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Can any of you recommend anything that would aid application of decals? In particular, is there anything that can get rid of the pesky air bubbles that gather underneath?
I currently use the following method-
Apply 'Ardcoat to the area I want to do
Wet the decal in wet tissue
Brush on with a wet Basecoat brush.
Dab gently til dry.
Seal with Lahmian Medium.
The main thing to take away is use a decal setting solution and take your time.
d-usa wrote: "When the Internet sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending posters that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing strawmen. They're bringing spam. They're trolls. And some, I assume, are good people."
Can any of you recommend anything that would aid application of decals? In particular, is there anything that can get rid of the pesky air bubbles that gather underneath?
I currently use the following method-
Apply 'Ardcoat to the area I want to do
Wet the decal in wet tissue
Brush on with a wet Basecoat brush.
Dab gently til dry.
Seal with Lahmian Medium.
Mico Set and Micro Sol are one of the best products for them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xqOf-KjdVY
My Hobby Blog:
The main thing to take away is use a decal setting solution and take your time.
Did you read the tutorial?
I cannot say for sure, but Winterdyne is a UK-based commission painter so I would imagine the supplies he recommends can be sourced in the UK.
d-usa wrote: "When the Internet sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending posters that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing strawmen. They're bringing spam. They're trolls. And some, I assume, are good people."
I thought Lahmian medium was a flow improver to help you get good transitions and aid airbrushing. If that's so, it won't do diddly towards helping you with decals.
Other than that, you are doing things correctly. Gloss varnish to prevent silvering of the film, apply decal solution, add decal, apply remaining solution - I can't remember off the top of my head whether it's sol or set first - and ensure it's all fully dry. Then go over with Purity Seal or whatever varnish you want.
"Ask ten different scientists about the environment, population control, genetics, and you'll get ten different answers, but there's one thing every scientist on the planet agrees on. Whether it happens in a hundred years or a thousand years or a million years, eventually our Sun will grow cold and go out. When that happens, it won't just take us. It'll take Marilyn Monroe, and Lao-Tzu, and Einstein, and Morobuto, and Buddy Holly, and Aristophanes…then all of this…all of this…was for nothing. Unless we go to the stars." Commander sinclair, Babylon 5.
Bobtheinquisitor wrote:what is going on with APAC shipping? If Macross Island were real, they'd be the last place to get any Robotechnology.
Blue first, then red. And yes I'm UK based so everything I mention is available here.
I no longer dip decals in water - I like set methods, and if you do that with poorly sealed self-printed decals a smeary, borked mess awaits you, or if you leave them too long you can lose the adhesive. Pop 'em on top of the wet palette and let the water soak through the backing paper. Does the same job and doesn't wash away adhesive.
It also seems to help stop 'curling' of very long decals - if I'd tried to dip the decals I used for the purity seal on my titan they'd have curled right up - putting them on the wet palette and ensuring they bedded on to it prevented this.
Conrad Turner wrote: I thought Lahmian medium was a flow improver to help you get good transitions and aid airbrushing. If that's so, it won't do diddly towards helping you with decals.
At the risk of clogging the thread with videos... here's some info about Lahmian Medium:
Legion: Dark Angels 
