Decals turning white

[mecgp7]

So I purchased some decals from a decal manufacturer and I have a problem. I tried applying them to a number of cars each painted and sealed with gloss coat all at the same time. One set of decals worked perfectly. The other decals (same manufacturer) turned white as they dried. I mean white, not silvering. I tried different combinations of decal solutions and I use distilled water. When I add more Micro-sol or the like, the white fades, but does not go away.
Never seen it before. Anybody else? Any solutions?

[dem34]

As weird as it is was there any alcohol component to the decal? Almost sounds like the reaction between alcohol and matte varnish.

[thomasjmdavis]

Are the decals drying to opaque white or more of a cloudy, or translucent, white?

I did have some sheets of decals recently where the decals for Road #1 were perfect, and the decals for Road#2 ended up with the clear areas very "cloudy". (A third set, with white lettering, the background dried fine, but the white lettering was not opaque- ok in that it was intended for a heavily weathered car, but the lettering is more washed out than I would have done it). I haven't found any solution to the problem, yet, so I'm interested to see what suggestions folks here have.

[mecgp7]

I would say cloudy but thick clouds! I may have found a solution. Since one of the paint jobs was ruined during this process, I played with the decals some more. Nothing worked. Then I tried spraying them with gloss coat and wala cloudiness went away just like when I would add decal solution or water. It has been several hours and the decals look good.

[nkalanaga]

I've had Testor's Dullcote do that to entire cars.  In my case, it seems to be high humidity.  I've never seen it on just the decals, but also don't usually Glosscote my cars, as most of my paints are already glossy.  It may be that the Glosscote protected the rest of the car, since it fixed the problem when reapplied.

[NtheBasement]

Dunno if this is relevant but you can also get a nice faded paint haze by painting iso alcohol over dried Dullcoat, and if you reapply Dullcoat the haze goes away.

[ai5629]

I have issues with the entire decal turning while after I get the freight car ready for flat finish.  After I am done decalling a car, I wash it with Dawn and and toothbrush to get any dirt and oil off the car before I use rattle can Dull Coat.  I then rinse with tap water.  Recently, I have followed that with distilled water.  Once the car air dries, some will have a white haze under the decals.  I have chocked this up to the dish soap getting under the decal.  I have found that adding one or more applications of Micro Sol with take this away.  The Dull Coat then goes on OK.  I have experienced strange Dull Coat experiences with Athearn freight cars, a random blotchiness once it dries.  The newer iterations of Dull Coat and Gloss Coat do not produce as good of results as they once did IMHO.  Thanks.

Jeff
 

[mecgp7]

Still playing with these decals. I have found that applying them without any setting solution and as little Micro-sol will give me the best results. The more you add Micro-sol, the more white the decals get. The white does go away when hit with gloss coat. I haven't tried hitting them with just dull coat.

[mark.hinds]

I would say cloudy but thick clouds! I may have found a solution. Since one of the paint jobs was ruined during this process, I played with the decals some more. Nothing worked. Then I tried spraying them with gloss coat and wala cloudiness went away just like when I would add decal solution or water. It has been several hours and the decals look good.

Interesting.  Sounds similar to the Shapeways prints, where they are translucent when impregnated with wax, and opaque white when the wax is removed.  I always attributed this to microscopic changes to the surface, where removal of the wax leaves the actual plastic matrix, which due to the increase in surface area refracts light more - hence the white color.  So maybe the gloss coat acts like the wax WRT refraction of light, filling in microscopic imperfections in the surface?

[peteski]

I wonder how the decal's manufacturer would explain this unwanted effect, and offer some way to remedy the problem?

[mecgp7]

I wonder how the decal's manufacturer would explain this unwanted effect, and offer some way to remedy the problem?

I did inquire via email. No answer yet.

[Doc Frankenfield]

seems like Solv-a-set would be the solution.

[carlso]

Not sure that this is relevant either, but......

On our club layout I had a nice N scale tank truck sitting in a scene that had been sprayed with Dull Coat, looked cool in the red and aluminum colors. Well while applying scenery someone sprayed water with 90% alky and got some on the truck, it had many small white dots all over. I had read somewhere about this so I sprayed the truck with Windex. The white splotches went away to never return again.

I would test this before using on a prize item, for sure.

Be well,
Carl

[mrp]

I have several KATO RS2’s on the layout. Given their age, they probably were all painted with Floquil colors, and finished with Floquil flat or semi-gloss. While cleaning wheels on some other engines, I managed to splatter some isopropyl alcohol on a couple of the RS2’s, and let them sit overnight. They both showed the white dots that Carl Sowell mentioned. So, two engines to repaint.

With nothing to lose, I tried Windex, and it worked. I applied the Windex to Qtips and then just gently rubbed away. Overall time was about 2 hours, with nearly all of it just waiting for the Windex to evaporate. The paint and decals still look fine. The only area I couldn’t get completely cleaned up was the top fan intake, but enough came off on this area that is looks more like weathering or just normal layout wear and tear.  So, an unexpected win.

Thanks for the idea, Mr. Sowell.

If you try this, probably best to test it first.

Michael Pennie

[carlso]

Thanks Michael, but it was not my idea. I read about it or saw a video.

Carl