Removal & re-application of decals

NobodyImportant

Hi all,

I have a 1/18 scale model of a Senna McLaren F1 (88) car, but without the tobacco livery.

I am looking to take off the old decals which are just black marks where 'Marlboro' would have been and then put on new Marlboro decals (from ebay).

Is this a difficult task? I dont want to ruin the car, its pretty rare and hard to find and probably worth €120+

Thanks,

The Doktor

the best thing to use is a product called MicroSol made by Microscale.
You just brush it on and it softens the decal and its easy to remove.
The solution will not damage the model or the paint finish.

It can also be used to give the new decal a "painted on" look... but you need to be careful here as it makes the decal very delicate.
The best thing to do is to place the decal with water, dry it with a cotton bud, and then put a small bit of microsol on with a soft brush. At this point walk away and leave the decal, it will look all funny like its bubbling and cracking. If you touch it at this point it will easily break.
But when it dries, it will be perfect.

wobbles

It depends on the model to be honest. It is just a decal, then it will chip off with your fingernail. If its tampo printed, use acetone free nail varnish remover with a cotton bud. It will just rub off.

I build 1/18 and 1/43 rally models and find microsol and microset great BUT not all decals need this stuff. Id imagine this decal is going onto a reasonably flat surface, so microsol would be a bit overkill (unless the decal is very thick).

I would just brush on some water, apply decal, get it into place, remove as much air/water as you can with a cotton bud then use a hairdryer to help it conform to the car

NobodyImportant

Thanks all.