals. So really it's up to you to decide based on risk, experience, confidence, decal protection and appearance.

I agree here! I just had to strip a car due to some painting problems and I've been building and painting for close to 28 years! having to strip a car is a major pain in the ass and I've learned to do some testing prior to painting, taking some good advice I've researched on this forum from expert modelers and most importantly, if you find a system that works for you, USE IT
Good luck man

sometimes i will use "future" clear floor wax as opposed to clear, or on top of decals. Usually i put clear over my last coat of paint, and another shot over decals, followed by future.

Future is a great idea - on dark paints. It yellows noticeably over a light color, in fact, leave a bottle of Future on the shelf long enough and it yellows in the bottle.

Some real helpful replies guys. Appreciate it a ton. I think for the time I will just put the decals on last, over the clear. I didn't even think about a possible paint prob and having to strip it.

Thanks again all.
-bruce

I've had pretty good luck making my own numbers by futzing with computer typeface, so I've recently started scanning new decal sets using a high resolution setting. That way I can always reproduce them if disaster strikes. Of course, the repros won't be as sharp and clean as the originals, especially the tiny ones, but a few minutes in Photoshop can clean up any blurry edges or gaps.

Diddy

This reminds me of my own question. sorry to hijack...

Has anyone clearcoated there decals on a window. Those racing windowbanner?? Hear stories about yellowing decals, but how about the windows?

You guys who do clear coat over decals, how long do you wait for them to dry? Do you have a system that is mostly consistent and not too risky?
I would love to do this on some of my muscle cars, as alot of them came from the factory with painted on stripes, and kit decals just dont look realistic.

I ALWAYS clear coat over decals regardless of the genre of model I'm building simply because it protects them. If you want to replicate the vinyl stickers on race cars you can do what I did with my 312T and mask the decals and spray a semi-gloss clear over the protected surface. that way you get the look you want and have a protected surface as well

You guys who do clear coat over decals, how long do you wait for them to dry? Do you have a system that is mostly consistent and not too risky?
I would love to do this on some of my muscle cars, as alot of them came from the factory with painted on stripes, and kit decals just dont look realistic.

I generally leave decals to dry overnight although I have painted over them after only an hour or so without any problems?

This reminds me of my own question. sorry to hijack...

Has anyone clearcoated there decals on a window. Those racing windowbanner?? Hear stories about yellowing decals, but how about the windows?

I use 'futures' on windows before and after decals. Simply brushed on with a very soft brush.

Wad u guy mean by future? Wad is it?

I've built 8 models so far and this 8th model's decals were placed first and clear coated last. I did a search on here and came up with several thread. I'm not sure why you couldnt find anything. Anyway, many people warned clear coat can harm decals in many different ways but some people recommended Mr. Hobby gloss clear. In my opinion the decals look very nice when clear coated. They do look painted on. So what I did was get some old decals I knew I wasnt going to use and applied them on a body i had lying around. After using microset to make sure the decals sat down on the body, I let them dry completely and then sprayed about 4 or 5 mist coats of Mr. Hobby clear so it builds up and (i guess) minimizes the risk of damaging the decal. Afterwards, I sprayed a couple more regular coats of what remaind of the clear. It worked fine. The decals look painted on and I do plan on doing this again in the future.

BTW. Every time I paint I usually wait 1 day before I spray on another coat but sometimes during our hottest time of the year I will spray 2 or 3 coats in 1 day. The instructions in the spray cans sometimes say to wait about 15 minutes but I try to play it safe and want the coats to dry as much as possible before more coats are applied. When I sprayed over decals I waited 1 day before I sprayed another mist coat/ heavy coat because it was my first time doing this and, like many, didnt want to mess up the project. It worked for me.

Wad u guy mean by future? Wad is it?

Passed is wads bin; future is wads gunna bee.

It's also a clear coating for vinyl floors. You can buy it in many American supermarkets.

Diddy

Wad u guy mean by future? Wad is it?
You might find this thread (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=477332&highlight=future) useful reading. Future is an acrylic polish from SC Johnson (I think) also sold under the brand names Pronto and Kristal Klear (or smthg similar)

I have a related question and rather than start another thread, I'll ask it here since it might touch on something Ray said earlier.

I have just used Pronto floor polish for the first time on some CF on my DBR9 (I decided it was a good time to experiment). I put it through my airbrush and I have to say that the results look pretty good to my eye. It's damn runny though - light coats only! :)

Here's my question. In the photos I have seen of bottles of Kristal Klear/Future, the liquid is transparent. However my Pronto polish was rather yellowish/cloudy in appearance (it was NOT the variant for wooden floors BTW). Has anyone else noticed that their local formulas are also this way or is it transparent everywhere else in teh world?

I am planning on doing an experiment at the weekend on a scrap windscreen to see what color it is after drying (it's hard to tell on black CF decal :lol:)

Thanks in advance for any input/insights :thumbsup: