Decal

[jjuwana]

Guys, what is the effective way to weather the decals ?

Regards

JJ

NB.

I'd be thankful if you can give me some pics.

[madmike]

Guys, what is the effective way to weather the decals ?

Regards

JJ

NB.

I'd be thankful if you can give me some pics.

A well thinned air brushed light grey would do the trick, just applied over the decals.

MikeJ

[toadwbg]

A clear flat coat with a little light gray mixed in will fade the decals.

If you want to go darker via a wash or application of pastels: First apply a clear coat over the decals to protect them. I hand brush Future for this and let it dry overnight. Now apply a wash in the panel lines or apply makeup as desired. Than clear coat.

[janman]

"Snow" from the Tamiya Weather Master set works pretty nicely in toning down the too bright decals. Just rub a thin layer of it with the sponge that comes with the set.

[dreammh]

Thinned colors airbrushed lightly over the decals. Works well everytime.

[Hawkeye's Hobbies]

Here's the way I do it. I apply the decal. I use sufficient amounts of Solvaset to get the decal to look as if it is painted on. Once the decal has cured for several days, I take a polishing stick and lightly sand at it until the paint under the decal begins to show through. Adding paint on top of anything paint or decal to replicate fading or wear is just backwards. You're just adding another layer to the process.

Rewinding a bit:

Instead build your model and finish it the way the real deal was done. Start with a NMF base, apply the appropriated colored primer (if they used one)...very lightly add the color scheme. Let each step cure before going onto the next. Don't clear with future before decaling! Instead us a polishing stick or some paper towel to polish the area where the decal is going to lay. Apply the decals, let them cure then start the sanding/polishing process to achieve the fade and wear desired. Then you can clear the whole thing to accept a wash and or any fresh markings that would have been applied to an old worn aircraft.

Using various painting techniques to create faded colors by mixing paint (ie a little yellow or white in OD) then applying it very thinly help make the process easier.

The larger the scale the more evident the layers of 'weathering' become. So its more important to tear away the finish to create the worn faded effect.

On real aircraft as safety and warning markings became unreadable they were repainted with stencils and what ever paint the maintenance crews had. Hence the various shades of color of 'touch ups'. So adding a few markings which are fresh and crisp or areas that are newly paints isn't at all out of the realm of realism.

Just my two cents.

[theplasticsurgeon]

Here's an effect that surprised me - and I didn't photograph it.

DON'T try this on your best model!

A few years ago I built an Airfix B-57 Canberra, covered it with foil, and put decals on. I put the decals over a wet coat of Klear to avoid silvering. I left the model several months - and then overdid the weathering.

I acquired another set of decals from somewhere, so decided to have another go.

I had found that Duraglit polishing wadding will remove paint and decals from a model - so decided to use that to get back to the metal.

Paint and weathering was off quick enough, but the decals wouldn't budge - and I quickly polished the colour out of them!

Faded similar to 20 years in the boneyard look! <_<

I'm going to experiment with this again, but think the well-cured Klear is critical to protect the decals.

I don't know if this is possible with paint - but will find out.

I'll post again with results in the summer.

[Gervais8]

Great tips. Thanks for all of the ideas guys.

[jjuwana]

Thanks alot guys :)

Regards

JJ

[Youngtiger1]

These are great tips indeed. Thank you for sharing with us.

[jjuwana]

Guys, one last question before going to my spray booth, do you apply the very thin light grey only on the decal area or generally over the a/c ?

Regards

JJ