sidecar steve Posted October 2, 2004 Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 Hi. Just after a little advice here guys. I've got three bodies painted and waiting for decals. I'm tempted to give them one or two light clear coats then apply the decals and a couple of clear coats over that. Is that overkill or worth doing? generally how many clear coats are necessary to provide a bit of scratch resistance? Quote cheers! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangepicker Posted October 2, 2004 Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 my 2 bob spraying clearcoat between the decal application actually preserves the decal and the paint too. it never is an overkill as long as you don't mind a few grams of weight . i do it all the time ,but lately i am getting lazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinno Posted October 2, 2004 Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 Steve I don't clear coat before decaling and would normally do at least two light coats afterwards. Bo has done quite a few lately and is starting to get some experience at this so wait till he replies and maybe Devious Dave as Dave is the real expert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bump Posted October 2, 2004 Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 Steve, It depends ... I'm finding most modern decals like a nice smooth surface, whereas older decals preferred a matt one. I positively, definitely use MicroSet & MicroSol to get decals to sit nice and smoothly. Microsocale advertises them as making decals looked painted on and so far I've found that. The only exception is Patto's decals and Devious Dave gave me a tip I'm yet to try to strengthen them. I do spend time cutting and polishing the paintwork before decalling though. Having tried using Future as a clear coat, I won't be switching back to spray clear coats. As I would expect from something designed as a floor coating, it dries nice and smoothly and seems pretty tough. The labels say it adds a poly-urethane coating so it should be durable. On the plus side, its very easily to roughly brush-on then let it self-level and a mistake is easily removed with ammonia-based window cleaner. A couple of coats seems to be enough to protect paint and decals. There's a guide to using floor coatings like this in a thread in the Workshop area. The one piece of advice I've been given is to wait DAYS, not hours, for the decals to dry. Good luck Glenn Quote There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who don't Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidecar steve Posted October 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 Thanks Guys. I thought waiting days for the decals to dry was the go (bugger!), I'll just have to curb my inherently impatient nature. The decals are on their way from Patto's and I'm using Tamiya T13 clear so any tips regarding these would be most welcome. Quote cheers! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinno Posted October 2, 2004 Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 Steve Patto gives tips on using his decals with the decal sheet. I had some from him that were extremely brittle and also some of the colour would come off in the water but I am led to believe it was a bad batch as Bo and Glenn have both had more luck since. I don't use a decal setting solution on Pattos decals as they are quite thin. Bo also uses the same clear as you mention as do I and he has found it best to start off with a few very light coats. Make sure the can is warmish. In winter I usually carry it around in my pocket while I am getting the body ready and make sure the body is warm too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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