Yellowed decals

[Kruaxi]

Often, old decals show a yellow film: it's a problem for a vintage lover as me.
I read on the web to expose them to the Sun for two or three days... problem can be fix, most of the time.
Well... bad weather, night... too problems... How to resolve ?
I think about... probably UV rays are the solution.
So, i bought a little machine with UV lamps, used for nails art...


I know... seems an AREA 51 hangar... or a satanic dog's bed...

Yesterday in the evening i took this old decal, then i leave it inside that UV 'oven' for a day...
This is the result:

BEFORE


AFTER


Well, i believe it's really different !
Now, i leave it again, for a day or two, to see if remaining yellow can disappear entirely.

I don't know if any have had this idea before... i never read about...

Salute e Latinum per tutti !

[Mossie]

Nice results!  I find the taping them to the window trick works well, even in poor light conditions which are pretty common here in the UK.  I usually see similar results after a day, the peak coming after about three days exposure, even in the winter.  Still, for those who struggle to get good light for long spells such as in Scotland, northern Europe & Canada this might work well, well done!

[PR19_Kit]

Ahah, I've seen Mrs PR19 with her fingers in something like that when she has her nails done!

I didn't realise it was a UV light thing, I thought it was just a heater. I'll ask the girl at the nail place where she gets them, could be very handy. 

[frank2056]

I've taped yellow decals to the window with excellent results. I live in Los Angeles, so sunlight isn't a problem... but this sounds like a great way of getting quick & consistent results.

One thing about old decals is that the carrier film may fall apart in water. Spraying Future on the decal sheet and letting it dry will keep old decals together long enough to apply on a model.

[rickshaw]

I'd suggest either sealing the decals in a plastic bag or placing between two pieces of glass before putting in the UV "oven" 'cause its obvious that its drying them out while bleaching them.

I wonder if the dentist at the "teeth whitening" place I've seen in the shopping centre will allow me to use his super-high-intensity UV lamps for a while?