Removing water-slide decals

[seifadiaz]

I have applied a decal on a painted piece (primer -> base color -> clear gloss -> decal), and I think it does not look good and I want to remove it. I used Mr Mark Setter.

How do I do so without damaging the paint underneath?

[JQ]

If you already have coated the decal, you cannot remove it anymore.

But if there is no coat above the decal, you can simply put a drop of water on the decal's edges and let the water slide through beneath it. After a few seconds, the decal should float with the drop of water and then you can slide it off afterwards.

[seifadiaz]

The decal is not yet coated with paint, I only used Mr. Mark Setter. I already managed to remove the decal with some difficulty, I had to scratch the area with a toothpick which left marks on the paint. Anyway, I can always repaint the area though. :-)

[Gane]

Decal setters are solvent based (am I wrong?) in order to eat into the material and bind the decal, thus also removing some excess decal but doesn't affect the design printed on it.

This is why with careful application and know how you can use the solvent cuticle remover used by your girlfriend, wife or friend to almost permanently keep a water-slide decal in place. Although putting pure solvent over decal could curl it, you can dilute it somehow.

Removing them however is almost like prepping up your model for painting, or try burning the decal with solvent. But burning it with solvent could affect the other areas so a good set of sanding pads will do the trick better.

- Just a few tricks I learned working with tanks and planes -