Old decals.... Disintegrating

I always had very good results with Tamiya decals. I am trying to finish up some of my partial completed models…They are old. around 7 years for some…

My Calsonic skyline R34 from Tamiya is one of them… which has LOTS of decals. Even though decal sheets were still in their original packing. They look aged :slight_smile:

Tried few smaller ones in the interior of the car for practice. The carbon finish decal for the back of the seat is a fairly big decal. On soaking in water for 15 sec and let it rest outside for few secs when I apply Mr.Mark setter…

When I try to slide with a very light touch, I see the decal disintegrating in multiple places… Has this happened to any of you… Am I doing anything wrong. I will try few more with varying soak times…
My question - Is there anyway we can condition such old decals before applying… Any tips and tricks there?

My worry - What will happen to all my stash? What happens to all those car kits with tons of decals being stashed for future?

What do you think? Another indication to build more and stop stashing…

That happens sometimes, I do not know if it depends on storage, age, type of decal, global warming, all of them…

In any case, there are liquids that form a film on top of the decals and help keeping them in one piece. See this recent thread:

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The safe route is spraying a coat of clear on top of the decal sheet. The water will soak through the paper to release the glue. Some people let the decal sit in the sun for a day or two as the sunlight is supposed to bleach out the yellow on the film.

Thanks @TopSmith for the reply. The decal was for Tamiya’s Nissan Calsonic skyline. After multiple failed attempts, I finished the model without any decals. The model looks so bare on the showcase now :(. I tried one coat of mr.coror clear gloss, But even after letting the decal soak for sometime, the decal does not seperate from the backing sheet. When finally it moved it was in pieces… Not sure the clear has to be of a certain type?
I have just a few cars / planes that are old in my stash. Most are armor models. I have seen some stashes in here… :star_struck: :flushed:…It would be interesting to see the dacal’s performance when they are finally getting built :joy: