Decal/Paint problem.

[strangebrew]

[Cheater]

Did this happen only in the gold/gold leaf portion of the decal?I have some sheets that specifically say not to clear coat the gold .

Cheater

[dreinecke]

Man that sucks since it looked so great.

I'm with Cheater...it looks like a reaction to the gold. You could try Future over the decals first next time.

[RichD]

Sometimes painting slot cars can be frustrating because the techniques that you have used succesfully in the past suddenly present problems. I have never seen an issue with the paint blistering because of a problem with a resin body. I have seen a resin body that refused to take paint at all however. I do not apply clear coat to a body until after the decals are on. I use Testors decal setting spray. A few people have complained that Krylon Crystal Clear remained tacky for a long time, I have not had that problem myself. It does not hurt to allow plenty of time for the paint to dry before applying decals. Many types of clear coat can attack decals. I apply a couple of coats of Future to the decals for extra protection before I clearcoat a car.

[strangebrew]

I don't think it was just the gold. It happened once before on a white painted car while using clear water transfer paper.
I have several of the gold decals left on the sheet that I have not applied that are not bubbled. Can I apply decals to an unprepped resin body?
When you say apply Future....Do you mean onto the decal sheet before applying or after they're on the car? The instructions that I have with
the decal material say to apply 2 or 3 coats of Kryon clear after printing. That would have to be done before the Future or the paint would
not adhere correct? Maybe I just need to buy some better decal material............What's the best?
I'm going to cast another body (black dyed) & print & apply the decals straight onto the body & see what happens.

[RichD]

Home printed decals need to be sealed before they are cut out and placed on a car for several reasons. For a start the decal material is very fragile so it needs a few coats of something to make it easier to handle without being damaged. The coating also helps to protect the printing itself. It is risky to brush Future over uncoated inkjet printed decals because they are likely to smear. It is safer to spray on Future if the decals have not been coated. Future is only 20% solids, so it takes a number of applications to get a thick enough coating to do you any good.
I have used Krylon Crystal clear to seal inkjet decals after they were printed, but I have now switched over to using the Testors product. I am actually using the Future as a barrier to keep the solvents in the final clear coat from attacking the decals. I don't like to mist on the final clear coat because that can cause the paint to have a rough finish. If you lay on a heavy coat of solvent based clear you would be asking for trouble. The temptation is to clearcoat the entire car with Future. Unfortunately Future is not very robust and can rub off if the car will be handled very much. A more durable clear coat is needed. For a while I was using a DupliColor automotive clear, which resists chipping, but the solvents in that product were too aggressive and could attack even coated decals along with the paint job. I have switched to using Testors gloss clear enamel. After I am sure that the paint is fully dried I coat the entire body with a couple of applications of Future for extra shine and protection. If after a while the car starts to look a little dingy a fresh coat of Future will restore it to like new condition. By the way Future has undergone a number of name changes, it was called Pledge with Future shine for a while and is now called Pledge Floor Care finish.

[chrisguyw]

While all the above information on prepping, coating, clearcoating is spot on, I think your problem is under the decal, not on top.....I have seen it a few times....don't ask!

After applying the decals, I would wait a couple of days (3 to 4 if you can afford the time) before applying any clear/topcoat to decals, as they must fully dry. "Larger" surface area decals will take much longer to dry than smaller ones, and this appears to be the ones which are suffering. If the decal still has any moisture underneath,(and the decals will not always dry uniformly) the glue will not cure and adhere the decal properly to the body surface........when you apply your topcoat, it softens the decal, and the areas that are not perfectly cured, will pull (actually expand) away from the surface.....usually in nice smooth little bubble shapes........ironically just like in your pictures.

You can certainly speed up the drying time by using a hair dryer, (and this will also help the decal to conform to curved/irregular shaped surfaces), but, if you have the time, please consider that another day or two of waiting is better than ruining an otherwise great job.

Cheers
Chris Walker