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masking technique

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  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: USA
Posted by MusicCity on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 7:14 AM
QUOTE: (also im kind of a newb too, how do you ensure a perfect seal when the mask is in place? although i press and seal and try...paint always seems to leak through in one spot or another. its frustrating.)

There are a couple of ways:

1) Use the right tape. Masking tape, drafting tape, painters tape, all work well and I do use them all. For critical areas that I really don't want to screw up the only tape I ever use is Tamiya masking tape.

2) Don't just press the edges of the tape down, burnish them well. Use a toothpick, a finger nail, a burnishing tool, something like that which will insure that the edges are stuck.

3) When in doubt, put a thin coat of Futore over the edges of the tape. It will help seal the edges and anything that seeps under will be the clear Future.

As to the original question, I agree with some of the others. Take your time, and do it right. If it takes 6 hours, then it just takes 6 hours. In my opinion cutting corners when painting is not the place to save time.
Scott Craig -- Nashville, TN -- My Website -- My Models Page
  • Member since
    September 2004
  • From: Utereg
Posted by Borg R3-MC0 on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 1:58 AM
You could use a liquid mask. It's a sort of rubber that you brush on, it doesn't work with acrilics however.

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 11:49 PM
why not do it how I see them do it on tv; like american chopper and stuff.

they get som parafilm(or maybe that self adhesive static wrap they have now). attatch it down; pencil it out; then cut it with a sharp blade. press likely, and a clear coat should take care of any marks the blade left.

or pull the parafilm off after sketching it, cut it, and reapply. depends how detailed it is.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 11:27 PM
I'm no expert either, but what I've done when painting other things is to remove the mask once the paint has gone tacky, then gently scrape the offending paint bleed away. you have to be real delicate though. The other thing is not to spray at the masked edge, but rather over it, so you don't "push" paint under the edge.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 10:54 PM
what ive done *sometimes* is place a thin piece of paper over the model and draw what i want masked onto the paper. i then cut that out and create a mask matching the piece of paper. After laying it on top of what i am masking, a few simple adjustments, and it is done. Although i will admit this process is easier said than done!

(also im kind of a newb too, how do you ensure a perfect seal when the mask is in place? although i press and seal and try...paint always seems to leak through in one spot or another. its frustrating.)
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 10:28 PM
lol, no, just need to resign to the fact that if you do it right, it will take a while
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 10:13 PM
oh well, it was worth an attempt....I thought maybe the old foxes might have some techniques I've missed. At least I'm not doing anything terribly wrong--am I?
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 7:25 PM
you can't allow for compound curves doing that! you just have to suck it up, and take whatever time is needed to do the job right, that's why we do this,lol
  • Member since
    April 2005
  • From: Piscataway, NJ!
Posted by wing_nut on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 7:16 PM
If you can lay your hands on a line drawing the same scale as the model... why not lay a piece of glass on top layuthe tape out in a sheet and cut it out in a big template and apply to the model. I have no idea if that will work but it sort of popped into my head.... maybe with some adjusting of the idea you can get it to work. Maybe draw the wings. etc on a piece of bare metal foil then draw the pattern.

Marc  

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Sandusky Ohio, USA
Posted by Swanny on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 4:40 PM
6 hours? Please, that's just a short session. I've had days involved in some of the more complex masking projects .... 6 hours, hrumph.Wink [;)]
  • Member since
    November 2005
masking technique
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 2:39 PM
Evil [}:)]

So, I'm at the doctor's office and he tells me "Vyrus724, I'm not renewing your vallium prescription. You're just going to have to find less stressful and time-consuming ways of masking scale models."
[ Tongue [:P] note: the above dramatization may not have actually happened]

So now I need ways of masking off things like the exhaust vents in my Italeri Lockheed X-35, or the flame paintjob on my Testors Gee-Bee without making it a draining 6 hour affair. Who wants to spend their whole evening just laying out Tamiya tape?

Anyhow, my current technique it to cut tamiya masking tape into little bits that (I hope) will contour the edges I'm trying to mark out. This takes a lot of time, patience and trial/error work. Short of paying for the hobby, its my least favorite part of modeling. I tried (once!) to lay out larger strips of tape over the edges I was working with and then cut the tape, but that--I learned too late--leads to scoring the plastic istelf. EEP!

How do I quickly and with little stress make clean, sharp masks over selected parts my my models?? HELP!
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