Best way to get rid of raised paint edge left by masking?

Squadron's "Tri-grit" sanding sticks work well for this. Try the polishing side first (finest grit), if that doesn't remove it, move to the next coarsest. Apply as little pressure as you can. Of course, make sure that the paint is thoroughly dried & cured before attempting this. Sometimes a coffee filter is enough to smooth it out, depending on the "height" of the raised edge.
Spraying many thin, light coats, and removing the mask as soon as the paint is dry to the touch reduces the possibility of a ridge forming.
Hope this helps, and good luck.

Hey there, Davrukr.

You could try wet-sanding using a 1200-grit sandpaper dipped in water. However, the finish will vary from the original coat, so you will have to apply a clear coat over the model to try to even it out.

You could also apply several thin coats of clear paint until the surface evens out, more or less. The down side is that the sheer number of coats will seal up surface detail.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the help. I'll try the light sanding tonight. Just wanted to check before I started.

BTW, does anyone use latex gloves when airbrushing? Would there be any negative affects? I have a bunch and cleaning up after airbrushing enamels sucks. Besides, I figured maybe the gloves would keep oil and fingerprints off the paint job. They are the powderless kind.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Davrukr Thanks for the help. I'll try the light sanding tonight. Just wanted to check before I started. BTW, does anyone use latex gloves when airbrushing? Would there be any negative affects? I have a bunch and cleaning up after airbrushing enamels sucks. Besides, I figured maybe the gloves would keep oil and fingerprints off the paint job. They are the powderless kind.

I use latex gloves while airbrushing. I wouldnt do with out them! I dont recommend using poly gloves though as some thinners will eat right through them. But I have had no trouble with latex. Also if you get a size larger than what you wear(like me I can fit a large but I always get XL)if you accidently handle a model while it's still wet and not fully cured sure it will still smear the paint but it wont leave those nasty finger prints.....

Wet sanding will fix a lot of bad paint jobs!

just a question about this too: what happens if this raised edge is on a clear part? won't sanding scratch it? maybe the coffee filter...

Hey, allan! Where do you get your 1200 grit sandpaper? i can never find anything more than 800 grit.

Automotive paint suppliers are the best source for wet-or-dry "sandpaper". My local supplier carries upto 2000 grit. This stuff will give a very good polish on steel and brass, it's so fine!

Cheers

Try the local auto parts store. They probably will carry 3M wet and dry sand paper. Schucks does.