Dear friends,

I ran into a series of this problem when building my recent tanks.

First, I will use clear gloss (for decal adhesion) onto tank surface and when it is dried for 1 day, I will then stick on the water transfer decal.

The problem comes in the 2 clear gloss coat to seal the decal, the decal will always crinkle and even after gloss coat is dried, the decal will still show a slightly lesser crinkle (but is still crinkle for the more fortunate ones)- Once, I had to remove my entire decal by sandpapering my panzer IV...

A) Why does that happen (too thick a coat of clear? I use tamiya from airbrush and gunze air cannister, both seem to show such problems- Gunze is rarer)

B) How to avoid it and if it happens, how to salvage the decal?

Tanks
Music

Something in the Tamiya gloss, presumably also in the Gunze stuff
softens the decal and this causes it to crinkle. I have also experienced this but I had better luck and my decals straightened out again.
You could try to use Johnsons Pledge floor polish instead of the Tamiya or Gunze acrylic paints. Another possibility is to start by covering the decal with Tamiya thinned with water to make it less aggressive.

My method with decals is to coat the entire model with thinned Tamiya
or floor polish. Let it dry for a few days. Soak decal in water and while the decal is softening I put a drop of thinned Tamiya clear (or floor polish) in the spot where the decal shall be placed. Place the decal in the wet puddle, press into position with clean brush, brush the Tamiya clear ( or..) over the decal, soak up the surplus Tamiya (or ...) and let it dry.
The decal crinkles a little and then it dries straight again.
Then the whole model can be coated with matt clear, weathering et.c.
/ Robin

Hi Lester,

I would suggest investing in something like the Micro Set/Microl Sol system, Gunze also makes a product called Mr Softer and Mr Softer, to assist with your decals. Once fully painted, airbrush a gloss coat on, this will assist the decals in not silvering. As your decal soaks in the water, paint a coat of the wetting solution Micro Set in my case, where the decal is to be placed on the vehicle. Soak excess water from the decal and then slide it into place on the model. Leave for 10 minutes or so and then apply a light coat of the Micro Sol. DO NOT touch the decal as it will be very soft and usually crinkles. Allow the decal to dry for 24 hours or so. If it needs to conform over any detail apply another coat of Micro Sol and wait again for 24 hours or until fully dry. With a cotton bud and fresh water, wash away the excess solution around the decal. Once dry, airbrush with a flat coat.
With practice and care, the decals you apply will look painted on the vehicle.

I hope this helps.

John

This happened to me if I applied the Tamiya gloss on a decal which was applied on a surface which was not gloss as well.
If the gloss paint is applied as it comes out from the recipient, it will definitely wrinkle decals. Instead, if you apply the gloss paint thinned with water the decal will remain plain!

i will echo Johns excellent reccomendation of micro set/ sol a fantastic solution for decals.

vlad

Hi guys,

Thanks for the inputs!

Yeah, I do have Micro Sol. Perhaps I have been careless, I did break and crinkle up some tamiya decals when applying the Micro Sol too....thats why I tend to stay away from it unless I really have to use it for uneven surfaces....

Lester, Music

When using the microsol type decal solvents, the decals are supposed to crinkle to begin with but then get "sucked down" when it dries.