Need tips on painting thin lines

One of the most important things to remember when using masking tape is burnishing the edges.This can be done using dedicated burnishing tools, such as those marketed for scrapbooking purposes, or basically "anything you have", from round toothpicks, the handle end of your hobby knife, or even simply your fingernali. The purpose of this id to eliminate any air spaces or gaps between the tape and the surface. Simply layinf the tape on and pressing it down with your fingertips isn't enough.

In addition to burnishing (and done properly, burnishing will eliminate 98% of your "bleed" problems),

•  it's been known for people to spray a light coat of the existing base colour (or clear) over the edges of the masked area so that any initial bleed is the same colour  as the underlying paint (or clear).
• spray very light coats near the edges of your mask, slowly building up the colour depth using successive coats, rather than hitting it with one thick coat.
• where possible, avoid spraying directly at the "open edge" of the mask. Preferably, spray at a slight angle from the "mask" side of the edge.

I have had some success using clear scotch tape- the good quality thicker stuff...  the nice thing about it is the adhesive is a bit stronger and you can see any spots that air is getting in...

Couple things with it though- make sure the surface you are putting it on is COMPLETELY cured (48 hours) or it will pull paint off...  also, if you are applying it to a flat surface some bleed may still occur since the flat surface is not "smooth"

Phil_H wrote:

One of the most important things to remember when using masking tape is burnishing the edges.This can be done using dedicated burnishing tools, such as those marketed for scrapbooking purposes, or basically "anything you have", from round toothpicks, the handle end of your hobby knife, or even simply your fingernali. The purpose of this id to eliminate any air spaces or gaps between the tape and the surface. Simply layinf the tape on and pressing it down with your fingertips isn't enough. In addition to burnishing (and done properly, burnishing will eliminate 98% of your "bleed" problems),  it's been known for people to spray a light coat of the existing base colour (or clear) over the edges of the masked area so that any initial bleed is the same colour  as the underlying paint (or clear). spray very light coats near the edges of your mask, slowly building up the colour depth using successive coats, rather than hitting it with one thick coat. where possible, avoid spraying directly at the "open edge" of the mask. Preferably, spray at a slight angle from the "mask" side of the edge.

sounds good to me Ill give it a try next time I paint a fuse or a wing.

Cut the appropriate colored decal paper into the thin lines you wish to apply. Paint white decal paper the right color it is isn't available. Tools like this are useful for such projects.

HawkeyeHobbies wrote:

Cut the appropriate colored decal paper into the thin lines you wish to apply. Paint white decal paper the right color it is isn't available. Tools like this are useful for such projects.

Decal Paper? I was asking about painting ha not decals ;)Thanks though.

I know, but it is an option if the painting doesn't turn out to be feasible. The tool can be used to cut thin strips of tape as well as decal paper.

In fact you can paint any decal film, as long as you get good coverage. For stuff like canopy lines I often use old roundrels, etc.

The sign painters that work on my stuff use the base coat on first technique. In fact if they're putting graphics on concrete like numbers on steps at a stadium, they mix up a batch of the right grey first.

But don't forget, to get straight and parallel edges for lines that are too narrow for Gerald's nifty tool, paint the stripe color first, mask it with a tape strip, shoot on a little more stripe color, then the surrounding color. I always do wing walk lines that way, it's pretty easy.