Long-term behavior of unsealed decals?

[Nate]

What have people's experiences been with unsealed decals after several years, like on NMFs or something?

 

I'm working on Revell's 1/18 Laser and trying to decide how to do the sail numbers.  I think the best approach will be to trim the decals and apply them but leave them unsealed.  This will give contrasting sheens as well as razor sharp numbers, but I'm worried about the decals peeling off or fading once the model is actually finished...

 

I'm hesitant to mask and paint them because the sail is translucent and super thin, so it will be unforgiving of mistakes...

 

TIA!

 

Nate

[thegoodsgt]

It's really hard to predict how the decals will react. I just used decals that were nearly 40 years old, and they went down perfectly and look great. I've used decals that were only a few years old with less success. I'd recommend having backup decals in case these don't lay down well. And ultimately, realize that the decals could potentially ruin the finish, so don't be too disappointed if the model doesn't live up to your expectations.

 

Steven Brown

Scale Model Soup

 

[Lucas C.]

Nate--I've done that on one model (left the decals unsealed) because it was NMF, but I'm not sure it will last for more than a few years.  A lot depends on the quality of the decals.  I'm not worried about fading--chances are they won't fade unless exposed to direct sunlight every day, for the whole day, for months or years.  I think your approach makes sense in theory, but you might want to think of ways of strengthening the decal's glue--maybe put a tiny drop of diluted white glue under each one?

[Nate]

Thanks - I think I'm going to use the Monokote trim stickers for RC Planes...only a few bucks and since they're marketed as fuel-proof, I think I'm ok in the durability department!

 

Thanks again,

Nate