demarcation blues

about the only thing I can suggest is to seal your masking mediumwith a light coat of future to help prevent bleed through.

hope this helps!

I'm assuming you brushed on the paint. With any masking medium if you apply a very thick coat of paint, where the paint transitions over the edge of the mask the paint could be thick enough to have a fair amount of strength. When the mask is removed the paint will not tear along the mask line but will tear somewhere where the paint is thinner and weaker. Some will tell you to use a new, sharp blade and score the paint along the mask line before removing the tape. Personally, I don't like the cut line that this sometimes leaves but it is very effective.

My suggestion would be to remove the mask media as soon as possible after the paint is applied. This way the paint is still liquid and will not have strength to pull or crack. As far as the bleed through on tape seams the best way to battle this is to use a tool to burnish the edges of the tape where they overlap.

Finally, be sure your surface prep is good. Make sure the surface receiving the paint is clean and oil free, no finger prints and such. Anything like this on the surface and the paint will not adhere well and be much more likely to lift or tear when the mask is removed.

Sorry to get back to this late, but I appreciate the advice.  I used an airbrush once the mask was on, so I don't think it went on too thick, but then again I may have been a bit heavy-handed in an attempt to make sure I was thorough.  I like what you said hkshooter about pulling the mask up soon after painting while the coat is still wet.  I was really dissapointed with the original outcome, especially as I thought the liquid mask was ingenious and the answer to all my curved-and-generally-difficult masking challenges in the future.  I still think it can be handy, but I'll be following advice and peeling it off wet in the future.  I wonder if the fact that my maskol layer was so thin contributed to the problem?  I can't see how you could apply it thick and still be accurate as the stuff is so dense and gooey.

Thanks for the tips!

Hey there tremblin' and to FSM.

Tamping down the edges of your mask with a tooth pick to ensure it's down hard and fast as well as sealing the edges and crossover points with clear varnish (Future) are both good ideas IMHO.  Also spray in a couple of reasonably thinned light coats at a low PSI rather than one thick one sprayed hard can help avoid bleeding under a mask.

Cheers