Decals weathering/blending

[Warbird]

Hi Guys,

 

We all agree that painted markings or dry/wet transfers are the best when it comes to weathering effects consistency. But what is your technique when decals are the only options? The larger/colorful the decals are the bigger the challenge is. 

Spraying too much paint over will reveal the carrier film, brush touch-ups can work but will fail to give a faded look. Filters? Sanding?

 

Tristan

[Warbird]

Nobody? I guess I'm not the only one struggling with that.

[chuck540z3]

No help yet Tristan?   Maybe I can shed some light on what you need to do.

 

The most important tip is to make sure your decals are settled down and sealed with a good clear coat, like Tamiya Acrylic X-22, to help eliminate decal film edges.  This will also provide a sealer coat, if you use enamels like I do, so that you can wipe off subsequent coats of weathering paint and start over if you need to.

 

Depending on how much you want to weather the paint, spray light coats of light and dark enamel paint that is heavily thinned.  You can use salt weathering methods, spray through filters, etc. to try and achieve the weathering you are looking for.  Don't like it?  Wipe it off with solvent and start again.  Try spraying on "mule" objects first until you get the hang of it, then your model.  This is an art form that takes a lot of practice, so don't be discouraged if things don't turn out the way you want the first time.

 

Here are some weathered examples over decals from my builds of the Tamiya P-51D and F-4E.  These are 100% decals, other than the tiny panel identification stencils on the F-4E, which are dry transfers:

 

 

 

 

 

Hope that helps!

 

Chuck

 

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by chuck540z3

[Warbird]

Thank you for your answer, Chuck.

[James Rademaker]

 Chuck, what do you think about Future was an acrylic sealer of decals? Does Tamiya X-22 come in a rattle can or do you have to airbrush it on for best results.

Thanks,

Jim

[AlbertD]

On 9/24/2020 at 3:54 PM, chuck540z3 said:

No help yet Tristan?   Maybe I can shed some light on what you need to do.

 

The most important tip is to make sure your decals are settled down and sealed with a good clear coat, like Tamiya Acrylic X-22, to help eliminate decal film edges.  This will also provide a sealer coat, if you use enamels like I do, so that you can wipe off subsequent coats of weathering paint and start over if you need to.

 

Depending on how much you want to weather the paint, spray light coats of light and dark enamel paint that is heavily thinned.  You can use salt weathering methods, spray through filters, etc. to try and achieve the weathering you are looking for.  Don't like it?  Wipe it off with solvent and start again.  Try spraying on "mule" objects first until you get the hang of it, then your model.  This is an art form that takes a lot of practice, so don't be discouraged if things don't turn out the way you want the first time.

 

Here are some weathered examples over decals from my builds of the Tamiya P-51D and F-4E.  These are 100% decals, other than the tiny panel identification stencils on the F-4E, which are dry transfers:

 

 

 

 

 

Hope that helps!

 

Chuck

 

 

Chuck, does that Mustang have any clear coat over the decals? I haven't tried a bare metal yet but was thinking of doing the Tamiya Mustang when I'm done with the Phantom.

[chuck540z3]

20 hours ago, James Rademaker said:

 Chuck, what do you think about Future was an acrylic sealer of decals? Does Tamiya X-22 come in a rattle can or do you have to airbrush it on for best results.

Thanks,

Jim

 

I used to rave about Future until I started using Tamiya Acrylic X-22 which comes in a jar, which is thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinner and sprayed with an airbrush.  While Future still does a great job (F-4E has it), X-22 is much easier to apply and dries quicker and harder.

 

8 hours ago, AlbertD said:

Chuck, does that Mustang have any clear coat over the decals? I haven't tried a bare metal yet but was thinking of doing the Tamiya Mustang when I'm done with the Phantom.

 

Yes it does, but on that model I used Alclad Gloss before decals and Alclad Dull Coat after decals.  All clear coats deteriorate the Alclad metallic look a bit, but X-22 does it the least.  Here is my museum P-38L bird, with X-22 applied after decals.

 

 

 

For more decaling tips, I wrote an article here at LSP that might be helpful here:

 

How to Apply Decals

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited October 27, 2020 by chuck540z3