Masking over Tamiya silver?

Anybody? Anybody? Bueller?

what are you trying to do? mask different pannels? if so i dont know

do all other colors first, then silver. silver will lift.

Thank you for responding, Kit! The plane has flashes of red trim on the nose and air intakes and I wasn't sure if I should paint and mask off the red areas first and then paint the silver or if I should do it the other way around. Based on the way the red areas are, it would be easier for me if I could paint the silver first, mask that off, and then paint the red. However, I know that silver lifts off pretty badly but I also know that some silvers are "heartier" than others. I know that some brands take masking pretty well while others don't. I was wondering where the Tamiya paint fell on the scale.

Thanks again,

Eric

any time

alclad you can mask over, but try to avoid masking over the chrome and aluminum ( i think, it was reviewed by paul boyer in a previous issue of fsm, in 2002)

anyone know about snj and mm? those i dont know about and since i wanna do my new mig in either nmf or as #7701, can you help? thanks

I called you Kit in the last e-mail. Sorry about that. I looked up to see your screen name and I must have glanced at where it said "Kitbashed". LOL! Sorry about that.

I've used SnJ quite a bit and am very happy with it. It's weird though. Even though I like it a lot, it doesn't always give me the same results each time. Basically I airbrush my plane gloss white and then I apply the SnJ metal powder over it. It's almost like silver talcum powder! It's so fine. The first two times I used it the finish was absolutely amazing!!!!! Briliant silver which made my Mustang look factory fresh. However when I tried it again on my B-47 the finish came out a bit splotchy. I may have waited too long to apply the powder. Not sure what happened on that one. Just a word of advice though. Make sure the model is thoroughly clean before applying the powder. It will reveal any fingerprints that might be on the plane. Also, be careful when using the powder. I once sneezed a few hours after using the stuff and when I went to use a tissue it came out silver. Let's just say now I know what the Tin Man felt like.

I'd say you'd be doing yourself a favor it you pick up a bottle. Oh, and SnJ is very durable too. I've masked over the stuff and not a single bit of it lifted off when I pulled the tape off. I am VERY impressed with it.

Best wishes,

Eric

Thanks, and it's ok

i gotta try some, after i get somthing better than an aztek

Personally I'd shoot the red, mask it, and then shoot the silver. I just don't trust masking silver if there is any way I can avoid it. Even when it doesn't lift I've been able to see "Tape Tracks" left in it. Alternatively you might try spraying the silver, then spraying a coat of Future over it, then masking it for the red. The Future might help hold things in place. I'd try it on some scrap first though.

I've airbrushed Tamiya's chrome silver and it worked fine, but I can't recall whether I've ever masked over it or not.

Don't have any experience with Tamiya Silver, but I would test it first on a scrap piece. The most durable NMF finish I have found is Alclad2, but it's a lacquer & must be applied according to manufacturers recommendation. After Alclad2, the most durable in my experience are SNJ, Floquil Old Silver & ModelMaster non-buffing Aluminum. Low tac masking can be used on these with minimal paint lift off.

Regards, Rick

Thanks for the info, everyone! :) I've heard a lot of good things about that Floquil Old Silver. I'm going to have to give that a try as soon as I can find some (LHS doesn't carry it).

Music, I agree about the tape tracks being left behind. It was to my great surprise that I didn't have any left behind when I used SnJ. I'm still scratching my head over that one. I know any form of silver likes to come right off with the tape. While using MM on my B-36 I was trying to be extra careful with masking off all the panels but I still had tape tracks left on the model. I figured what did I have to lose so I applied SnJ metal powder over the whole plane even though I used MM on the whole thing. The panels still maintained their different shading AND the powder helped reduce the tape tracks by about 90-95%! Just a little something I stumbled on.

Best wishes,

Eric