Issues with Microscale Decals...

[sizemore]

I just wanted to pole any of you guys that have custom painted in the past few months with Microscale decals.... Decals that are either white or use white as the baselayer in the decal printing process I've found to be "unruly" in laying down with Micro-Sol or Solva-set. Additionally I've found that any white layer is thicker than a black or dark layer in the decal. Ed suggested I take this information to Micro-Scale but I wanted to collect some more facts before knocking on the door.

The S.

[ljudice]

I noticed this with the new release CSXT boxcar decals - yellow over white (base).

Very hard to get them to conform on a waffleside boxcar, for example.

[wm3798]

Hmmm.  I sometimes have the same issue with white decals generated on an ALPS printer.  Could it be that MicroScale has moved on from silk screening?  The yellow over white thing seems to point to that.  With silk screening, you can get opaque yellow ink.  Not so much with computerized printing...

Lee

[FloridaBoy]

My problem with Microscale decals are they are not prominent on the car you are decalling after the job is done.  For example, I repainted 2 Minitrix K4 Pacifics first gloss black so the decals would stick, then applied yellow "Pennsylvania" heralds on the tender sides, numbers under the cab windows, etc, and they appeared weak.  I compared the decals to other factory painted Pennsy steamers where the lettering and numbers had much better contrast. 

I used Solvaset on the decals and they set in beautifully, and wiped the dried surface of any leftover chemicals before I dull coated the work. 

The decals have not faded, but they do not have the good contrast I expected from decals that I consider quite pricey. 

Is there any trick I am not aware of?

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

[sizemore]

Ken, I'm sorry this sounds like a different issue than the one I'm polling. It sounds like you may need to overlay another set to get the vivid appearance you wish to see.

I'll probably write something up tonight to send to MicroScale to see what I get in reply.

The S.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Lending my experience. Years ago I was using a set of yellow numbers that were ever-so-subtly off register, so the white underprinting looked like a drop shadow of the yellow on top.

Even worse, the little red and white warning decals were so off (having the same problem of the red and the white) as to be completely useless.