Reapplying dried-out decals

[Teddy Boy]

Hello all, not sure if I should be posting this here or in the Beginners' Corner, but it's a kind of restoration question, so here we are. I've been collecting vintage models for a few years now but have never attempted any restoration before, and I'm sure this is very basic but it's a new problem to me.

I was dusting my Y-13 1918 Crossley the other day when the 'Coal and Coke' decals just fell off the sides, apparently having dried out. The general consensus from people I've asked is to use a varnish like Humbrol Clear in order to reattach the decals and I'm in no doubt whatsoever that this is the best advice possible but, if I'm not mistaken, Humbrol varnishes are designed for water-slide decals and the Crossley did not use water-slide decals. I was just wondering if there's anything I should take care of/watch out for when reapplying the decals with varnish. The model is otherwise in very good condition and I'd hate to ruin the paint or the decals by way of some kind of stupid beginners' error.

Thanks

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Hello Teddy Boy, welcome to the forum and posting here for your question is fine.

If the labels are still in good condition, I would use a fine layer of 'Pritt-Stik' which will attach them back to the model but will not harm the paintwork. I recommend you buy a nice new 'Stik' for this purpose as the longer you keep these the harder they become to use.

Lets see some pictures when you have done your running restoration on the Crossley...

Ghosthunter.

[Teddy Boy]

Thanks Ghosthunter, that's turned out really nicely. Funny how the simplest solutions can often be the best. I don't know that I quite did it perfectly, but at least if the decals come off again I'll know what to do, and it still looks fine. I did notice, though, before I applied any glue that part of the decals had turned slightly darker, as though they'd been damp, and wondered why that was.

Photos as requested:

1 Crossley DSCN2479-001.JPG (75.09 KiB) Viewed 909 times

2 Crossley DSCN2481-001.JPG (81.22 KiB) Viewed 909 times

3 Crossley DSCN2482-001.JPG (79.72 KiB) Viewed 909 times

Personal circumstances at the moment are good as I should have quite a lot of free time over the next couple of months. I've got a couple of basket-case models that I'd quite like to have a shot at restoring, and as far as I'm concerned they're good pieces on which to get some practice because I can hardly make them any worse, so I might be asking for a bit of advice regarding them soon.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Hello Teddy Boy.
Looks good and looks to have been in good condition to start with so was worth putting the labels back on.

The darker areas you see on the label is possibly the original adhesive that is soaking through the paper and once this happens, it looses it's integrity, dries out and then has less of a hold on the surface it has been applied to.

I look forward to one of your future restos and do please post it here, this is the right place.

I have also resized your pictures as when you posted them they came onto the forum in their original file size which is around 1.2 mb, and because the forum does not have any auto resize facility, they can not be displayed correctly.

Have a look in here... viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21 and get some tips on resizing but please do ask any questions if you are not clear on anything.

Ghosthunter.

[Teddy Boy]

Thanks for explaining that about the dark areas. I didn't realise the photos needed to be resized but that won't be a problem for me.