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How do you guys deal with overly thick decals. I am working on an F-15 with 2 bobs decals and these things no matter what I do will not conform. I have used warm water with Future to set them and I cannot get these decals to set into panel lines. Normally with this same approach I have not had any problems but these decals are giving me a headache. What else can I do besides buy decal set solution.

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How do you guys deal with overly thick decals. I am working on an F-15 with 2 bobs decals and these things no matter what I do will not conform. I have used warm water with Future to set them and I cannot get these decals to set into panel lines. Normally with this same approach I have not had any problems but these decals are giving me a headache. What else can I do besides buy decal set solution.

Throw them out and purchase better quality decals. Seriously, assuming you have a nice glossy surface on your model, the only other thing you could try is to hit them with setting solution but most decals these days are of high enough quality that you should not be having this problem.

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Use this stuff. Works a treat. If you've already laid the decals hit hem with the softener (green bottle). Might take a few applications and in extreme circumstances, you may have to run a hobby knife along the panel lines to get them to settle properly. For me, in most cases, using the blue bottle when setting the deals does a great job. Otherwise a dab or two of the green stuff lays them nicely.

Mr%20Mark%20sols.jpg

Edited by Crazy Snap Captain
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I usually place the decal, let it sit a short while, and then use a sharpened toothpick to gently press the decal into panel lines. You might also try pressing down on the decal with a dense foam or soft paper towel.

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Sometimes really hot water (as hot as you can handle) and a paper kitchen towel to press it down. Other times I have used future, put the decal down in a pool of the stuff, more on top then wick the extra away. When it dries it will suck the decals down. Had this work very well on old thick decals.

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what I usually do is wait for the decal to set, then go back with a brand new x-acto blade and drag it along the panel line, then I put some Mirco Sol along the panel line, for rivets just puncture the carrier film with a needle and apply the Micro Sol.

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I have found Solvaset to be pretty effective against stubborn decals (hotter than Microsol). Is your only issue getting the decal settle in a panel line or rivet and othewise it is ok? If this is the case, I will suggest an extremely careful use of lacquer thinner. John Vojtech (UMM) once suggested this to me. I tried it and it actually works pretty well but you need to be careful. I suggest scoring the decal over the panel line or rivet and then lightly applying lacquer thinner with a thin brush.

It goes without saying that for any solvent you use for the decals, you want to wait at least 48 hours (I wait at least 72 hours) for future to cure.

Edited by Janissary
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Solvaset is your friend with thick decals. IIRC, TwoBobs decals are printed by Superscale. I have used them in the past with good results. I would rather have decals that are a little bit thick than the really thin ones that fold up on each other, turn into a blob of goo when hit with decal solution, etc. Good Luck!

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How do you guys deal with overly thick decals. I am working on an F-15 with 2 bobs decals and these things no matter what I do will not conform. I have used warm water with Future to set them and I cannot get these decals to set into panel lines. Normally with this same approach I have not had any problems but these decals are giving me a headache. What else can I do besides buy decal set solution.

It is an unfortunate fact that some decals will simply not succumb to any sort of softening solution short of a thermonuclear explosion. AeroMaster had some early sheets printed in Taiwan (in a misguided attempt to save a few bucks) that were like that. When you slid them off the backing paper they stood up and supported their own weight. I resorted to using liquid cement to try to melt them down into the panel detail (moderately successful).

Any modern decal printer worthy of the name won't produce a product like that. There are far too many good choices out there to suffer with inferior quality.

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