Micro sol/set on old transfers

[orkwrangler]

I have some miniatures I applied transfers to some decades ago. They are not flush and have miraculously not been broken & flaked off.

Anyone tried applying solutions in a case like this?

 

[Brother Meredith]

Nope, but don’t see why the solution would not work, they essentially mildly melt the transfer to allow conformity to the surface. Good luck! 😉

 

[Citizen Sade]

☝️Assuming you haven't varnished them, ofc.

Give it a go & let us know how you get on.

 

[orkwrangler]

I may risk buying bottles of set/sol & giving it a go. I assume solvents are involved. Is water sufficient for cleaning brushes? I've found mixed opinions on other modelling forums.

I've never used varnish but it is something I'm reading up on. Varnish on miniatures, that is. Let me know if you have had secret success with Ronseal.

 

[ManicMan]

ugh.. mostly, Water is okay but... well.. I'm not fantastic at taking care of my brushes but depending on things, I mix between water, some Iso and 'used' biostrip. Between them, they do a pretty good mix at cleaning stuff.

with some of my varnish brushes though, I do just use water, and every once in a while a wash in boiling water (often small amount from a kettle) which REALLY loosened up stiff brushes from the bits of varnish which I don't clean out right.

 

[Citizen Sade]

@orkwrangler Water should do but probably wise to have a dedicated (decent but cheapish) brush for the job.

As life's too short, I tend to stick to spray varnish. Montana Gold gloss plus Windsor & Newton Pro matt. I occasionally use a bit of Vallejo too if I want to paint it on e.g. before applying decals.

 

[dieselmonkey]

I now use MicroSol and MicroSet on all my transfers.

The problem though is not the liquid used, it's the transfers themselves. They harden over time, become brittle with age, and then have a tendency to fracture when wet. I've tried both water and Sol/Set on them and find water causes them to fail more often. Sol softens them a bit and so makes them a little less likely to crack.

The top left transfer here is a good 30 years old, I think, and worked fine. Equally I've had some later 40k ones disintegrate on getting wet, it seems impossible to pre-judge

 

[Brother Meredith]

Rereading the OP, @orkwrangler did you mean you were seeking to get old already used transfers to conform to the surface using Micro Sol & Set?
How did you get on using them?

 

[orkwrangler]

Rereading the OP, @orkwrangler did you mean you were seeking to get old already used transfers to conform to the surface using Micro Sol & Set?
How did you get on using them?

I have some old 40K 2nd ed minis with wrinkly shoulder pads. I have not ordered the stuff, or at least not yet.

The top left transfer here is a good 30 years old, I think, and worked fine. Equally I've had some later 40k ones disintegrate on getting wet, it seems impossible to pre-judge

Thanks for the info!

 

[Brother Meredith]

I picked up Vallejo’s version of decal softener and medium in Game Color Auxillary Set (VA73999) which also included some other handy bottles:
VAL520 Matt Varnish
VAL540 Matt Medium
VAL596 Glaze Medium
VAL73200 Sepia Wash
VAL73201 Black Washv
VAL73202 Pale Wash
VAL73212 Decal Medium
VAL73213 Decal Fix

 

[orkwrangler]

I picked up Vallejo’s version of decal softener and medium in Game Color Auxillary Set (VA73999) which also included some other handy bottles:
VAL520 Matt Varnish
VAL540 Matt Medium
VAL596 Glaze Medium
VAL73200 Sepia Wash
VAL73201 Black Washv
VAL73202 Pale Wash
VAL73212 Decal Medium
VAL73213 Decal Fix

I know what some of those are for, I think, though I've never used any of them. Correct me if I am wrong, this is based on brief internet searches:

- varnish: protection - use a dedicated brush?
- medium: alters paint properties to a specific effect
- wash: like ink but with medium to prevent surface tension blotches
- decal medium: like micro set
- decal fix: like micro sol

I recently took delivery of some nostalgia paints & inks so I could approximately recreate my old collection & not have to learn any new names. But setting up somewhere where I can use them is way down the DIY list.

 

[ManicMan]

you don't have to use a dedicated brush for varnish but it sure helps ^_^ else you might get some paint mixed with it.

The only time I've used a medium is when making some Aly Brown.

A wash paint shouldn't really be like an ink... ink is much thicker and.. well.. kinda a different thing but.. kinda used like that I guess

 

[Citizen Sade]

@ManicMan, Aly's Brown Liquid?

Aly Brown sounds like a beer or an illicit substance that would get you in trouble with the police if you had more than a few grams of it on your person.

 

[ManicMan]

Yep
and Yep

 

[Brother Meredith]

I have a mix of the brown stuff on the shelf ready to roll out… 💨

 

[Citizen Sade]

Do you have county lines in Yorkshire or do we need to talk about riding lines? Also, are you a victim of cuckooing & do we need to stage an intervention?