Derek Jordan
Thanks for the tips. I ordered a new batch of microset/sol, as the last two models that had issues with silvering were from those bottles. Maybe that is the problem? Who knows...but I'm getting rid of anything that could be the culprit. I'm still leaning heavily towards the issues being with the kit decals themselves.

Spanjaard
take some big piece of old discarded model, paint it as usual, take some decals from your spare box, that worked ok before and some edudard decal (if any alternative left from the two previous problematic models) and set both decals exactly in the same way, if there is a difference in results, then is the decals.
it is just an idea, and it can give you at least some peace of mind. good luck