masking

First of all, Welcome to the forums Steve. I'm not sure I understand what you are getting ready to paint. Are you putting a camo pattern over the base color? Before you painted the model did you wash it? I've never had any problems with tape pulling off paint. I use both the blue 3M and Tamiya tape. I also use silly putty and play-doh. If you could be a little more specific on what your doing, I might be able to help.

acrylics have a bad time with tape on them, so if you are doing acrylics might I suggest the silly putty/blue tak paint mm23 mentioned. If you didn't use a primer there's a good chance any masking besides those will pull the paint up.

The other demon when it comes to masking is spraying on the paint too thick. two light to med coats will do better than one coat that covers the first time.

Let us know what kind of paint, how you put it on etc and we will see what we can come up with for ya!

I've used the blue and green low tack tapes they sell for masking when painting inside houses.. its 1 inch and its very low tack.. in fact my main prob with it is if your not very carefull and use light coats its very easy to get underbleed..

If your using Model Master Metalizers then unless sealed that stuff will always come off..

I use Tamiya Tape on Model Master enamals with no problems at all I just make sure my prev coats are dry by letting them sit at least 4 days... (even if its dry to the touch it doesn't mean its cured..

Other options are a masking film you can put on the model and let dry and remove the excess.. those work fairly well but are a bit hard to use.

1) Tamiya masking tape. Period. It costs more than the regular masking tapes, but if you burnish the edges down properly it will not leak. I put a lot of time and effort in painting and I'm not going to cut corners on my masking tape. I trust Tamiya tape and it isn't worth the risk to me.

2) If you are painting with acrylics, you absolutely positively MUST thoroughly clean the parts prior to painting. Acrylics don't bond to plastic the way enamels or laquers do, they simply form a plastic film around the parts. The mold release agent used in the molding process will cause the tenuous hold that acrylics do have to be lost. Many people use soap and water, I usually use alcohol.

3) If you are painting with acrylics I strongly recommend a coat of enamel or laquer primer prior to the acrylic. The acrylic paint will bond much more strongly to a primer coat than it will with bare plastic alone. This is the key to prevent acrylics from lifting when removing masking tape. I've never had acrylic pull lose from a properly primed part but I have it happen frequently on parts that aren't primed.

4) This is debateable and even I question whether it's true or not. When spraying acrylics I always use isopropyl alcohol as a thinner. It causes some problems with the paint (specifically they dry even faster than normal and it will cause Tamiya gloss paint to dry flat) but I feel like it helps eliminate any oil or grease that I might have left on the parts.

Foto/Frisket Film might do it. Spray some test parts and see if the tack on it pulls the paint up.

Tell us if you're using metalizer because that's a whole other bag of tricks.

thank you for all the ideas. My plan was to lay doen a coat of gray primer over the entire model, then apply lighter, varying shades of blue to the ventral aspects, and olive drab to the dorsal surfaces. I have refrained from using enamels with my Paasche airbrush so as not to get some permanent paint stuck in the system, but this may be the time to finally go for it. Then when I do the dorsal surfaces, I'll use playdough to hold the paper in place. Keep your fingers crossed for me, and thank you, all, for the fine suggestions.

You sure aren't going to hurt your airbrush by blowing enamel through it. Just spray some thinner through it when you are done and it will be fine. If the nozzle does get plugged up at some point just take it off the airbrush and soak it in laquer thinner for an hour or so. Pipe cleaners and MicroBrushes are very handy for cleaning airbrushes.

press the masking tape to your forehead, take it off, then mask it.
I learned that in model rocketry bodywork

Yeah I use the forehead method also, it works great. But Tamiya tape is really good.

This forehead trick doesn't quite sit right with me - the tape will pick up skin cells, oils and possibly hair that are then transfered to the to be painted surface. Whilst this might or might not affect the next colour it could interfere with subsequent colours, varnishes etc as they will potentially add to any tape residue left behind when the tape is removed (see MusicCitys comments on cleaning oil/release agent). It is for this reason that masking tape should never by left flat on a surface as the edges will pick up fluff that can ruin a paint job. It is the quality of the edge after all that determines the cleaness of the colour demarcation. The smaller Tamiya tape sizes come in a dispenser I believe for just that reason (not so they can justify the cost!). Irrespective of the cost this tape is worth it buy some you won't be disappointed. Also don't be afraid to try freehand on areas that don't require a linear mask. Low pressure close to the work and spray towards the centre, not the edge. It sounds really scary I know but it works! I have given up with paper masks though in fairness it is a long time since I tried any. I use thin 6mm Tamiya tape cut if needed (can mask curves with this material) backed out with either more 6mm or some 18mm (again cut as required). Another useful mask is the liquid masking agents especially in conjunction with tamiya tape for canopies.

I don't think anyone has mentioned putting a coat of future or other glosscoat down before masking. It's an extra step but it works. Problem is layers build up fast if your masking multiple times.