decals without gloss

[FEC Railway]

I just painted two models with Model Master Gloss Black acrylic (GE Dash 8 types) - good idea to put decals straight on or hit it with some gloss?  any gloss recommendations?  had trouble with the black paint rubbing/flaking off...

[bill pearce]

had trouble with the black paint rubbing/flaking off...
GM and Honda had similar problems when they stopped using solvent paints. I still see the occasional car on the road with the horrible peeled off paint. It must not be some simple how you apply it issue. That's why I stick to Scalecoat.

[Catt]

If you need to repaint make sure all the flaky paint is gone then wash the shell with warm water and dish soap.Do this wearing latex gloves to keep your skin oil from contaminating the shell surface.Wear gloves every time you handle the locos till you have them painted and the paint is dry.Do not decal until you can no longer smell the paint (probably 2 days)

[robert3985]

had trouble with the black paint rubbing/flaking off...
GM and Honda had similar problems when they stopped using solvent paints. I still see the occasional car on the road with the horrible peeled off paint. It must not be some simple how you apply it issue. That's why I stick to Scalecoat.

What Bill says...

[FEC Railway]

well, im going to try to roll with the paint that's on there now...but unless im really after a specific color I think im going to take the advice of sticking with scalecote.  thanks guys.  going to douse these and see what happens...

[wcfn100]

had trouble with the black paint rubbing/flaking off...

Just bad technique, nothing more.

Jason

[LV LOU]

well, im going to try to roll with the paint that's on there now...but unless im really after a specific color I think im going to take the advice of sticking with scalecote.  thanks guys.  going to douse these and see what happens...

I've decaled thousands of locos,cars,cabooses,HO,O,N,whatever,never used clear gloss under a decal,never had a problem with silvering.The slime on decal sheets is glue,just make sure you don't let the decal float off IN the water,that washes the glue off.I use Nothing but Microscale Micro Sol And Micro Set...

[Denver Road Doug]

Are you saying you've applied decals over totally flat finishes? Would love to see the results.

Or gloss paint?

[kalbert]

I've applied decals over some pretty rough paint, some of the Polly stuff is really flat and rough. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, I don't know. Anyway, I've applied decals over it with a moderate helping of MicroSol and haven't had much trouble with silvering.

I've also had trouble with Testors MM Acryl gloss black not sticking. Never with other colors, just their gloss black. Nit sure if there's something different about it or if I'm doing it wrong or what.

[peteski]

This is strange.  The original post stated that the model was finished with GLOSSY BLACK PAINT.  Did everybody miss that?

The answer is: there is no need to apply a clear gloss lacquer to already glossy paint. Apply the decals straight over the gloss black paint. Then you can apply a clear gloss coat to protect the decals (assuming that you want the model to remain glossy).

[FEC Railway]

peteski - semi gloss...
it had no sheen.  did a little poking on similar Southern/NS projects.  The black paint shows silvering really easily (hence why I dunked them in wash away the other night).  I went with the suggestion here and just doubled up on the gloss.  might have had a problem with the gloss drying prior to hitting the model, and thus creating the imperfect surface...

[FEC Railway]

btw - the engines are 2x B32-8s and a HH GP38 in CHATT

[Scott Lupia]

I never use any kind of gloss clear UNDER the decal.  The less paint on the model you have the better the model looks.  Every layer of paint adds thickness which obscures the detail of the shell.  Using Microsol or something like that will eliminate the silvering that can happen.  The EL switcher above was done in this manner and shows no silvering of any kind.  People always insist you have to decal over gloss paint but that just simply isn't true.

Scott Lupia

[FEC Railway]

Here's where I'm at -

I think I may have put too light a coat and held the brush too far the first time...created a less than glossy surface as a result...thoughts?

[peteski]

peteski - semi gloss...
it had no sheen.  did a little poking on similar Southern/NS projects.  The black paint shows silvering really easily (hence why I dunked them in wash away the other night).  I went with the suggestion here and just doubled up on the gloss.  might have had a problem with the gloss drying prior to hitting the model, and thus creating the imperfect surface...

Sorry, when you specifically stated "Model Master Gloss Black" I had no idea it wasn't ... glossy. How could I have known that Gloss Black is not glossy?   I agree that your painitng technique might be the culprit.  Glossy paints have to be sprayed on as a wet coat.  At least the final coat has to be sprayed on wet.

My favorite paints are Accupaint and now TrueColor Paint. Both dry to a eggshell-like finish (slight sheen) and I never have any problems with the clear film silvering.