Masking before painting

Some people use dampened tissue in hard to mask areas, some use Post-It note paper, some use newspaper, some use liquid masking fluid. Glad Press-N-Seal is also supposed to work well, but I haven't tried it. I use masking tape and Tamiya is my favorite.

For large areas, or when I want to cover a whole section of a plane, I'll stick the whole thing in a plastic bag and tape around the opening just leaving what I want to paint sticking out.

for small areas I use either Tamiya or liquid masking...

for larger areas either 1" purple painters tape (or blue) or if it's a quick paint, I'll use 2" masking tape and just burnish down the edge on the side I want to paint on and leave the rest lightly stuck or even free from the rest of the model itself...

cockpits I usually use strips of purple painters tape if I am painting with the canopy off, now I tend to mask my canopy and glue it on before I paint... paints the canopy and masks the interior at the same time...

wheelwells I approach different ways.. usually I tape strips cut to fit the width of the side wall from the inside edge of the well, as in adhesive facing away from the main well hole... then bend the tape strips back on each other until they touch then I press them until they bond... if it's small enough scale liquid masking would work too...

For irregularly-shaped recesses like wheel wells, you can use Silly Putty or Blue-Tak (or any similar product) to mask their insides. Just push it in and mold it to fill up the space that you don't want paint to go on. I used to use modelling clay but it left an oily residue so I shifted to Silly Putty and/or masking liquid for applications where I can't manuever masking tape into the areas to be masked or where the shape is too complex and would need intricate cuts on masking tape.

Cheers,
onyan

Thanks!

Then when using the maskol/micro-mask stuff, it is usually so thin it's almost invisible, how do i get it thicker, do you just do multiple layers?

Now where will I find silly-putty/blue tak?

I forget what I use and I am not at the house right now so couldn't tell ya... but it goes on like a bluish color and dries clear.

On the bottle it says not to use multiple coats but I do... I brush it on, wait till it's pretty dry but not totally, then brush some more on if needed (so the coats bond together) ... then I wait awhile, sometimes overnight if it's a difficult mask job (lot of cuts going to be made)

Keep in mind that some of the liquid masking products do not work well with acrylics if you are using that kind of paint. I don't know what brand I have, but it specifically states on the bottle not to use it with acrylic paint.

QUOTE: Now where will I find silly-putty/blue tak

Most any art supply store, department store, or office supply store will have the Blue Tack. It is used to hold pictures and posters to walls. Silly Putty can be found at most department stores in the toy section, even some art supply stores.

QUOTE: Originally posted by MusicCity Most any art supply store, department store, or office supply store will have the Blue Tack. It is used to hold pictures and posters to walls. Silly Putty can be found at most department stores in the toy section, even some art supply stores.

I picked up a slab of fun tak about the size of one of those one pound Hersheys at Hobby Lobby for 1.39 last weekend.... silly putty too... be careful because some are glow in the dark and scented and I dont know if they would have oils to em...

For years, I've masked (???) openings (cockpits, wheel wells etc) with dampened kleenex. Takes a little time but is quicker to install than tape. I usually gently fill the opening with the kleenex and then carefully dampen it just prior to painting (eyedropper works well)

I fill large areas with tissue paper and cover it with Tamiy masking tape. I haven't tried masking fluid because I paint mostly with acrylics and some fluids aren't compatible with water based paints. Just try a few ideas until you find something that works for you.