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making glossy decals look matte?


Gary Brantley

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All the decals for my Revell F-84E are very glossy.  I would prefer that they were a bit more matte in appearance.   Is it possible to spray the entire decal sheet in a matte or semi-gloss clear coat and then still use the decals as always?   It seems like I've done that in the past but my memory fails me at the moment.  Thanks for any advice or suggestions!  

Gary

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Yes you can spray the entire sheet in the clear coat, either satin or matt. Or you could use some Microscale Liquid Decal film. It comes in a small bottle and is brushed over the decals. It seals them and gives a nice semi matt look to them. They remain flexible in use.

Edited by Steve Noble
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1 hour ago, Steve Noble said:

Yes you can spray the entire sheet in the clear coat, either satin or matt. Or you could use some Microscale Liquid Decal film. It comes in a small bottle and is brushed over the decals. It seals them and gives a nice semi matt look to them. They remain flexible in use.

Thanks for the reply Steve! 🍻

 I believe I do have a bottle of that Microscale Liquid DecalFilm, left from a homemade decal project some years ago.   Perhaps I was remiss in not mentioning the fact that the decals will be going on a NMF finish.   If I spray the entire sheet in a satin clear, will the carrier film become more pronounced on that aluminum finish?   I wonder whether the liquid film or sprayed clear would look better on NMF?    Recent progress has been rather rapid, at least by my standards, and soon she'll be ready for some decals.  

 

Man, I bet those kit decals are over 25 years old and the big ones, eg. ones that cover each side of the entire vertical stab, make me really nervous.   I've tested a couple small ones on painted plastic spoons (used to test the various aluminum shades) and if I'm very patient, they eventually released without drama.   Who knows how the bigger decals will behave.  I'll soon find out though! 

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1 hour ago, bmwh548 said:

Because of the age I would second the Liquid film suggestion. Also I'm not sure that a clearcoat would still allow a setting solution to do it's job. 

Thanks for your suggestions bmwh548!   I checked to be sure and found the liquid decal film.  That sounds like a good idea.  Cheers! 🥃

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