Metal overlay question

hello to all
sorry if this question has been answered before. i tried to do a search but came up empty handed. so my question is this.

in many of the tamiya kits they give you the metal overlays for emblem scripts and such. what i would like to know is most of them have the decal that goes over them, when you apply the decal do you clear coat over them to keep them from pealing or is that a bad idea. my thought is that before i would apply the clear to a paint finish that i would apply the overlays with the decals and then clear the whole car.

does this sound right to anyone or am i about to make a big mistake. any help in this matter would be greatly helpful

thank you

A pic of your example would help . . .

But, if you're talking about a logo/emblem, such as the Porsche crest on the hood or the black stallion on a yellow background Ferrari uses, I'd suggest applying the decal to the part, then using clear on that (I've used Johnson's future on similar items with success). The hood emblem on my current lambo build is done this way (only there was no decal, I had to paint them by hand).

Paint/clear the car as normal, and then apply the emblem afterwards using a small dab of clear acrylic paint instead of glue. If you clear the whole car after the emblem is in place, it doesn't look right to my eye - they don't clear over the badges on a real car.

A pic of your example would help . . .

Ok here is an example of what i am asking about. this is from the 2000GT-R Skyline kit

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3121/3192338686_7b06706e12.jpg?v=0
here is a picture of the fender script for the car. circled in red in the gt crest

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3192338624_91f896a81c.jpg?v=0
the decal also circled in red is what is to be applied over the crest that i had circled in the previous picture.

im just trying to figure out what would be the best way to seal up the decal on the overlay with out having to worry about it pealing off or silvering.

kind of like when you apply a decal to a paint job and then go over it with clear to keep it from pealing and silvering. same concept

hope this helps and thanks for any help you can give me

Haven't done the exact thing myself, but my approach would be:

- Cut around the metal transfer piece, leave enough paper to hold/mount to something stable (a flat sheet of styrene, for example, using double sided tape).
- Apply decal to the transfer piece, and let dry for at least 24 hours, better 2 to 3 days
- Apply acrylic clear with a soft brush, build up several layers
- Remove transfer from paper backing and apply

I'm sure there are other ways to do it, and I haven't done the decals on transfers myself, just on 'normal' PE sheets.

You can just clear over them when the decal has been applied

You can just clear over them when the decal has been applied


would this be before or after the metal transfers have been applied to the car

I normally apply the metal emblem to the car after the final coat of clear. Then proceed onto applying the decal onto that and then use a drop of clear to seal it on. Apply decal to the transfer piece, and let dry for at least 24 hours, better 2 to 3 days You won't need to wait that long for a decal to dry of that tiny a size. Asthetically, it would probably be best to clear the decal on top of the metal transfer before sticking it onto the body. This should give you a cleaner finish. Alternatively, you can place a drop of clear setting epoxy onto the decal to give the badge more depth.

would this be before or after the metal transfers have been applied to the car

Like KevHw suggested, apply metal transfer 1st, clear, cure, apply decal, allow to dry and final clear coat. As with clearing on all decals, make sure you apply a couple of light mist coats first before a wet coat. Good luck.