Hi all,

Maybe I am the only one, but maybe there are other “stash owners” with likewise experiences:
Having started an older Tamiya model (purchased some years ago) I had severe frustrations with the decals....
They just fall apart in the warm water. Not one of them, all. They seem to crackle over time. Impossible to apply.
Am I unique with this or do have others the same issue?

Thanks for answering

They can be fixed with clear coat, but that's not your question. I've had decals for over forty years that still work. Storage conditions probably dictate the life span. In my case, most of the stash is in an air conditioned house.

I had the same problem on and off . Aftermarket decals may be the answer . I think Robert is right about the conditions .humity probably hurts them !

I don't know if this helps but whenever I buy a kit I open the box and put the rubber band tracks flat in the bottom of the box, I then put the decals in a zip-lock sandwich bag before also putting them flat in the bottom of the box.
So far (touch wood!) I have never had a problem with decals detereating and I also do this with any clear sprues to prevent any scratching while they are in storage.

Decals have plagued modelers since the beginning of time--(not really, since decals in thier current form have only been around about 150 years or so). But, as Modelers, it pays to come up with some storage solutions. As others have mentioned, heat, humidity, and the chemical makeup of the decals and the paper they are printed on will eventually contribute to thier demise given a long enough time period. I have some decals in my stash that are over 50 years old, but they work just fine. On the other hand, I have some that were printed a couple of years ago that shatter on contact with water. Here's some tips I've learned:

1) keep them in a temperature and humidity "controlled" environment. I've found enclosing them in larger plastic bags, then enclosing those in a suitably sized plastic box with a sealable lid will suffice. I don't remove all my decals from a kit, but if I know the kit is going to be in storage for more than a year, I do remove them and place them in a bag in a plastic sealable box. This controls humidity and moderates temperature to a small degree. I also save all the bags from aftermarket decals, or buy protective sealable bags from specialty stores which sell comic book covers. If a kit comes with resealable bags (like Eduard kits do)-- I also save those bags.
2) keep them from direct sunlight--storing them away from UV rays is important, so keep your decal storage container in a drawer or cabinet away from direct sunlight, or your kits in a closet or other storage arrangement where direct sunlight can't get to them. UV will eventually penetrate many organic materials, including cardboard kit boxes over time, so don't ever store you kits in an area with direct sunlight.
3) old decals=damaged decals. Always proceed with the idea that the decal will have problems if it's an older decal. I keep a large bottle of Microscale Decal Solution on my workbench just for that purpose. When in doubt, I slather a coat of this solution on the decal with a wide brush-- it will restore old decals and seal newly printed decals (I make a lot of my own using Walthers Decal Paper, my bubblejet printer, and Microscale Decal Solution).
4) older decals will sometimes respond to a little heat if the decal solution on the back has deteriorated over the years-- I keep a small foldable "travel" hair dryer on my work bench too, and if a decal is being difficult in adhering, I play a little heat over it to soften it. Some Roden decals are notorious for this, a little heat helps a lot, also the right type of decal softening solution (I really like Sovaset, but it's not for everyone-- others prefer more mild solutions like Microscale or Testor's products).
5) "yellowed" decals can be restored with time, but need to be closely monitored-- White has a tendency to "yellow" over time-- "yellowing" can be reveresed by exposure to UV rays (I know I said to limit exposure to UV earlier). Tape a yellowed decal inside a clear plastic bag and then tape it into a sun-facing window for a few days. Monitor it every day, and the "yellowed" decal will slowly turn white. But, left too long, other colors will tend to fade--especially reds. Once you remove the decal from the window, coat it with Microscale Decal Solution--(MSDS) can also be sprayed through an airbrush.

P.S.-- my workshop and kit storage area is in a dry but un-heated garage for the past 14 years, but I live in a moderately humid area near the water--actually right on the water-- as Puget Sound is less than a block away (comparable to Northewest Europe, I'd say in particular the Netherlands). But by storing my decals and kits in cabinets and plastic bags and bins as related above, I haven't had any issues (other than those related to just old decals). Temps range here from the upper 90s F during the summer to the low 20s F during the winter, with an average temps between 52F-65F year round. Although there have only been .95 inch of rain since May. We also had 47 days of temps above 80F this summer-- the record is 51 days. But we get lots of rain during the winter.

Hope this helps.
VR, Russ

The problem is quality and how you store them.

this work very well to fix the problem,It's done on purpose...

http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MD&Product_Code=MI-12&Category_Code=FINPROD

This is something I have done also along with any new aftermarket decals I ever buy.These zip-loc baggies have helped me for many years with no problems.

Thanks for the advise!
Any experience with this stuff?
Does it apply a film over the originals?

i used this stuff a couple of times on old decals and do what he says, create a film over the decal and prevents it from breaking and gives it back the elasticity lost over time

good tip thank you

I could never get the Microscale stuff to spray. I've used Testors spray can decal coating and really like it. A couple of fine mist coats seem to do the trick.

This is the same stuff I mentioned in my post-- I just left out the Liquid Decal film title. It does apply a thin film over the originals, but it is actual decal film-- not paint, which I don't recommend using. It can be hand brushed onto each individual decal, or it can be sprayed through your airbrush, at about 15-20 lbs PSI. When you apply it, it will appear to soak into the decal, but it will dry crystal clear in about 20 minutes. You need to cut each individual decal out separately, as it will connect your decals together (when you use this stuff you are actually applying new decal film). If you make your own decals on a bubble jet printer, I don't recommend brush painting this stuff, as it tends to smear the printer ink, spraying is better. Do not thin this while painting with an airbrush. You'll just ruin the decal as this does not use normal thinner or water. As for a comparison to the Testor's spray can stuff, it's not the same product, and I've had trouble in the past with the Testor's stuff going on too thick which tends to ruin homemade decals.
VR, Russ

Decals that have yellowed and been sun-bleached, is there a risk of them yellowing after having been applied and clear coated on the model?

Good question. Short answer is any white decal or paint, will yellow over time. How much time depends on the chemical compounds in the paint/dye/ink used in its manufacture. Strangely enough, models with white paint on them benefit from storage in enclosed display cases which have the least ambient sunlight. This is because the UV radiation given off by the sun tends to react with the chemicals in the decal/paint, whereas on the paper it tends to bleach them. In my time building models and painting miniatures (nearly 60 years now) the best white paint I've found for resisting "yellowing" is Sanfords ceiling tile white (I'm not sure they even make this anymore-- it used to be lacquer based). Short of that, lacquer based paints seem to hold up better than enamels-- my go-to lacquer is Gunze Mr. Color white, and now they have released an ultra-smooth lacquer based primer which works quite well. I've also noticed that clear coats tend to yellow over time-- especially gloss clear coats. Alclad Gloss seems to be the worst-- as I've had an entire bottle yellow in as little as 6 months--in the bottle. It sprays fine even when yellowed though, but I worry the gloss coat will continue to yellow even after application. Flat coats seem to last the longest (including Alclad) I believe it has something to do with the pigmentation). The good news is, once a decal goes on, or once a paint finish goes on, it may take years start yellowing for most decal or paint products.
VR, Russ