Masking Help and question....

hey Chris, Ive been using Liquid Latex rubber mold builder for my figures to mask. Ive recently started building aircraft and decided to try it on the canopies. It works great! I got a 16 oz jar at Hobby Lobby for $10.00 I just use a small brush to apply it, and maybe a microbrush to get the straight edges. Just make sure to put down 2 coats with any liquid mask to avoid getting those tiny streaks. alos, dip the canopy in Future first before using the liquid masking. I tried the ambroid mask, and it was too hard to peel off , it was really thin. I guess a toothpick couldve done it, but I didnt want to risk scratching it. The liquid latex just peels right off with your finger.

Heres my nickles worth. I use 3M #33 drafting tape because it has a low tack and wont lift paint,(under normal conditions). How ever if the the tape is allowed to lay around to long it could pick up moisture on the edges and that would cause the edges to not stick well. This is one reason for cutting the tape to thinner widths. It is also easier to turn corners with a thin strip.

As for Tamiya Tape, I have only just begun to use it and it looks to be a better masking tape that 3M. Never had any luck with liquid masks .

I've had a bottle of Ambroid liquid mask kicking around that I recently decided to try on a Hasegawa A4 that I've been working on forever. The stuff works great! Just make sure it's completely dried before you paint over it.

Jeeves...no problem. Yeah I burnished the tape down as best I could. I guess I should have phrased my post better. But at 314am I wasnt thinking so well. I have no problem with the tape on large areas. But Im looking for something to mask small parts with or maybe I just need to figure out what Im doing wrong with the tape I have.
Chris

Heya Chris...

Forgive me if you already knew this and I am stating the obvious-- but did you burnish the tape down with a toothpick or something similar before painting?? I use the blue tape as well and have rarely had color bleed through after I burnish it....but anytime I have had it bleed-- using that same toothpick to scrape the paint off has helped me out...

Unlike Luftberry I use Tamiya masking tape and have had great success. I use it mostly for canopies, and it works great. I can leave it on indefinately and when it comes time to remove it I just peel it up, never any residue left behind. I havent used it on painted parts however so I can't tell you how it does there. I usually mask with blue painters tape on painted parts.

I bought some Tamiya masking tape and stopped using it after my first try. I still have the best success with plain old masking tape. I just used the Ambroid liquid mask for the canopy of the F-4 I'm working on, and I was very pleased with the results.

Just my $0.02. :D

Regards,

-Drew

Thanks woody I'll take a look for it...Yeah I saw the white tape to/then saw the price and wondered where the gold was in the tape!
Thanks,
Chris

It's with the model building tools which are by the counter with the airbrushes & artist brushs, at my Hobby Lobby. The thinner pieces of tape aren't under as much tension so they don't tend to lift as bad as wide pieces. 3M also makes a white tape for delicate uses that I have been tempted to try, but it is even more expensive than the blue.

Where in hobby lobby did you find the tool(since I have one here) and what was it called. I did use the blue 3M tape...thats whats so frustrating stuffs not exactly cheap....
Thanks,
Chris

Chris I use the blue 3M and cut strips with a tool I bought at Hobby Lobby. The tool has two parallel blades that cut the tape as narrow as 1/16 inch. I also use liquid mask and Post-It notes as a masking media. The liquid for canopies and the Post-It notes for bare metal finnish. I buy the blue tape at Home Depot and Micro Mark carries the tape cutter. I would suggest you keep the masking tape in your arsenal and just buy better tape.