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Canopy Masking Paper

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  • Member since
    May 2008
Canopy Masking Paper
Posted by Tom8321 on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 6:30 PM

Hi... Can someone tell me what kind of adhesive backed paper is used to make your own canopy mask?  I'm not sure exactly what to search for online.

Thank you, Tom

 

Thank you for the replys ... A little more explanation might be in order... I was building Hasegawa's A6M2a which does not come with a mask.  I also have the Tamiya A6M5 (I'm on a Japanese kick... ) which does have a mask.

I made a full size scan of the mask thinking I would just lay it on top of a sheet of masking paper and cut it out.  I think this worked reasonably well except I didn't have any masking paper... so I used foil sheet.  It still wasn't really bad but I think I can improve on the process if I had a sheet of the type of masking paper generally used for canopy masks.  

Using a surgical blade you can just about cut through the tape without cuting into the backing ... at least I could with the foil. Now I want to give this a try with other types of masking paper.

 

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by keavdog on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 6:31 PM

I use Tamiya tape when I can't find precut masks.  Are you looking to do something on a stencil cutter or just looking for a good material to mask canopys?  The type of tape is called Kabuke tape

Thanks,

John

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Towson MD
Posted by gregbale on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 6:36 PM

Another vote for Tamiya tape. Nice and low-tack, comes up cleanly without leaving any goo behind. Yes Yes Yes

Greg

George Lewis:

"Every time you correct me on my grammar I love you a little fewer."
 
  • Member since
    April 2020
Posted by Eaglecash867 on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 6:48 AM

I use Tamiya masking sticker sheets for pretty much everything now.  They're made of rice paper and can be lifted and repositioned over and over.  I have found them much easier to work with than any of the tape I used to use.  Its pretty much the same material that pre-cut canopy masks are made of, so its perfect for that.  Just get a little steel ruler, and you can cut what you need with a #11 blade.

"You can have my illegal fireworks when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers...which are...over there somewhere."

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Western North Carolina
Posted by Tojo72 on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 9:26 AM

Maybe this is dumb,but I'm not clear how you make a canopy mask off the plane like your explaining.

I usually use scotch tape,put it on the canopy,and use a new #11 to cut it out while on the window,it's a little harrowing,but it works for me.

Be interested in Eaglecash's and others methods.

  • Member since
    February 2021
Posted by MJY65 on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 9:45 AM

I've tried the precut masks but honestly find it just as easy, and perhaps more accurate, to tape.

 

I start with very narrow Tamiya or washi tape along the edges so it curves easily.  Another round or two of wider that doesn't need to be as accurately placed and then (sometimes) liquid mask over the middle of large canopies.  

  • Member since
    August 2015
  • From: Ypsilanti, MI
Posted by Brhino on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 1:41 PM

I have a very offbeat suggestion.  I've never had good luck with precisely cutting tape.  For my 1:72 B-29 nose/canopy I used a product called liquid frisket.  It's a liquid latex that you can apply with a brush.  It dries rubbery and then you can paint over it and peel it off later.  It's intended for watercolor painting but I gave it a try and it worked great for me.

Who keeps stepping on wings?  Someone won't stay off the wings and now I have to apply all these tiny "NO STEP" decals.

  • Member since
    May 2008
Posted by Tom8321 on Thursday, February 3, 2022 4:58 PM

Thanks... I just got a package of sticker sheets.  There are 5 sheets, enough to last me 20 years Smile

I like playing around with different techniques so I'll see how the sheets work.

  • Member since
    April 2020
Posted by Eaglecash867 on Saturday, February 5, 2022 6:41 AM

Its good for a lot more than canopies, Tom8321, so you may end up using it a lot more than you think you will.  Wink

For masking canopies with it, I use the sheets that have the 1mm grid printed on them, and just cut small, rectangular chunks from it that depend on the contour of the part of the canopy I'm masking.  Its flexible enough to run along the edge of gentle curves if you cut it narrow enough.  Being as thin as it is, you can actually overlap pieces of it without worrying about paint creeping under the overlapped parts.  I use it just to get a sharp, well-defined edge along the canopy frame and then fill in the rest of the voids with Bob Dively's Liquid Mask.  I don't like using liquid maskers along edges because it just isn't good for clean edges.  If anybody ends up using the Bob Dively's stuff, just be aware that it is not compatible with Future if you have dipped your canopy in that prior to masking and painting.  After learning that, I just started using my Novus kit to polish canopies prior to painting...which I think looks better than Future-dipped canopies.  You get fantastic clarity, without having an extra layer of stuff on the canopy that can react badly to certain things.

Used the above method on this 1/72 scale F-16B canopy.

I also used the masking sheets recently to mask around the access doors under the engines of the Tamiya F-4B I'm currently building.  It was a fairly complex masking job with areas on the sides of certain parts of the opening that needed to be masked as well.  The stuff settled down nicely into those areas with just a gentle push of a toothpick and stayed in place so well I had absolutely zero paint creep.

"You can have my illegal fireworks when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers...which are...over there somewhere."

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