Don;
uhhh, What to say....BUT AWESOME!!!!! Excellent details added
and the finish is PERFECT. Any Shermaholic would be proud. As am I. Great attention to the little things complete the pkg. I
Salute You.
Todd

OK guys, there was a minor catastrophe this weekend... I got a coat of Future on the model and it sat for well over a week. Last night I went to apply the first transfer onto the side of the turret. I brushed on a couple of drops of Micro Sol and placed the wet transfer on top along with plenty of water. The transfer IMMEDIATELY stuck to the location I had placed it and would not slide around. I tried working it with a wet brush but this seemed to generate a cloudy appearance. I dabbed off the liquid with a paper towel and the paint around the decal had become discolored with white. The decal was stuck fast (in the wrong location) and I had no choice but to use more MicroSol to try and remove it.

SO at this point, I've removed most of the star decal but the paint has been damaged and remnants of the decal are still evident. I'll have to repaint this section of the turret.

QUESTION: Is this a result of a bad batch of Micro Sol or a bad batch of Future? I've used Micro Sol before without issue, but I've never used Future to seal the surface. Seems like the Micro Sol reacted with the Future and made it sticky, then when worked with the brush, it ate through into the paint below.

Could really use some feedback on what to do for the rest of the model...skip the Micro Sol altogether and hope the smooth surface of the Future is enough for the decal to settle? Use another brand of decal setting solution? (Recommendations welcome) Or get a brand new bottle of Micro Sol and try again?

Thanks for your suggestions.

Micro Sol has some of the same ingredients that strip Future. I've had it happen before but never after waiting a week. Thing is I live in a dry really dry area so it takes a lot less time to cure/dry here.

The Future should have been rock hard and inert by then. Lots of variables here Prof. Heat, or lack there of, humidity, age of the Future, thickness of application, age of the Micro Sol. etc etc.

Kind of like enamel after a week, when you can use a weak solvent to thin oils for weathering. It can damage the finish but won't if you're careful.

I'm not saying you weren't careful but I think the Future wasn't completely cured.

G

Thanks G. I should probably do some tests on scrap to see just what the problem is but my supplies are a few years old so it might be just as easy to pick up some new Micro Set and/or Future. I don't know if either of those ever goes bad but I assume everything has some kind of shelf life. I really don't think the future was uncured since it sat for a week in a closed room. It's the dead of winter here so the furnace is on an the house is quite dry.

The more I think about it, the more I believe the Micro Sol has gone wonky because it didn't actually soften the decal (no wrinkles) it just made it stick like crazy and I had a hard time getting it to lift. Normally I think that stuff just destroys your decal if you try to touch it after it's been applied but I couldn't even get it to lift the edges.

Anyway, the damage is done so I've just got to take a couple steps back and fix it before moving forward. But a trip to the hobby shop is definitely in order for some new decal solution before attempting it again.

Thanks again for the feedback.

The only thing I'll add is that I typically 'place' the decal with regular water, and only use Micro Sol after it's in place and blotted with a paper towel.

Could the decals themselves be bad?

Sorry to hear this, but I'm sure you'll get it corrected.

Don, sorry to hear about your decal issue.

I use the Micro system with a base of Future these days. In reality it's made for floors, and dries rock hard in 20 min. but the instructions say if a 2nd coat is needed to wait 8 hours between coats. So I always give it a full day to cure. I've never had issues with Set or Sol eating through the Future, but I don't use an excess of either, and restrict there area use to the top of the decal after the area prep.

I've had issues with Iso Alcohol eating through it, so I make sure that cleaning up washes, especially pin washes, I use a oil based paint. BTW, the instructions on the Pledge bottle says that to strip the floor, you should use Ammonia and water. Hence, Windex shouldn't be used either on Future.

When applying decals I 1st soak the decal in warm water, I don't remove any water from the decal at this point. I prep the area to be decaled with Micro Set not Sol. Then slide the decal with the excess water on to the model surface. Usually the decal starts to float, so it's easy to position it. Once positioned I cover the decal with Set and wait a min, then draw off the excess by dabbing the decal down with a piece of paper towel, or roll a Q tip over it. If there is a rivet, handle, recess, curved surface, etc that needs the decal to settle over, I then apply some Micro Sol and just let it do it's thing. A 2nd application of Sol or even Solvoset may be needed. In worse case scenarios I cut the decal so it can settle down.

Joel

That's actually a good question and one I hadn't thought of. I'm using the ones that came in the kit and that was purchased just a couple of years ago. I suppose it's possible but I thought decals had a pretty long shelf life...at least until the carrier paper turned yellow or something to let you know they were "old".

But honestly, the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the Sol has simply turned. It just didn't effect the decal the way it should have...there was no bubbling or wrinkling of the decal at all. It just simply stuck and wouldn't move...it didn't even break up or tear easily. I had to really work at it to get it off. It probably made the surface sticky by reacting with the Future first. Wrecking the paint was secondary as I used more of it to try and get the decal loose.

It's unfortunate but hey, that's modeling! I'll get some new stuff and try again after I fix the paint on one side of the turret. Shouldn't be too hard (I hope!).

Thanks again for the input.

Don, I don't think it's a bad decal. Bad decals just don't stick no matter what, and usually fall apart with water or with Set/Sol. Your decal did the exact opposite. There could be a few reasons why. 1st that the decal had just too much glue on the backing, and 2nd that the future surface wasn't smooth enough to let the decal slide. Too much glue usually shows itself as a whitish film. Did the surface feel really smooth to you? Air brushed Future is never as smooth when dry as a brushed on application. That's why I always give it a few coats.
Joel

Joel, the surface was shiny and fairly smooth but yeah, it was shot out of an airbrush and likely not as smooth as if it had been applied with a large brush. I tried to spray it on a little heavier than a normal coat of paint but I was concerned about obscuring detail on the model with too much gloss. I didn't give it a second coat.

Don, it may be that the Micro Sol was just too "hot" in your situation and perhaps Micro Set would suit you better here? It seems to me that the Micro Sol was just doing it's job too well and turned everything gooey while it went to work.
I tend to like to use Micro Sol for everything as a default, but we may need to rethink out choice and try a more gentle approach.

Don,
I have to agree with some of the comments I believe you would have better results with Micro Set and only use Micro Sol where the decal does not settle down properly.

Cheers Rob.

From my understanding, Micro Set & Sol are basically the same formulation. Sol is just "hotter" then Set, and should only be used When Set doesn't lay down the decals fully. When Sol can't do that either, is when I resort to Solvoset, which at times I've had issues with.

I've had the same vials of Set and Sol for years at a time (unless I spill them), and never had a bottle go bad. Why not just test out your Sol on a scrap piece of plastic painted and then sprayed with Future to make sure.
Joel

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I was able to swing by the LHS last night and picked up a new batch of Micro Set and Micro Sol. I also added another brushed on layer of Future to the hull sides where the hull decals will go to make sure it's nice and smooth. Tonight I'm planning to repaint the damaged section of the turret and if there's time, I'll start carefully applying decals to the hull sides using the Micro Set. We shall see how it all turns out.

Don, looking forward to your post that the decaling went well this time.
Joel

I second what he said!

Just wanted to post that everything went according to plan. The new batch of Micro products worked exactly as expected and the decals are all on. Ran out of time to take photos but will post some this weekend. Thanks again to everyone for the feedback and recommendations.

Don, that's really good news.
Joel

Happy Dance!

G

Here's an update. First, a shot of the damage done by the first decal attempt. You can see remains of the star on the left and pitting and discoloration of the paint on the right.


Here's after the repaint:


Finally, here are shots with the decals in place after a new set of Micro solutions was used. Nothing spectacular here but it's another step done:





On to washes and weathering!

Looks like everything turned out well for you there. The weathering should look really good over it all with the color modulation. Just don't forget to paint the tire on that spare wheel first

Don: I just recently came across this thread and I must say I'm glad I did. I'm not much of a Sherman fan, but you have done it justice. My compliments, sir.

This is also a bit late, but I think the problem with your decals was in using the Sol to place the decal. The purpose of the Sol is to dissolve the decal and lock it onto the model. Instead, use the Set for placing the decal on the model as Set allows you move it around and such. After the Set dries, hit the decal with Sol to get the decal to conform to irregular surfaces, such as your turret texture and rivets, etc.

Happy Modeling, -zon

I have been following this thread for a while.....haven't read everything though. Just Like to put in my 5 cents and say the tour toned paint job is awesome. I hope to complete a sherman out of my stash with in the next couple of months. Your paint skills have required me to get off my butt and get back into it.

Awesome thread

It'a actually a spare idler, so no painting necessary!

Don, the repaint looks perfect,as does your decaling. The stenciling is some of the best I've seen. Not a spec of flash to be seen. Looking forward to your weathering process and pictures of same.
Joel

Update: Spent the last few sessions doing final detail painting and began the AK Interactive weathering process.



Olive Drab paint applied to Shermans and other US vehicles was apparently not particularly prone to chipping so that is not represented on this model as it would be on a more traditional modulation approach. However, I did apply some light chipping to the edges of the drive sprockets and return idlers as I assumed these would be subject to intense wear. I plan to enhance this a bit with graphite once I hit these parts with flat coat, as well as finish the glossy surfaces such as the headlights, tail lights and periscope lenses.




Also spent some time on the tools, trying to add some interest by making the OD paint look work and exposing the wood and metal underneath. I think it turned out OK. And, finally got some paint on that .50 cal.




Overall color has shifted a bit more towards green with the application of the Streaking Grime (AK024). Instructions call for application only on the vertical surfaces but the color was noticeably different when done so I went ahead and applied it as a filter on the upper surfaces as well to unify everything. Interior white adds some nice contrast now that the masking has been removed.





Ready to begin the dust and mud stages and then start on the crew. Almost there!

Cheers and thanks for staying tuned!