Clear lacquer over decals

[unclescott58]

I'm building AMT's Curly's Gasser '40 Willys. I've painted the car using Testors Plum Crazy lacquer paint. I plan on using Testors clear lacquer over it. Can I first apply AMT's decals before I spray the clear? How long should I wait, from applying the decals to applying the clear? Anything I need to watch out for?

[Harry Joy]

I apply clear lacquer over decals all the time. Give the decals time to completely dry and set, and go light on your mist coats. The lacquer can melt decals if applied too thick all at one time. If the decals are old, you may want to test something from the sheet you don't plan to use. Alternately, you can clear coat decals before you apply them to the model, if you don't mind the hassle of trimming them close.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Testors lacquer gloss coat is very mild.

You can shoot it over almost anything including enamel & acrylics with no problem.

I've sprayed it over sheets of decals with no ill affects, but I don't use enough decals to give you a definitive answer, but I would be surprised if the Testors clears would harm them.

 

Steve 

[Miatatom]

I A/B Testors Clears over decals and it works fine.

[unclescott58]

Thanks guys. I'll give it a try. I will post results soon. Hoping to have this kit done by the next Model Car Club of Minnesota meeting next Wendsday, in 7 days. Some decals are already placed. I'll do the rest tonight. Apply the lacquer either Thursday or Friday night. Finish assembly Monday or Tuesday. The engine, chassis, and interior are all ready done. The decals, gloss coat, and body is all that's left. And since I've previously built AMT's '40 Willys in the past, finial assembly should not present any real problems.

[Matt Bacon]

I'd echo the above -- do three or four light "mist coats" first, to seal the decals before you apply any "wet coat". The solvent may be milder than many, but it's still highly volatile stuff, and you don't want any chance of the solvent moving the decal ink around...

bestest,

M.

[unclescott58]

As of this morning, I just went down stairs to bring Cruly's Gasser up from getting its lacquer gloss coat, done yesterday. I'm happy to report that everything went well. The clear coat did nothing bad to decals at all. Everything looks great!

[Can-Con]

Here's a couple AMT kits that I cleared with the Testors . Sprayed it on pretty heavy strait from the can too.

[unclescott58]

Both look great, Steve.

[Pavel A.]

I always spray clearcoat over decals. My favourite is any gloss 2K clearcoat. I buy it in local carpaintshop.

Set of 1litre clearcoat + 0,5 litre hardener +1litre thinner costs about 40-45 USD (38 Euros). Mixing ratio is about 3-4 parts of clearcoat : 1 part hardener :1,5 part thinner. But for each is good another ratio... each airbrush gun is different. I mixed it in medical syringe. Of course... 2k clearcoat you can apply on any type of color... enamel, acrylics, lacquer, carpaint, childrens water colors, ... 2k is not agressive.