GETTING IT WRONG

A varnish is a varnish is a varnish, right? Not quite. It’s recommended that you apply a gloss varnish to where the decal is to go first as this creates a better surface for the decal to adhere to. For some reason, I’ve always omitted this process in my model making and, for the first renumbering, I followed my usual practice. The decal attached itself to the cabside without drama, but it stuck fast and didn’t allow any time to tweak its position. Maybe there was something to this gloss varnish theory. I thought I’d try it on the opposite side - except that I couldn’t find the varnish I’d ordered. Never mind, I had some matt varnish, which I was going to use to seal the decals in place. Surely, it would do the job? No, it didn’t. The decal stuck to the matt finish and, when I tried to move it, it curled up and then ripped. Decal ruined. So don’t copy what I did and try to cut corners - varnish does matter!