I see champ decals on auction sites but I am not a bidder since I think they are too old and decrepit. Any guidance on this?
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We have used this with great success on them.
Generally good to use, but whenever in doubt clip off a bit that you are not going to use and test for stability.
If they fail the test, overspray decal completely with Dull Coat or Gloss Coat, wait for it to be fully dry, and then use.
I've had more problems with other brands failing over time than Champ.
I have Champ decals that were probably printed in the 90's that are still good. However, they've been stored in a closet within an air conditioned house. Buying old decals off of auction sites can be problematic since you don't know how they've been stored. Any decal left in an attic for 20 years is probably no good. The last decals Champ printed have white labels with the contents printed on the label. Those have the best chance of being good. The ones that have the contents printed directly on the manila envelope are really old and are probably in poor shape.
Spraying an old decal with Dullcote or covering them with Microscale's decal preserver will help keep the decal from disintegrating, but I've had some old decals that I coated curl around their edges when applying them to the model. No amount of decal set would make them flatten out. Bottom line is if you can find the decals you're looking for in current production, buy those.
Ken
the biggest issue I have with old stock Champ decals is the paper itself gets old and yellow, causing the film to yellow- if you're putting these on a light colored car, it will not work with yellow decal film. It cannot be resolved either. Just an FYI here....
I have just finished my caboose using champ decals and they work as advertised. You have to apply a clear coat or they will peel.
Good information, opened my eyes on a number of new ideas.
Still going through the list of resources, many new ones there.
My plan is to find a unique champ that is in The category Ken mentions and try some of these ideas. KDs thought on scanning old ones and reprinting seems it would work on color (of course none of us can print in white anyway😊).
While saving the link to this thread, I found I had saved a very good thread related to decals involving signs, most of these have white background for scanning:
Thanks for the thread link Hokie71.
I didn't know that it existed and, I too, saved it for future use.
