Masking

HEY,
What i have done is i take a peice of paper towel and put it over the hole. Make sure to get it as close to the size of the hole as possible. Then i use masking tape by tamiya to tape it to the sides. This seems to work for my, because the paper towel soaks up the paint. No paper towel?, just use TP. It is super absorbant right? Hope this helps.

Randy

Thanks dubix! Since I model 1:72 paper towel might be a little much, but the TP might just work! I've tried cotton balls and that works but you have to spend so much time picking the cotton out of the cavity!

Also might want to try silly putty. I've been using this latey. Just drop a glob into the hole and push it to the edges so you get full coverage. When it's painted, just pop out the silly putty and you're done!

Sorry I don't have any pics right now, but this is how I masked off the gear bays on my 1/72 F4U. Worked very well and was very easy to do.

Murray

I read just recently in FSM about a reader using silly putty for masking camo. Also a good idea! When I was builing car models as a teen, I used to use vaseline to mask headlights, etc. Anyone ever heard of that? Maybe for canopies. Thanks Murray!

I also like using liquid mask. I think the brand I use is EZMask. All you do is paint it on and let it dry prior to painting. After painting, just peel it off and your good to go. This is what I use for the larger holes and such I want to mask. I also read in FSM and tried using this for "chipped paint" weathering awhile ago. But for being the first try at this for me, I hadn't grasped the "less is more" concept so I'd be embarrassed to show my spotted plane as an example but the FSM pics were cool.

I've used rubber cement for simulating chipped paint before (spray a metal base color, 'stab' on small patches of cement, paint the finish color and rub off the cement) and for masking canopies. Another thing I use (this is gonna sound wierd) is Freeman Beautiful Skin Peel-Off Masque. It's inexpensive, thinner than rubber cement, easier to apply, dries in 10 - 15 minutes and masks very well. And it smells good, too!

I've found one thing with Silly Putty that I don't like. I tend to use enamel paints and it 'softens' the putty quite a bit. There's various degrees here and it's not a show-stopper, just something to be aware of and watch out for.

I really like using Silly Putty for soft-edge masking. Works very well for what I've done. I found that when I do a hard-edge with it, the paint builds up at the edge and creates a ridge in the paint that needs to be sanded down after the paint dries. Tape does this too, but not to the same extent that I saw with the Silly Putty.

Filling holes and stuff works well too (as mentioned). I also have some rubber cement, but haven't been able to try it out. I actually was going ot use it for 'build-ups' (ie. assembling pieces to check fit prior to final glue and paint.), but masking sounds like a good idea too.

Murray

Try Blu-tack, firmer than silly putty, and does not mark.

Can be rolled into thin sheets, then cut and applied.

A am assuming that it's called Blu-tack in the US, if not then I'm talking about the stuff you stick posters up with.

Blue tack is called Fun Tack in the US and I have had a lot of problems removing it. You guys remember the stuff you used to use to hang posters in your room and your mother alway wanted to kill you after seeing that it does not come off the wall. I spent an hour this past weekend removing it from my HH-65A canopy. BTW, if you do need to remove Fun Tack, I recommend Goo-Gone. This stuff is fantastic and I find, so far, is safe for paint and will not ruin Future finishes.

Mose,
TP or tissue works pretty well.
you can also try cutting a foam rubber or sponge plug and compressing it in. works pretty well for airbrushing. jut look for something w/ "close cell" (small voids so it seals good on the edges.

ed.