sflam123 Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 Hello all! I'll start this post by saying this is IN NO WAY a post to bash Slixx decals. They are great people. I use a quite a few Slixx decals as I like to build old models I find at garage sales and auctions. Recently, I've had issues with some of the decals "shattering". I have included a photo of one that just happened for a Johan Gene Snow Challenger I just built. If you look closely, you can see other cracks in the decal in addition to the area where the decal is gone. I use a glass bowl, filled about half full with lukewarm tapwater and when they shatter it is usually before I can ever get the decal out of the bowl. I usually let the decal sit in the bowl of water for about 20 seconds (depends upon the size) and then take the decal out and let it rest on a paper towel for another minute or so. I'm not new at model building, as I've been building for about 58 years, so I've tried everything I know to try to keep this from happening. I'm open to any thoughts anyone has to help me try to prevent this from happening in the future. Thanks in advance for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High octane Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 Surprised to hear this happening as I've never had any issues with SLIXX decals. To prevent that from happening again, I would give the decal sheet a couple of light (mist) coats of clear lacquer and let them dry for 24 hours. Then cut close to the decal you want to use as put it in water, it should work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 To add what Nick said, you might want to test a very small portion of the decal to make sure there's no reaction between it and the clear lacquer. Sometimes vendors can change things without notice for whatever reason. Some decals may play nice with it------some don't. If there's an issue you might want to give this a try. This links to an auction, but you may want to check with your LHS to see if they might have it. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr mopar Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 I Have had this happen a lot with slixx decals .to fix it I airbrush Future floor wax on them ,a very light coat works all the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Coyote Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 I coat all older decals with Testors 9200 decal bonder and then do what High Octane says about cutting the decals. I have no issues at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucket T Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 There is a thread on this topic. Slixx had a bad run on some decals. Contact them for possible replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Van Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 Slixx had a batch of decals that were very prone to this issue. It wasn't wide spread but I recall them saying something about it when it happened. Follow the advise about coating them.....hope it works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in Berwyn Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 I have had the same problem. I emailed and they sent me a few more sets which weren't any better until I coated them. Their advice was also to use very hot water out of the tap - not sure it really helped but I followed that advice. They said do not heat water on the stove - that is too hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sflam123 Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 Thanks for all the advice!! I have some Testor's 9200 decal bonder, so I'll try that on the rest of the decal sheet and see if I have any more issues with this sheet. I'll contact SLIXX and get another sheet for this model and coat it before ever trying to use it too. Again, THANKS to everyone for the feedback!! I appreciate it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicmustang Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 14 hours ago, High octane said: Surprised to hear this happening as I've never had any issues with SLIXX decals. To prevent that from happening again, I would give the decal sheet a couple of light (mist) coats of clear lacquer and let them dry for 24 hours. Then cut close to the decal you want to use as put it in water, it should work fine. X2 What he said usually works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYLIBUD Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 Hmm that's surprising,I've NEVER had any problems either with Slixx decals.And I'm sure Slixx will help in anyway they can.That is one great company with a great bunch of people working for them.Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 I've had it happen too with some Slixx decals, they always sent me replacements when I had problems, they are good people and sell good decals but sometimes things can go wrong. I've been coating them also with the Testors decal clear and it makes a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Microscale Super Decal Film (I think that's what it's called) should fix the problem, as well. You can just swab it on with a big brush, and it'll lay down virtually invisibly. It's great stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 4 minutes ago, Straightliner59 said: Microscale Super Decal Film (I think that's what it's called) should fix the problem, as well. You can just swab it on with a big brush, and it'll lay down virtually invisibly. It's great stuff! You can also swab it on with a brand new CLEAN Q-tip and throw that in the trash after, and never have to worry about is there some old paint residue in the brush that will find its way onto the decal. I've also put it on with just my finger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 3 minutes ago, Snake45 said: You can also swab it on with a brand new CLEAN Q-tip and throw that in the trash after, and never have to worry about is there some old paint residue in the brush that will find its way onto the decal. I've also put it on with just my finger. It is VERY forgiving! Good point about using a Q-tip to avoid contamination--that's what I'll be doing, from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddyfink Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Just contact Slixx and let them know what happened. They have replaced some of my decals that have also done this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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