Many thanks as ever for this good advice. It's actually the varnish on the decal sheets that goes yellow, I think that current decal companies such as Cartograph in Italy are trying to find a non-yellowing varnish that can safely be used for decal sheets to give them longer life. I must admit I have used the sunlight trick to remove the yellow on old decal sheets, but I just simply lay the decal sheet flat on the windowsill, face up to catch the light. That way the decal sheet is well away from the window itself in case there is any condensation. If the decal sheet starts to curl up I put a small sheet of glass over it just to keep it flat. Thanks again for an excellent video.
Thanks, It's a shame it wasn't a more yellowed example, the first one I ever tried it on was a really old 72nd scale Buchon (109) kit and the decals looked like they'd been sat in a smoking den, the difference in those was spectacular.
Thank you sir! Just dug up a box of model kits that have been in my storage over 25 years and sadly several of my old Tamiya Quattro kits decals have yellowed, fingers crossed!
Thank you for referring to them as "DE-cals!" That's what I learned some 60 years ago. I've watched other plastic model demos from the U.K. and they were called "deckles," which I assumed was the European pronunciation. One guy even referred to them as "dickles," which I thought quite funny.
Hello there! is it necessary to put the decals sheet on window glass? can i put it on the outside of my house? eg. backyards, balconies, top of the buildings etc. and receives the sunlight directly? thank you very much indeed! i subscribed to your channel very helpful info
I think it was about 2 or 3 days and checking a couple of times each day. It depends entirely on the level of sunlight and here we don't get that much.
The difference is on the clear carrier film. Not white parts and such though prolonged exposure would fade all the colours. The purpose of uv or sun bleaching old decals is to get rid of yellowed carrier film which would show at the edges. You can see the whole build series including the completed kit here. ua-cam.com/play/PLoJWYG0njom_y21k4Cws7Ag633zvo810H.html&feature=share
Thoughts about fixing decals already affixed to a model? I have a 1/43 Jaguar made by Marsh Models, as it's Bud Light livery it's a striking white, but the decals detract from it.
All I can suggest is tying to bleach then the same way, a uv light should do the same and if you're in the UK there's certainly not enough sun currently. It depends on how white the decals were already. Another alternative is photographing the decals, fixing in software and Re printing them on decal paper and replacing them.
Hey is there any way to prevent yellowing of decals of is it a natural/uncontrollable thing and is there such a thing as over bleaching the decals by leaving them out to long? Thank you.
Sadly not, it's just something that happens. Leaving them exposed to UV too long will bleach all colours. So vibrant reds for example will fade to pale red and pink. For decals and paint even. The best thing is not to have the model displayed where sunlight hits. Same principal as the roofs and bonnets of cars fading more than the sides because they're exposed to sunlight more.
I've got a really old decal Sheet made in the 90s and its not only a bit yellowish but it's completely falling into thousands of debree once i put it into the water, I guess it's because its so old and even when i use decal softener really careful it is breaking like a Mosaic! How can i fix this? Is it even possible to save it i mean can i spray a coat of Clear Lacquer on it? I dont wanna mess up the rest of the sheet it's hard to find a British Airways 767 Decal in the Old Colours :( Any Suggestions?
If it's cracked the only thing you can do to try and fix is to seal with a couple of thin coats of clear, it's not guaranteed to work and the cracks will still likely be visible. Another option is to scan the decal sheet and clean up in software and print on decal paper.
Provided it is not yet visibly cracked, Spray it with Acrylic Clear used with Inkjet Decals for sealing the ink printing. That would provide a new coating that will hold the decal in one piece. But a word of caution, as you spray, you will lose the pre-cut decal and will have to cut the decal around its edges to be able to slide it off and/to transfer to your model.
I have the same Tamiya Bimota kit and the decals are yellowed exactly the same. Other kits of the same age are fine. Weird. BTW the Bimota letters in the red decals should be white also, not cream coloured.
Yes they should, the decals supplied actually require you to place and set the red ones then use the plain white as overlay which is why they're slightly off white. I didn't as the enamel gloss has a slight tint anyway and I plan to use the white decals on a 1/12 rider figures leathers later. Strange how some yellow more than others, I think previous storage temperature affects them. I've had far older kits with great decals, I've had newer where they crumble soon as they touch water and some with decals carrier film so yellow they look like they've been in a heavy smokers place and are nicotine stained.
Great tip! But decals don't only yellow with age I've read. Don't they get very fragile and crack easily when you want to apply them? I've read on forums that old decals (70s 80s) can't be used anymore because when soaked in water they might break. Is this true?
NiekkieNick Yes that's true, sometimes you can see a cracked decal if you flex the sheet, sometimes they simply fall apart once soaked with no indication beforehand. You can use a clear coat or decal sealer sprayed on if you're in doubt as to the integrity of your decals. If they split into larger fragments you can place them on the kit and match them also. Sometimes the only solution is replacement.
I have several vintage Tamiya armor kits with some yellowed decal sheets. It sucks that here in the US is rainy season, so sunlight is not very prevalent. crossing my fingers.
I have a Fujimi Ford GT40 MarkII where the white area where the number 2 is,that is very yellow also the stripes. The car is shown on box with white decals for numbers and stripes...will your method work also?
briggerz Absolutely, more so than an open one as the temperature diferences allow the moisture in the air inside to condense. Unless you could vacuum seal the bag removing all the air or possibly use a dessicant sachet it's likely, if the sun isn't very hot the chance is probably slim but certainly there, that's why I tape straight to the window with a slight curve away to minimise the risk of moisture contacting the sheet.
Really, Ijust finished doing this. In a zip lock bag, no condensation. No problems, must be the climate where I live! What is funny though, it has been very cold for this time of year, at night. And burning the hide off of us, during the day.
Naigan That went back to the owner as he was selling his cureent bike and wanted to get it back and ready for MOT and putting on the road, I was doing the service related bits and such as a favour and had had it longer than anticipated due to some factors and family problems, the only remaining thing was the fork seals to do on the bits I was doing for him and the fork caps were very corroded to the point I wasn't sure they'd come out. The only thing I wasn't happy about was the replacement fuel pump didn't fully fix the fuelling problem and I didn't get to resolve that, I suspected a relay and had planned to check and clean through the relays in the fake air filter housing on the right.
matinik46 The tie fighter is waiting to be built still, the Blitza Bommer was traded for another kit as I wouldn't have had space to display it and interesting as it looked, I really didn't know what I wanted to do with it re paint.
matinik46 Thanks. I have three of those to do, Darth Vaders, a fighter and an interceptor, I always thought the interceptor looked cool and I'm thinking of doing the fighter in opposite colours like the ones in the force awakens.
It's very common got old decals to yellow. Some are more prone than others. I wish I'd had some worse examples when I filmed this because it's spectacular seeing really yellow ones go clear.
Superb! Both thumbs up 👍 Thanks for sharing with rest of us.Some of my decals will have second life indeed 🤪
Great tip. There's hope for my Walker Bulldog Tank looking good. 👍😊
Brilliant, works a charm.
Many thanks as ever for this good advice. It's actually the varnish on the decal sheets that goes yellow, I think that current decal companies such as Cartograph in Italy are trying to find a non-yellowing varnish that can safely be used for decal sheets to give them longer life. I must admit I have used the sunlight trick to remove the yellow on old decal sheets, but I just simply lay the decal sheet flat on the windowsill, face up to catch the light. That way the decal sheet is well away from the window itself in case there is any condensation. If the decal sheet starts to curl up I put a small sheet of glass over it just to keep it flat. Thanks again for an excellent video.
Catlover101 I've used the sun trick too, I put the decal sheet inside a zip lock bag and tape the bag to the window.
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V v v v 分朋 的. 主
What a difference! Very nice!!
Thanks, It's a shame it wasn't a more yellowed example, the first one I ever tried it on was a really old 72nd scale Buchon (109) kit and the decals looked like they'd been sat in a smoking den, the difference in those was spectacular.
Thank you sir! Just dug up a box of model kits that have been in my storage over 25 years and sadly several of my old Tamiya Quattro kits decals have yellowed, fingers crossed!
Thank you!
Thank you for referring to them as "DE-cals!" That's what I learned some 60 years ago. I've watched other plastic model demos from the U.K. and they were called "deckles," which I assumed was the European pronunciation. One guy even referred to them as "dickles," which I thought quite funny.
It's quite a contentious subject it seems but de-cals is how I've always known then and it just sounds right.
The word is french and they pronounce it daycal also, I am a deckles guy 😀😎
Thank you!!
Hello there! is it necessary to put the decals sheet on window glass? can i put it on the outside of my house? eg. backyards, balconies, top of the buildings etc. and receives the sunlight directly? thank you very much indeed! i subscribed to your channel very helpful info
Absolutely yes. But you want to avoid it getting wet.
If you live somewhere dry and sunny outdoors is perfect.
Thank you.
How long did you expose them to Sunlight?
I think it was about 2 or 3 days and checking a couple of times each day.
It depends entirely on the level of sunlight and here we don't get that much.
Hello spidiq8
Have you finally built the Bimota Tesi kit? Could you show me the final result of UV exposure on the decals?
Thanks
The difference is on the clear carrier film. Not white parts and such though prolonged exposure would fade all the colours. The purpose of uv or sun bleaching old decals is to get rid of yellowed carrier film which would show at the edges.
You can see the whole build series including the completed kit here.
ua-cam.com/play/PLoJWYG0njom_y21k4Cws7Ag633zvo810H.html&feature=share
Thoughts about fixing decals already affixed to a model? I have a 1/43 Jaguar made by Marsh Models, as it's Bud Light livery it's a striking white, but the decals detract from it.
All I can suggest is tying to bleach then the same way, a uv light should do the same and if you're in the UK there's certainly not enough sun currently. It depends on how white the decals were already. Another alternative is photographing the decals, fixing in software and Re printing them on decal paper and replacing them.
Hey is there any way to prevent yellowing of decals of is it a natural/uncontrollable thing and is there such a thing as over bleaching the decals by leaving them out to long?
Thank you.
Sadly not, it's just something that happens. Leaving them exposed to UV too long will bleach all colours. So vibrant reds for example will fade to pale red and pink. For decals and paint even. The best thing is not to have the model displayed where sunlight hits. Same principal as the roofs and bonnets of cars fading more than the sides because they're exposed to sunlight more.
spidiq8 ok thank you
I've got a really old decal Sheet made in the 90s and its not only a bit yellowish but it's completely falling into thousands of debree once i put it into the water,
I guess it's because its so old and even when i use decal softener really careful it is breaking like a Mosaic!
How can i fix this?
Is it even possible to save it i mean can i spray a coat of Clear Lacquer on it?
I dont wanna mess up the rest of the sheet it's hard to find a British Airways 767 Decal in the Old Colours :(
Any Suggestions?
If it's cracked the only thing you can do to try and fix is to seal with a couple of thin coats of clear, it's not guaranteed to work and the cracks will still likely be visible.
Another option is to scan the decal sheet and clean up in software and print on decal paper.
Thank you, yeah i will give it a try, i've got nothing to lose ;)
Provided it is not yet visibly cracked, Spray it with Acrylic Clear used with Inkjet Decals for sealing the ink printing. That would provide a new coating that will hold the decal in one piece. But a word of caution, as you spray, you will lose the pre-cut decal and will have to cut the decal around its edges to be able to slide it off and/to transfer to your model.
I have the same Tamiya Bimota kit and the decals are yellowed exactly the same. Other kits of the same age are fine. Weird. BTW the Bimota letters in the red decals should be white also, not cream coloured.
Yes they should, the decals supplied actually require you to place and set the red ones then use the plain white as overlay which is why they're slightly off white. I didn't as the enamel gloss has a slight tint anyway and I plan to use the white decals on a 1/12 rider figures leathers later.
Strange how some yellow more than others, I think previous storage temperature affects them.
I've had far older kits with great decals, I've had newer where they crumble soon as they touch water and some with decals carrier film so yellow they look like they've been in a heavy smokers place and are nicotine stained.
Great tip! But decals don't only yellow with age I've read. Don't they get very fragile and crack easily when you want to apply them? I've read on forums that old decals (70s 80s) can't be used anymore because when soaked in water they might break. Is this true?
NiekkieNick Yes that's true, sometimes you can see a cracked decal if you flex the sheet, sometimes they simply fall apart once soaked with no indication beforehand.
You can use a clear coat or decal sealer sprayed on if you're in doubt as to the integrity of your decals.
If they split into larger fragments you can place them on the kit and match them also.
Sometimes the only solution is replacement.
I have several vintage Tamiya armor kits with some yellowed decal sheets. It sucks that here in the US is rainy season, so sunlight is not very prevalent. crossing my fingers.
Good luck. If you don't have much sun currently you can use a UV light. Like the nail curing type or similar.
I'm going to try this on my Revell 57 Chevy it's 30 years old but I hope this works
Dustin Lisner As long as they're not cracked it'll certainly bleach them for you, might need to be left a few days in the sun.
I have a Fujimi Ford GT40 MarkII where the white area where the number 2 is,that is very yellow also the stripes. The car is shown on box with white decals for numbers and stripes...will your method work also?
If the decals were originally white then yes. This will take them back from yellowed to white.
excelente!!!!!!..muchas gracias
You're welcome, glad it helped you.
Oxidized?
Can I use uv light 💡 to decal ? Today to cloudy ⛅️.
Yes you can
I put my decals in a zip lock bag and tape the bag to the window.
briggerz Same principal but you risk condensation by placing in a bag so be wary of that.
spidiq8 even a sealed bag?
briggerz Absolutely, more so than an open one as the temperature diferences allow the moisture in the air inside to condense. Unless you could vacuum seal the bag removing all the air or possibly use a dessicant sachet it's likely, if the sun isn't very hot the chance is probably slim but certainly there, that's why I tape straight to the window with a slight curve away to minimise the risk of moisture contacting the sheet.
Really, Ijust finished doing this.
In a zip lock bag, no condensation.
No problems, must be the climate where I live!
What is funny though, it has been very cold for this time of year, at night.
And burning the hide off of us, during the day.
@AdamWayneone haha
if left inside car under sun for long, it is caught any trouble?
Extreme temperature changes could cause drying and cracking but for a week or two they should be OK
ok thanks! and thanks for that video!
@@onetwenty4_633 You're welcome. Good luck with your decals.
@@onetwenty4_633 now i know how you get the malcom medal.. lol..
Moxani Media haram j betui budak ni
No more progress on the virago build mate?
Naigan That went back to the owner as he was selling his cureent bike and wanted to get it back and ready for MOT and putting on the road, I was doing the service related bits and such as a favour and had had it longer than anticipated due to some factors and family problems, the only remaining thing was the fork seals to do on the bits I was doing for him and the fork caps were very corroded to the point I wasn't sure they'd come out.
The only thing I wasn't happy about was the replacement fuel pump didn't fully fix the fuelling problem and I didn't get to resolve that, I suspected a relay and had planned to check and clean through the relays in the fake air filter housing on the right.
spidiq8 whats happend to the blitzer bomber and starwars tie fighter?
matinik46 The tie fighter is waiting to be built still, the Blitza Bommer was traded for another kit as I wouldn't have had space to display it and interesting as it looked, I really didn't know what I wanted to do with it re paint.
spidiq8 looking forward to the tie fighter then. Keep up the good work.
matinik46 Thanks.
I have three of those to do, Darth Vaders, a fighter and an interceptor, I always thought the interceptor looked cool and I'm thinking of doing the fighter in opposite colours like the ones in the force awakens.
I have exactly the same kit and decals lol, funny coincidence
It's very common got old decals to yellow. Some are more prone than others. I wish I'd had some worse examples when I filmed this because it's spectacular seeing really yellow ones go clear.
Ah, so it's your fault... all this rain! Coulda waited 'till the pop festivals were on. I got soaked mowing the lawn, lol.
Lol, must be, sorry about that, it's sunny today, wouldn't you know!