Decals over a flat finish ???

Silvering can be an issue. You may be able to minimize it with a lot of decal solvent and poking a bunch of holes in the decal to help it get under it really well. You should cut the decal as close to the artwork as possible to remove as much extra clear decal film as possible. When you get done and the decal is completely dry, put a little water on top of the decal and spread it around to simulate a clear coat and look for silvering. If you don't see any, then you are good to go ahead and clearcoat. Adhesion may still be an issue because the smoother the surface the better the decal will adhere to the surface. A spot of clear gloss or polishing the surface with a fine auto polish to shine it up will help the decal stick. Once it is clearcoated it should be okay as long as you don't need to tape over that area again.

Here's the sequence I use:

1. I spray the model with gloss coat.  It gives the decal a smooth finish to adhere to.

2. After the gloss coat has dried I apply the decal.

3. After the decal has dried thoroughly, I spray it with gloss coat again.

4. After the gloss coat has dried thoroughly, I spray it with dull coat.

Neal Jeter

Flat or matte finishes are just harder to work with.They can be decaled. However using  a gloss finish to decal on, then applying dullcoat, works better.

The dullcoat actually helps hide the decal and also seals it onto the surface.

Lots if water when setting the decals seems to be the key. Once dry they do stick well.

Also I clearcoat all my decals prior to placement whether home made or commercial.

If it's already flat, a small area of clear , just under it should work too. Then topcoat the whole thing again.  Clear flat over/under clear gloss is hard to detect, the top finish decides flat or gloss.

Gloss is often thicker than flats and buries imperfections/edges better in geñeral (though the reflections of gloss imperfections are easier to see sometimes... the difference really can be learned best when lots of sanding/coats is used )

@Lionlman posted:

Here's the sequence I use:

1. I spray the model with gloss coat.  It gives the decal a smooth finish to adhere to.

2. After the gloss coat has dried I apply the decal.

3. After the decal has dried thoroughly, I spray it with gloss coat again.

4. After the gloss coat has dried thoroughly, I spray it with dull coat.

Neal Jeter

 

 

I do slmost as stated abovevwith the exception of #3. On #3 step i use pledge with future shine to adhere the decal to the car.

Then #4 A final full coat shot and I'm done after the dullcoat dries!

Always on a gloss painted surface.

Key for me is to apply some decal set solution to the surface about a minute before I slide on the decal. When the decal is set I apply a bit more decal set solution on top which helps soften the decal and adheres better to the lines, rivets and contours of the car. about  a day or two later I will weather the car and the weathering paints are FLAT and if neccessay apply a Dullcote layer. 

Thanks guys 👍🏼 - lots to consider - going to play around a little 

Also - if you are repainting but not stripping the factory paint from freight cars do you at least first remove / strip the factory lettering ??? 

If I do not strip the factory lettering will it show up under the new paint ???

I recently picked up a few Lionel PS2 covered hopper cars for a really good price - going to repaint into “typical” gray covered hoppers / various roadnames

Thank again 👍🏼

Stripping never worked right for me on Lionel and especially MTH cars.

Just painted a Lionel Sclair 3 bay ACF hopper - no stripping. Primed with gray and then topcoat. None of the lettering or markings show thru. Now it needs decals and it's ready to go.

@dorfj2 posted:

Thanks guys 👍🏼 - lots to consider - going to play around a little 

Also - if you are repainting but not stripping the factory paint from freight cars do you at least first remove / strip the factory lettering ??? 

If I do not strip the factory lettering will it show up under the new paint ???

I recently picked up a few Lionel PS2 covered hopper cars for a really good price - going to repaint into “typical” gray covered hoppers / various roadnames

Thank again 👍🏼

I might remove it.  

It might show...

... 1. it’s color may penetrate the topcoat. Consider this. Primer color has an impact on final color shade, though buried. Light does penetrate topcoat reflect off the primer, make it back past the topcoat and to your eye. So it might even show from various angles, or different light. Remove or bury it in a primer/flat near the same color as the background, now topcoat.

2. It's outline may show. The letter coat is a thickness offset from the surface.

Bury in primer/flat matching background and sand smooth, now topcoat.

If letters are low from a stamp use putty or filler primer if shallow to fill then sand.

Your first full body primer coat will reveal imperfections if you hold a light to rhe side of the surface plane to creat exaggerated shadows 

Too flatten a large area (like a filled car dent)

two initial mist coats of primer, one light color, one dark, or color contrast ; sand slow and easy. The top layer will fade and as it does, imperfections pop out incontrast. It shows high vs low spots.  Fill/sand/respray/repeat until top layer comes off and contrast shows up smooth, vs spotty It is now as flat as a coat of paint.  use 3-4 colors if you like, then you know better if you fill with putty or filler primer, or thin primer by the color ring width around the popping area edges. fat rings need less fill.