How do I remove decals without damaging the plastic?
I’m building a WnW WW I aircraft and put on the Lozenge Decal. I am just doing the upper wing. The underside of the wing went on great. I am not happy with the top of the wing. I want to remove the Lozenge Decal and start over. How can I get it off without ruining the plastic.
Thank you in advance.
I find that some tape applied to the decal then pulled off works well.
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I will have to remember that next time I have to remove a decal. Instead I used sandpaper and now have to repaint the glacis of my Tamiya Leopard 1A4 (messed up the license plate).
You can also brush on Micro-Sol to soften the decal and loosen it, and then use an eraser gently, or use sticky tape as per TopSmith.
Thank you for your advice.
I’ve seen pictures of the rib’s taped over with what looks like thin strips of the Lozenge Decal. Is this how the rib’s are done?
My 2 cents: When tape doesn’t work and/or MicroSol has eaten through your paint-job, the only option you may have is to carefully sand and repaint the area. HTH.
The Conservation of Doped-Fabric Aircraft at the Science Museum, London describes applying reinforcing tape over the ribs, then rib lacing secures the fabric to the rib, with a final tape (the surface tape) over the lacing to smooth it and reinforce the area. Once the fabric was secured, it was sprayed with dope to shrink and tighten the covering. After this, finishing tape was applied and doped over potential weak spots, like seams and other attachment points.
When the skinning was done with pattern-printed fabric, the surface tape would be cut from the same material to minimize the contrast, although I don’t think there was any effort made to align the pattern between the skin and the tape.
Wow, I went to the link you sent. That’s more information than my pea brain can absorb.
Thanks a lot. I think I know what I’ll do now.