please tell me i didnt ruin this permanently.

[allecb]

i really, really hope i didnt screw this up for myself. the paint is pearl white. i then masked off as well as i thought i could, and then sprayed with gun metal. all paint is tamiya lacquer. when i took off the blue masking tape from 3m, i suppose i should have waited a bit longer for the paint to dry because it was still a bit wet. i waited like 30-45 minutes but the coats might have been wetter than i thought.

so now i have a list of problems

1- my gun metal middle area is damaged

2- paint bled all over onto the pearl white

so what do i do!?!? obviously wait a night or two..and then i was thinking to get 6-12k sandpaper and sanding the gun metal to smooth it out. then the hard part is the pearl white. i know sanding pearl isnt generally accepted..and im scared im going to have to shoot my white base and then pearl all over again.. but if i can get away with sanding just enough of the gun metal off of the pearl, i should be safe?

and by the way.. how the hell do i avoid this masked-tape-bleed-thru mess!?

Edited January 8, 2014 by allecb

[Miatatom]

and by the way.. how the hell do i avoid this masked-tape-bleed-thru mess!?

Get some Tamiya tape for next time.

[my80malibu]

Next time try masking with bare metal foil.

[Pete J.]

Ok, here is a very old trick. In fact it may be the oldest trick in the book. Lay down the lightest coat first. Let is dry at least a couple of days or over night in a food dehydrator. If you are going to use 3M tapes get the low tack stuff. It is thinner. Lay the tape down and use a toothpick(cocktail stick on the other side of the pond if you are so inclined) to burnish the tape down. Use a new/sharp xacto blade to cut way the part you are not going to use. Then spray it with a light coat of your base color. Some will bleed under your tape but it is the same color so that is ok. This seals the tape. Let it dry and the put your color coat over the top. Always use as light of coats as you can get away with. Two or three light coats are better than one heavy coat of the same thickness. Light coats will cure quicker than heavy coats.

Oh, by the way to start over, Tamiya lacquers come off very nicely with brake fluid. Lacquer thinner will remove silver from thumbnails!

Edited January 8, 2014 by Pete J.

[allecb]

Ok, here is a very old trick. In fact it may be the oldest trick in the book. Lay down the lightest coat first. Let is dry at least a couple of days or over night in a food dehydrator. If you are going to use 3M tapes get the low tack stuff. It is thinner. Lay the tape down and use a toothpick(cocktail stick on the other side of the pond if you are so inclined) to burnish the tape down. Use a new/sharp xacto blade to cut way the part you are not going to use. Then spray it with a light coat of your base color. Some will bleed under your tape but it is the same color so that is ok. This seals the tape. Let it dry and the put your color coat over the top. Always use as light of coats as you can get away with. Two or three light coats are better than one heavy coat of the same thickness. Light coats will cure quicker than heavy coats.

Oh, by the way to start over, Tamiya lacquers come off very nicely with brake fluid. Lacquer thinner will remove silver from thumbnails!

lol thanks a lot for the trick. im going to use th at for the continuation of the model. but as far as trying NOT to start over on this bumper piece, what should i try to do? my main problem with starting over is is that i wouldnt have enough white OR pearl white to do the bumper correctly. which means another 20 dollars gone. i do however have enough to do some "clean ups"

Edited January 8, 2014 by allecb

[Pete J.]

That is a tough one. You could try sanding it down to get rid of the bleed and recoat it. unfortunately if you don't have enough paint you may not get an even coat but it is worth a try. Worst thing that can happen is it doesn't get fixed and you have to strip it and start over.

[Casey]

If you have a polishing kit you might be able to remove the gunmetal which lies on top of the white. It doesn't appear that the "mouth" opening has crisp, sharp edges, but rather very small rounded edge, so it would be tough to keep everything in a nice, straight line, but it could be done.

Also, pick up a 100-pack of disposable latex free gloves, too. Your hands are worth protecting.

[High octane]

In the future, to avoid "bleed through" here's what I do and it works for me. After the first color is dry, a couple of days or more, I use regular tan masking tape (3M) and lay it down burnishing the edges. I then spray a thin coat of clear along the tape edge, so if there's any "bleed through" at all, what color would it be, of course CLEAR. Then after about 20 minutes drying time, I'll spray my second color without any problems. I do use lacquer paints BTW.

[Zarana-X]

The gunmetal looks thin enough it might polish off the unwanted area.

I used Nick's clear coat masking trick the last time I did a two-tone paint job and it works great.

[vypurr59]

Cutting the masking tape while it is on the paint job, also helps to seal the edges from bleed as well. Learned this from painting RC car bodies, which are clear, so bleed shows very badly on these. Even if I am doing just a straight line mask, I always use a ruler and an exacto blade to seal the edges, and sometimes a little clear coat, before any color, to help with any cleanup, should the paint bleed

[Jantrix]

In the future, to avoid "bleed through" here's what I do and it works for me. After the first color is dry, a couple of days or more, I use regular tan masking tape (3M) and lay it down burnishing the edges. I then spray a thin coat of clear along the tape edge, so if there's any "bleed through" at all, what color would it be, of course CLEAR. Then after about 20 minutes drying time, I'll spray my second color without any problems. I do use lacquer paints BTW.

Yep, what he said.

[Skydime]

Before going to any extremes like the pond on this one...try cleaning it up with some Scratch X. I had some bleed through with purple lacquer on pearl white laquor and cleaned up the extra purple by rubbing it out. It was One Shot but, it was still lacquer.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Skydime

[Tom Geiger]

Just a few thoughts on tapes... as mentioned above, BMF is a good mask for fine details, and I'm in love with Tamiya tapes. I have yet to get a bad line from them. The tip about spraying clear first to seal the tape is also valid and a good idea.

Regarding regular masking tapes... whether regular or blue. The tip above about working with a 'cut' edge is a good one. Note that when a roll of tape sits on your work bench it picks up bits of dust, sanding residue etc on the edge. That then transfers with the tape to your model and doesn't provide a good edge at all. A friend who works on 1:1s in a body shop once told me that when someone drops a roll of masking tape on the floor, it's considered tainted and goes right in the trash! So be careful here. And why my masking tapes sit on hooks off the edge of the shelf over my work bench.

Note that the Tamiya tapes are inside the dispenser and that helps protect and preserve it's edge. My usual mask is first Tamiya tape at the critical edge point, then regular masking tape that starts on top of the Tamiya and continues to the rest of the car. I've also used Glad cling wrap on the major portion of the car and sealed that the masking tape.

Alec- do you know another modeler from Perth who also goes by "AB"? Good friend of mine who visited me here in the USA recently!

Edited January 9, 2014 by Tom Geiger

[allecb]

this site is always so helpful.

so what i did was i just got 91 percent alcohol and the bumper is sitting in a cup. im just going to start it over. i tried sanding it away, and that wasnt working. and i didnt have any polisher, but i didnt even bother because there were various indents and everything.

i did notice the blue masking tape didnt leave residue when i used it...but it kind of reduced the shimmer/smoothness of the paint? maybe the paint was just still soft..tamiya tape or yellow 3M tape wont cause this, correct? im asking because i saw that tamiya tape was sort of expensive..so obviously masking the whole model with tamiya tape would be pricey. so as someone stated..mask the more important parts with tamiya tape, then the bulk/non essential areas with 3m yellow tape or 3m blue masking tape?

and one more question..if i were to do the clear coat over the tape idea..would i need to just do one spray? AND if im using lacquer paint, but used enamel clear to create a sealant..would this be ok?

[Tom Geiger]

im asking because i saw that tamiya tape was sort of expensive..so obviously masking the whole model with tamiya tape would be pricey. so as someone stated..mask the more important parts with tamiya tape, then the bulk/non essential areas with 3m yellow tape or 3m blue masking tape?

Tamiya Tape is expensive but you get what you pay for. I get a perfect division every time. And you are correct. I just use it for that critical line, then overlap it with cheap tape and cover the rest of the model that way. I've also used cling wrap or a plastic bag to cover much of the model, and cover the edges of that with regular masking tape. I recently taped off a single door this way.

As far as tape residue, make sure when you gentle pulling it up so you don't pull any paint up with it. The residue can be easily wiped off with a mild solvent.

[Pete J.]

I guess I am assuming that you are using Tamiya synthetic lacquers. If this is true, then alcohol won't be real effective in removing the paint in my experience. Brake fluid seems to work better for their rattle cans. As to sealing the tape, a very light thin coat of paint along the seam is all you need. You can use clear but I use the last coat of paint before the masking. This way the colors match and will sand down more evenly. I suggest it only as what works for you. Try both and see what happens on a spare part and what works best for you.

Last, mixing up lacquers and enamels will lead to no good. You can lay enamels over lacquers but not the other way around. The hotter solvent in lacquer will wreak havoc with enamels. Personally, I very rarely mix the two on the same surface. I have had them look great when I am done and then a month later, the surface cracks or goes all alligator skin on me. Just because it looks ok at the end of painting doesn't mean it is going to stay that way. Paints cure over long periods of time and may take months to truly reach a stable point. During this time, they shrink a bit and if there is a difference in shrink rates, you can wind up with a mess.

[JTalmage]

Frog Tape. works well for me soo far.

[allecb]

I guess I am assuming that you are using Tamiya synthetic lacquers. If this is true, then alcohol won't be real effective in removing the paint in my experience. Brake fluid seems to work better for their rattle cans. As to sealing the tape, a very light thin coat of paint along the seam is all you need. You can use clear but I use the last coat of paint before the masking. This way the colors match and will sand down more evenly. I suggest it only as what works for you. Try both and see what happens on a spare part and what works best for you.

Last, mixing up lacquers and enamels will lead to no good. You can lay enamels over lacquers but not the other way around. The hotter solvent in lacquer will wreak havoc with enamels. Personally, I very rarely mix the two on the same surface. I have had them look great when I am done and then a month later, the surface cracks or goes all alligator skin on me. Just because it looks ok at the end of painting doesn't mean it is going to stay that way. Paints cure over long periods of time and may take months to truly reach a stable point. During this time, they shrink a bit and if there is a difference in shrink rates, you can wind up with a mess.

i just used regular tamiya lacquer paint. the rubbing alcohol melted the paint right off!!

enamels OVER lacquer is ok. got it. so ill be ok to spray this enamel clear coat over the tape then.

[niteowl7710]

i just used regular tamiya lacquer paint. the rubbing alcohol melted the paint right off!!

enamels OVER lacquer is ok. got it. so ill be ok to spray this enamel clear coat over the tape then.

I would seal it with a light coat of that Pearl White rather than hitting it with Enamel Clear. Because the Gun Metal is Lacquer again, and you're going to wind up with a serious paint reaction once that Gun Metal hits that Enamel Clear Coat. If you want to use a clear coat to seal it, then paint more lacquer, you're going to need either the Testor Model Master Lacquer Clear or Testors One Coat Lacquer Clear.

If you had an airbrush you could get a jar of the Tamiya Gun Metal (X-10), that's in their acrylic line, and that could easily go over either the enamel clear, or lacquer paint without complications.

[Pete J.]

I would seal it with a light coat of that Pearl White rather than hitting it with Enamel Clear. Because the Gun Metal is Lacquer again, and you're going to wind up with a serious paint reaction once that Gun Metal hits that Enamel Clear Coat. If you want to use a clear coat to seal it, then paint more lacquer, you're going to need either the Testor Model Master Lacquer Clear or Testors One Coat Lacquer Clear.

If you had an airbrush you could get a jar of the Tamiya Gun Metal (X-10), that's in their acrylic line, and that could easily go over either the enamel clear, or lacquer paint without complications.

What he said!

[allecb]

I would seal it with a light coat of that Pearl White rather than hitting it with Enamel Clear. Because the Gun Metal is Lacquer again, and you're going to wind up with a serious paint reaction once that Gun Metal hits that Enamel Clear Coat. If you want to use a clear coat to seal it, then paint more lacquer, you're going to need either the Testor Model Master Lacquer Clear or Testors One Coat Lacquer Clear.

If you had an airbrush you could get a jar of the Tamiya Gun Metal (X-10), that's in their acrylic line, and that could easily go over either the enamel clear, or lacquer paint without complications.

got it! i was gonna do the pearl white route, but i actually just found an old can of testors clear gloss lacquer overcoat. and just because i am short on money right now, would it be OK to use the blue 3m painters tape and then coat over it? or should i just honestly wait till i get that prestigious tamiya tape and coat over it?

[Art Anderson]

i really, really hope i didnt screw this up for myself. the paint is pearl white. i then masked off as well as i thought i could, and then sprayed with gun metal. all paint is tamiya lacquer. when i took off the blue masking tape from 3m, i suppose i should have waited a bit longer for the paint to dry because it was still a bit wet. i waited like 30-45 minutes but the coats might have been wetter than i thought.

so now i have a list of problems

1- my gun metal middle area is damaged

2- paint bled all over onto the pearl white

so what do i do!?!? obviously wait a night or two..and then i was thinking to get 6-12k sandpaper and sanding the gun metal to smooth it out. then the hard part is the pearl white. i know sanding pearl isnt generally accepted..and im scared im going to have to shoot my white base and then pearl all over again.. but if i can get away with sanding just enough of the gun metal off of the pearl, i should be safe?

and by the way.. how the hell do i avoid this masked-tape-bleed-thru mess!?

So, strip the thing, start all over?

Art Anderson

[jbwelda]

I am thinking that too, Art, strip it and start over. ive tried to save paint jobs a number of times and it always ends up not coming up to the standard and gets stripped and redone anyhow.

great advice though on the Tamiya tape (heres a case where you really DO get what you pay for) and the spraying clear to prevent bleed stuff.

another thing: if you do sand or even really rub the pearl coat itself, you will ruin it. "ruin" being a relative word, but you will have knocked over the sharp shiny bits that make the pearl snap, and it leaves a dull metallic look instead. so if you've sanded the pearl, I really would advise stripping and starting again, this time coat the pearl with clear before rubbing on it or really even putting tape down too hard on it.

best of luck and don't worry, its just plastic and its hard to really wreck.

edit: oh and wear some gloves when you paint! those nitrile ones are cheap and work well!

jb

Edited January 13, 2014 by jbwelda