Decal solution?

[Lowbrow 398]

Is there anything out there stronger than Solvaset?

 

And...is it my imagination or is Solvaset not as strong as it used to be?

Edited July 8 by Lowbrow
Misspelling

[Gorby 1,075]

This may sound odd and I've not tried it myself, but I've heard of people using white vinegar, diluted with water.

 

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/tools_techniques_and_reference_materials/f/20/t/71292.aspx

 

But, please try with scrap decals first.

[Beardie 4,569]

I have found that Daco decal setting solutions work well. They come in three strengths so you can go easy or get tough on the decals. They need a good shake before use or results can be too strong or too weak.

[Lowbrow 398]

Couldn't find a US dealer who carries the Daco solutions so I ordered them directly off their website. I also ordered a bunch of others to try from other sources...Gunze, Tamiya, AK, MIG, Scale Motorsport, etc.

 

I did also get my suspicions confirmed...Walthers did change Solvaset a few years ago. It's not nearly as strong as it used to be. I wish I had my old bottle...

 

I'm thinking if my experiments with the new solutions don't provide the results I want I need to talk to some chemist friends about possible home brews.

Edited July 10 by Lowbrow

[Beardie 4,569]

I find that it is often as much about the decals as it is about the solutions. Some shrivel into melted goo with the weakest solutions and some are invulnerable to the most vicious attack. It is good to have an arsenal of choices for each occasion.

[gavingav 74]

On 08/07/2017 at 9:44 AM, Lowbrow said:

Is there anything out there stronger than Solvaset?

 

And...is it my imagination or is Solvaset not as strong as it used to be?

solvaset is just Butyl glycol in a watered down form, buy some butyl glycol and you can control the strength, i bought a 500ml bottle of the stuff for £8.95 and its about 10 times stronger than solvaset, if you apply it neat to a decal it turns it into liquid!!,  i now use 90% distilled water and 10% of the butyl glycol and that is a bit stronger than solvaset but any stronger and it starts instantly attacking dried acrylic paint so you have to be very careful when applying .