Masking and painting gun barrels and recessed ports.
I am curious as to how others go about painting the recessed gun ports and protruding gun barrels, found on wings. Specifically in 1/48 and 1/72 scale.
On a recent 1/72 Spitfire Mk I build, I pre-painted both the ports and protruding barrels and then masked them using Blu-Tack. The Blu-Tack failed to remain tightly wrapped around one of the barrels resulting in some discoloration from the final paint; removing the Blu-Tack with a pin was at best tedious.
Paint before or after the final coat? How to mask effectively? As a novice: I am curious to find how the more experienced handle this task.