Anasazi decals

[Kurt]

Does anyone else have their Anasazi decals turning yellow on their customs? A customer of mine has several valks with decals turning yellow. I am fairly certain that it is not caused by my process. They have been stored out of any sunlight in a closet, no unusual humidity or anything per the customer. Here is a quick list of my process with customs:

Lacquer prime

Acrylic paint

Coat of Future

Apply decals with Microscale Micro Set & Sol

Seal with another coat of Future

Dull coat with Testors acrylic

While I do not have valks with Anasazi decals in my personal collection I do have other models that have decals applied in the exact same manner. I suspect that there is something in the decals themselves, or at least in certain batches, because not all of the numerous custom valks this customer has is experiencing this.

Any thoughts??

[Noyhauser]

Does anyone else have their Anasazi decals turning yellow on their customs? A customer of mine has several valks with decals turning yellow. I am fairly certain that it is not caused by my process. They have been stored out of any sunlight in a closet, no unusual humidity or anything per the customer. Here is a quick list of my process with customs:

Lacquer prime

Acrylic paint

Coat of Future

Apply decals with Microscale Micro Set & Sol

Seal with another coat of Future

Dull coat with Testors acrylic

While I do not have valks with Anasazi decals in my personal collection I do have other models that have decals applied in the exact same manner. I suspect that there is something in the decals themselves, or at least in certain batches, because not all of the numerous custom valks this customer has is experiencing this.

Any thoughts??

Mine haven't on two models that I built with them... and I used the same process as you. I did however ask him not to put a protective coating over the decals as he did with everybody else. I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not.

[nightmareB4macross]

Mine haven't on two models that I built with them... and I used the same process as you. I did however ask him not to put a protective coating over the decals as he did with everybody else. I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not.

Could be. Sometimes the yellowing can be caused by a heat source to which the decals were exposed. I've had a few of his sets and have had this issue before (pretty much ruined).

[Skull-1]

Testors Dullcote yellows everything. It sucks.

[mslz22]

I have a couple of customs done with his decals that are at least 5 or 6 years old and no yellowing, and they are applied over enamel white. I may be wrong but it was my impression that any clear/dullcoat has at least some potential to yellow, future, testors or otherwise....I may be wrong about the future..

Is the base color yellowing as well? It would be easy to tell on something white, while much harder to tell on something like a cannon fodder custom, or even something light gray depending if the gray had a touch of beige or yellow in it...

mike

Edited February 3, 2011 by mslz22

[big F]

Can't comment on mine as they are still in the packaging he sent them in kept flat in one of my Macross books in storage. Gonna have to look at them now and see if they are ok.

Edited February 4, 2011 by big F

[thegunny]

Testors Dullcote yellows everything. It sucks.

Spoken like someone who hasn't got a clue

[Kurt]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have not seen the valks in person, only images. As far as I can tell it is only the decals that are yellowing, not any of the surrounding paint.

No, it is not testors dullcoat. Testors acrylic flat.

[Jasonc]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have not seen the valks in person, only images. As far as I can tell it is only the decals that are yellowing, not any of the surrounding paint.

No, it is not testors dullcoat. Testors acrylic flat.

I've had several of these decals as well, and have a few customs that are about 7 years old, almost 8. I used a tamiya acrylic from a spray, and the Model Master dullcoat, and to this day, the decals have held up well. Wish I could help more, but I wonder if it's just that chemical composition, or just some strange effect of the environment the owner has them in? I've heard of people having different issues with toys, decals, and all that in higher heat and humidity environments, so I can't really say. Doesn't see to be anything you've done though.

[Skull-1]

Spoken like someone who hasn't got a clue

Uh huh. Whateverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I've been building models for 32 years and Testors Dullcote will yellow without exception given enough time. (Yes there are those who claim it doesn't. I haven't met anyone in person with that experience, particularly over white or light grays.)

It is my belief that more coats of the stuff one uses the more likely it is to yellow. That's what it does. (EDIT IN: He said he used Testors Acryl Flat, not Dullcote, so my speculation is irrelevant.)

The chemical properties that make it dull also cause it to yellow. As yet I don't think a single dullcote has been made that doesn't have this problem. (I have some Gunz-Sangyo that people claim won't yellow. I haven't had any on my models long enough to know if this is true, but on my test parts so far, the Testors has yellowed and the Gunz has not.)

So stick it.

No, it is not testors dullcoat. Testors acrylic flat.

My bad. I misread your post. I haven't used this stuff at all. I gave up on all Testors clear coats years ago. I contend it isn't the decals, though.

I have some of his that have been on my models and in the sleeves for years. No problems. But this does make me want to try an experiment with a test part, his decals, and Dullcote, Acryl Flat, and Gunz to see how they react. Might be interesting even if it takes years.

I've had several of these decals as well, and have a few customs that are about 7 years old, almost 8. I used a tamiya acrylic from a spray, and the Model Master dullcoat, and to this day, the decals have held up well. Wish I could help more, but I wonder if it's just that chemical composition, or just some strange effect of the environment the owner has them in? I've heard of people having different issues with toys, decals, and all that in higher heat and humidity environments, so I can't really say. Doesn't see to be anything you've done though.

Heat and humidity are not the problem. UV is. Even in cold dry areas the sun through the windows is enough to cause all sorts of damage.

Edited February 4, 2011 by Skull-1

[Anasazi37]

Kurt, just so I'm clear about this right up front, I'm not suggesting in this response that there is anything wrong with the approach that you use. It's very similar to the one I use and I know we've talked about this in the past.

Someone not directly involved in this thread decided to contact me about this, for which I am grateful. I don't check the forums very often these days, but I do like to stay on top of how my decals have been/are being used. Just because I'm not closely monitoring the forums doesn't mean that I won't respond to a PM, so the next time someone comes across an issue with my decals, please contact me directly.

Nothing used in their production should cause yellowing or fading. Here are the ingredients:

Ink - ALPS dry resin (impervious to discoloration and fading)

Paper - Bell Decal, Tango Papa, or HPS (depending on availability at the time of printing)

Coating - Microscale Liquid Decal Film (designed to restore decals and protect them, not cause discoloration or fading)

I will admit that the one wild card in the above list is the paper itself. I did a lot of research on all three paper suppliers and never had problems with them while my business was active--apart from the occasional order mixup with Bell. Is it possible that there were some bad sheets of paper in batches that I ordered? Yes. Would I have been able to tell? No. Have I heard of my decals yellowing before this thread? No. Have any of my personal sets or customs yellowed? No. My really-old-school decals, the first ones I ever made using ink jet printing and acrylic top coats, could conceivably have some yellowing issues after so many years, but even that is an unknown since I haven't heard of anything like that happening.

Also, I have to ask if the yellowing markings involved are stickers, not decals. I know of a few collectors who have used my stickers as if they were decals, putting top coats on them, etc. I used HPS sticker paper and a flexible, UV-proof, solvent-based spray-on topcoat called ClearJet for those, and it may not play well with other coatings (I stated as much to people wanting to do this), but I haven't heard of any problems. You would think that any issues along those lines would pop up right away during the customization process, but I suppose it could take a while to manifest.

I'm inclined to think it has more to do with the coating processes used during customization and/or subsequent environmental exposure factors like heat and humidity, but I can't rule out the paper as a possible source, however unlikely that may be, because I had no control over its production. If any of the Microscale products were to blame (Microset, Microscol, Liquid Decal Film), the negative impact to the broader modeling community would have been significant, so we can probably rule them out.

[Kurt]

Hey Anasazi, nice to hear from you. Hope all is well.

This issue came up a year ago and I have not heard of any other of my customs having this problem. Must be something unique about where those valks are being stored.

[Kicker773]

Hi Kurt and Devin,

I have one valk that has turned a slight color change but I believe the decal was a regular decal that I bought through MW from another member that didnt' have the coating that Devin gives as an option. Its not as bad and not as noticeable since the valk is blue (Virgin Road) that you made Kurt. I don't know if that helps.

BTW Kurt Lmk if you have free time for another custom.

thanks

Kicker773

[Anasazi37]

Thanks for responding, Kurt. I'm glad to hear that it was an isolated incident.

[MechTech]

I can vouch for the Microscale Liquid Decal Film. I've been using the same bottle for like 20 years! All of their stuff is great and all of the decals I have made have not yellowed on paper or model (I have decals I made over 15 years ago and coated them with it). They've been making the same stuff now for decades. - MT

[Skull-1]

Devin made a custom set for me that is still bone white. I used the Microscale Liquid Decal Setting Solution on it and a gloss coat from Krylon or Rustoleum. The model has spent equal time in storage and on display. I don't have it behind a UV protective glass (though I wish I did) but the decals have held up perfectly. So far I haven't experienced any problems with Anasazi's stuff... My only complaint is that he quit making them.