My decals have bubbles on them

[Sixx]

I've never been a big fan of decaling, probably because I'm just not good at it! I bought the microset/sol combo and used them as the directions told me. I also did an extensive search on the forum for reasons that cause bubbling.

They look like little blisters under the clear, not the typical caverns of fish-eyes, yeah, i've gotten those too

great learning experience as to what NOT to do!

but these bubbles have me stumped!

I decanted some Tamiya spray, shot the car, wet sanded with micromesh, decaled it (microset/sol), wiped it down with rubbing alcohol to make sure there was no silicone so I wouldn't get fish-eyes, dehydrated it to make sure the decals were dry, then shot it with two part automotive clear!
BUBBLES

What a pain in the ass!

whatcha thinkin'? anyone know what I did wrong?

[MPWR]

Let's see some pics!

[Sixx]

here are the best shots i could get

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Looks like "solvent pop" where some solvents that had not yet evaporated from the underlying coats got trapped under the decals and/or the clear. It's not unlike seeing a 1:1 car that has the same sort of "pimples" on the surface. That happens when someone polishes out and then waxes the paint before it's fully cured. The wax traps the natural evaporation of the solvents, so the gas can't escape, and causes the spots.

Clearcoating over decals is always a risky endeavor. I generally prefer to put decals over polished clear, and then I lightly polish the decals-if they're applied properly they'll be able to handle polishing w/hobby products. Or I make sure the paint is fully cured, the decals are fully cured, before applying clear over them. While the paint is porous enough for the solvents to escape, your decals probably weren't porous and trapped solvents; perhaps a chemical reaction of the clear w/the decals may have also caused it.

[Lambo003]

It's not unlike seeing a 1:1 car that has the same sort of "pimples" on the surface.

[MPWR]

Nah, her's are just airbrushed out, I'm sure....

[Lambo003]

Hmmmm. . . Aztec, Iwata or Badger? . . .

[MPWR]

Don't know, but it looks like fun, doesn't it?



Let's airbrush out that bikini!

[Lambo003]

Originally Posted by MPWR

Let's airbrush out that bikini!

Hmmmm. . . okay. . . but does anyone know where I can get after market Marlboro decals?

[Didymus]

That is a puzzle, Sixx.

It's a strange reaction, and the only strange thing in the mix is the urethane, so I gotta think it's the urethane. I'd go with ZoomZoom; it looks like the urethane is reacting to the decal. (I've never heard of that, but there are lots of things I've never heard of. I've seen clear lacquer react to decals, but not quite like that.)

I'm a little skeptical about wiping a car down with rubbing alcohol before painting, since RA contains small amounts of some pretty strange ingredients. But it dries so fast that I doubt it's the cause of this, especially since only the decals are a problem.

Two-part urethane clear is a bee-itch to remove; that's the main reason I use clear lacquer now. Guess the only solution at this point is to try to sand it down just to the decal, use black paint to repair the inevitable scratches, and recoat.

Hope it turns out okay; please keep us informed.

DDms

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by Lambo003

Hmmmm. . . okay. . . but does anyone know where I can get after market Marlboro decals?

Nope, but maybe a NicoDerm decal would help you control the craving.

Ddms

[godfather23]

You probably didn´t anything wrong. The same thing happened on my roof of my BMW M1 Map de France. In my eyes ZoomZoom is right. From my experience - I leave decals on for a week untouched. Afterwards I put a nother layer of Microsol on and then use a hairdryer to get them really onto the body. But all of this preparation doesn´t work, if you have bad luck with the clear you are using. Especially TS-13 is known for causing major troubles. If you decide to apply clear over decals, make sure to just use misty and fine coats. Try to achieve the shine with a decent polishing job!

[klutz_100]

Originally Posted by Didymus

Nope, but maybe a NicoDerm decal would help you control the craving.

Ddms