Microsol and Microset help please..

[Guest]

Got my two bottle of Microsol and Microset today ready to start work on getting my decal on my Lancaster sorted out but have never ever used the stuff. The Lancaster has just had a coat of Revell enamel paint no gloss and I don't have a bottle of that future stuff yet.

So I was wondering, if I buff the area on the model with a cloth then use the Micro sol and set will it help get rid of the silvering from these decals, bearing in mind that I didnt have any silvering going on with all my other decals applied straight onto my matt finishes.

I am a bit scared to use it to be honest so any help from those of you that are old hands with it would be gratefully received.

Also can I use the microsol on decals that were just put on my other models as normal and left to dry. I am thinking about the teeth decals on my A-10 thunderbolt that could do with a flattining down.

I await your wise advice chaps..

Cheers Mark.

[stona]

Okay Mark,first the system to use NEXT time you apply decals

1 Wet the surface of the model,preferably already nice and shiny with a thoroughly dried gloss coat, with MICROSET.

2 Apply your decal onto the pool of Microset and squeeze out the excess liquid and air with a tissue or cotton bud as usual.

3 Wait for the decal to dry onto the model,not long,an hour or so.

4 Apply MICROSOL to the decal.

5 DON'T TOUCH the decal. You may get some wrinkling or deformation but you must leave it alone.

6 Once dry see if the decal has sucked down and conformed to the surface of the model. If not repeat step 4. Some decals take several goes.

A word of warning. Some decals will over react to decal softeners like Microsol and be damaged. It's always worth checking with a decal from the sheet that you won't be using,applied to an old model or bit of scrap plastic.

Some decals won't submit to the decal softener at all no matter how many times you apply it!

For your present problem now.

You need to try and get some of the solution under the decal as well as over it. Prick the silvered area a few times with the sharp end of a No11 blade or similar and then slosh on some MICROSOL. You might need a couple of goes. It doesn't always work when you already have silvering but it's worth a go.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Many thanks for that Steve, I have had a little practice on my old P51 model just to see how it works on decals that were put on in the normal way and its pretty amazing I must say. With the Lancaster I was quick enough to remove the decals before they dried and put them back on the sheet for later on so I can get plenty of microsol on before applying them. I don't have gloss coat on the Lancaster as I wanted it to be matt finish so I am hoping if I buff with t shirt on the area I am applying the decals to that will be enough.

Think I will be wise and do a test on a spare decal and another spare part of the model before committing fully to the Lancaster. It stinks :fart:

[Guest]

Good advice from Steve so not disagreeing in any way.

My own latest success is not to use either of the Micros unless necessary.

I now only use water. Lay the decal on the model in the position it is going to be (after wetting the area) but a couple of mm to the right. I then entice the decal a couple of mm to the left off the paper carrier into the exact position it is going to be. Then gently holding this 2mm end on to the plastic slowly drag the decal carrier paper away keeping the carrier paper plat on the plastic model. May have to do a very slight reposition in a minority of cases with a water laden large brush. In most case on the last two models this procedure has worked perfectly. In 90% of cases I have not had to reposition. The great thing is the decal is not distressed by manipulation or the micros. The decal with this method does not move only the carrier paper.

I have only had one poor decal which needed the micro treatment. But believe that was my fault in not glossing that area sufficiently. On the Helicopter & Catalina 1/48 which both had very large decals they came away & sat perfectly.

Next time I may try & experiment with a minute amount of washing up liquid which will help with surface tension of the water.

Laurie

[Guest]

That is pretty much what I have been doing so far and it worked pretty well on all my other models but the Lancaster decals were silvering badly so thought I would give this a try. I have buffed the matt surface with a t shirt and my finger to make it shiny and then used the micro products on the decals and it seems to have done the trick. Hopefully the stain it leaves will wash off when its all dry. I like the way it sinks the decal down to the panel lines that looks really nice. So far so good but I am being very careful not to over do it.

[stona]

Laurie I find that the Microset slightly softens a decal. It is exactly what it smells like,a mildly acidic solution,in this case acetic acid. This may not be a vital step.

Microsol (or an equivalent) I find indispensible. It is a stronger solvent and actually partially dissolves the decal film. You cannot make a decal conform to detail and look "painted on" like these examples without it.

With the decal "sucked" down like this you don't need to worry about visible carrier film either!

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

That looks great Steve very nice. But do you have to put down a gloss finish for the best results or can you get away with just buffing the matt surface so it shines up?

[stona]

All those would have been applied onto a gloss coat which is my normal method. I do think this is the best way to ensure good results,or at least give the best chance of a good result.

Looking at the pictures I think only the middle one,which is a completed model and obviously weathered,has had a matt coat applied.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Ok Steve cheers for that I will make sure I do a gloss coat on my next model, the matt coat on the lancaster is proving tricky but nearly done now be glad to put this one to bed and move on to the next one.

[Guest]

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Two examples which have been applied just using water.

Photography not very good on the CUE of the Catalina but look close & the panel lines are there & also all the rivets indents.

Not to forget that decals are or should be very flexible. If you get a water bubble under a decal it stretches so you do not necessarily need the micros.

Think that both Steve & my illustrations show different things.

One of Steve illustrations has a very craggy surface & I think you would have to resort to Micros.

But I think it is worth using water first then resorting to the micros afterwards. With water you should have everything perfectly positioned without damage. Then if need be resort to the micros which I have done in the last two models.

Taking the photos reminded me of the black areas on the front of the Helicopter. In this case I did have to resort to Micro "pink" as the decals went 3d in two directions if that is not confusing I do not know what is.

Edit. Forgot to mention that although some times nuisance the the surface tension of water can be a great help. It does assist like a float to float the decal into position whereas micros remove all that surface tension. There you go take your pick.

Laurie

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[Guest]

Very nice, I have now completed the Lancaster and the quality of the decal in this kit was very poor compared to all the other Revell Kits but it came out ok in the end and I do think the Microsol and Microset helped get rid of most of the silvering. Found I had to pierce the decal to let the Microsol get in there and do its job but very impressed by it I have to say. Any way here is the finished Lancaster, I will post the rest with my thread on it. Many thanks for all your help guys.

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