It's been said that one can apply decals over a flat surface, use enough solva set and they'll lay fine without air bubbles
Solvaset will absolutely eat up MicroScale decals.
Not true, it simply makes the decals "very" loose in order for them to settle down over rivets and into cracks...once you apply solva-set you don't touch it or you will screw up the decal...especially microscale decals{thin}. Took me 3 coats of solva-set to get my recent microscale CB&Q decals to settle in over the tender rivets. Although it will seem they've wrinkled up and got ruined they will lay back out...we do what we gotta do to get the decals to settle in over things{rounded cycle fenders/rivets/door seems....
As for decalling over flats...sure, can be done, but I have too many times before I changed where the decals silvered{air bubbles} and had to pin prick the snot out of them to get them to settle down and de-bubble...using a gloss coat makes the job just that much easier, so that's how I've done it since.
To each they're own, so long as it works...
