Old decals vs.new decals

[Larry]

I have a question on decals.  I have a machine that I bought that the previous owner put on decals.  The vinyl decals are fine, but the water release decals, after about three years, started to peel and flake off.  I never had them wet or did anything to them.  The machine was stored in my basement and it is not a damp basement.  I run a dehumidifier in the summer time.

This year I bought a machine that had old decals, from the fifties, on the machine and they look great.  The only damage is a few scratces, but there is no peeling.

I want to wash and wax this new machine with the old decals.  Can I get the old decals wet with soap and water, and wax them without damaging them?

Thanks,

Larry

[Jim]

Hey Larry,

I've always been afraid because I feared of damaging them as you do.
However, I did wash, clean and wax a few original machines and the water didn't seem to mess things up. I did not wax the decals though; I went around the decals... For some reason, I recall that I did inadvertently wax original hand w/ bottle decals and thought they became a little filmy or whitish from the wax over...

[Larry]

Thanks for the tip Jim,

This machine has three of those decals.  I'll wash them carfuly and avoid the wax.

Larry