by Bill Livingston » Fri Mar 26, 2010 5:36 am
You should always gloss coat an area before applying decals... The decal needs to sit on a perfectly flat surface, so a gloss coat is really necessary if you want to avoid what is called 'silvering' which is just air trapped between the decal and the surface you have applied it to.
The perfect way to appy decals is to have a really good smooth finish on the surface it's going to sit, then to apply a gloss coat, let that dry thoroughly, then to apply a decal setting solution (Micro Set and Micro Sol - you can find them on the internet through any decent model shop), which will soften the decal and allow it to conform to the surface fully and then, once set, wipe off any excess water or glue residue and then matt coat over the top.
I tend to add decals after a coat of Future or gloss varnish, then gloss coat over it again to seal them and even everything up. I would then weather the model and then do a matt coat after all the washes and so on... Then use pastels on the matt coat and then matt coat it again to seal the pastel weathering in... but I am a little obsessive... Then again thats from modelling aircraft where there could be loads of decals and getting them to look 'painted on' is an absolute must. In fact, a lot of modellers finish aircraft in gloss paints to avoid the need for a coat of Future or gloss varnish prior to the decal application.
I would just coat the area with future, apply the decal, apply another coat of Future on top of it once it is clean and dry and then add whatever top finish, probably your matt varnish, on top of that.
Your Repulse looks stunning by the way... Really well done
You should always gloss coat an area before applying decals... The decal needs to sit on a perfectly flat surface, so a gloss coat is really necessary if you want to avoid what is called 'silvering' which is just air trapped between the decal and the surface you have applied it to.
The perfect way to appy decals is to have a really good smooth finish on the surface it's going to sit, then to apply a gloss coat, let that dry thoroughly, then to apply a decal setting solution (Micro Set and Micro Sol - you can find them on the internet through any decent model shop), which will soften the decal and allow it to conform to the surface fully and then, once set, wipe off any excess water or glue residue and then matt coat over the top.
I tend to add decals after a coat of Future or gloss varnish, then gloss coat over it again to seal them and even everything up. I would then weather the model and then do a matt coat after all the washes and so on... Then use pastels on the matt coat and then matt coat it again to seal the pastel weathering in... but I am a little obsessive... Then again thats from modelling aircraft where there could be loads of decals and getting them to look 'painted on' is an absolute must. In fact, a lot of modellers finish aircraft in gloss paints to avoid the need for a coat of Future or gloss varnish prior to the decal application. :thumbs_up_1:
I would just coat the area with future, apply the decal, apply another coat of Future on top of it once it is clean and dry and then add whatever top finish, probably your matt varnish, on top of that.
Your Repulse looks stunning by the way... Really well done :thumbs_up_1: