by Gordon
Kwan
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Silvered decals – a modeling
nemesis – that can be avoided. I
have discovered another use for this common floor wax/coating (and miracle
modeling product used by us resourceful modelers) made by Johnson & Johnson
that can end your decal silvering. Note
- I understand from others that Future is known as “Klear” in other parts of
the world.
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I made this discovery while
decaling my 1:48 Revell-Monogram F-15E using the kit decals.
I put the decals on one side of the plane, which appeared to have taken
properly using the Microscale Set and Sol system.
To my disgust, the next day after the decals had dried, a several of them
turned out silvered. I don’t know
why this happened but presumed this was possibly due to the decal adhesive being
washed off and/or the gunship gray paint being too rough of a surface.
So I was looking for a way to get rid of this problem before I decaled
the rest of the plane, and that’s when I saw my Future bottle.
It dawned on me that Future is a clear liquid that get tacky when it
dries, so I wondered why couldn’t I use Future as essentially decal glue.
I tried it, used it ever since, and six models later. I have not had one
silvered decal.
Basically, you use Future as a
replacement for the Set solution. The
Future acts as a glue and when it dries, it pulls the decal down.
It will even pull the decal into the engraved panel lines and rivets.
I recently finished a 1:48 Hasegawa A-7 Corsair II using the kit decals
(VA-122 bicentennial scheme) and you can see every one of the fine rivet holes
through the decal.
Currently my preferred
technique is to brush a thin layer of Future onto the area that the decal is
going to be placed just before you take the decal off the backing, place the
decal, then I use the same brush and brush over the decal to push it down and
push out any excess Future from under the decal.
Then I spread out the excess Future on the model or blot it off if there
is a lot of excess. I also will
brush on another thin layer of Future on the decal I just placed to make sure I
get Future under all the edges to ensure it stays down and sealed (you skip this
step if Sol or Solvaset is needed - I have applied Sol and Solvaset on the decal
and have not seen any adverse reactions with the Future underneath).
I have also added the Future to
the decal directly by holding the decal with tweezers and sliding the back of it
across an upside down Model Master paint bottle (it is a concave bottom so it
will hold a small pool of Future) with a few drops of Future.
Originally I did this method because I thought I would get unevenness and
brushstrokes on the model by brushing Future directly on the model, but since I
have discovered that this is not the case, I have found it easier to do the
above method.
This technique works on both a
flat or pre-glossed surface. I have
applied my decals to my last 3 planes without the typical pre-glossing and no
problems what so ever. You will end
up initially with “shiny” spots after decaling, but that will go away once
you apply an overall Future coat to the plane to seal everything in. I then applied an overall flat coat (MM Acryl) like normal.
I don’t know if Future would
have any adverse reaction to any decals by certain manufacturers, but I have
used this method successfully on the following decal lines:
Experts Choice. Aeromaster, Superscale, Hasegawa kit decal (A-7E VA-122),
and the Revell-Monogram kit decals (F-15E).
I hope this technique helps you to have a silver-free modeling experience.
Gordon
Photos and text © 2002 by Gordon Kwan