Search the Community

Hello There are so many different techniques that can be used for masking. And now I want to show you some of the ones I use.

I have been seeing suggestions for using masking tape, as the material, for vinyl tops, and seat upholstery (for example), besides the normal use of masking for painting. I know from experience that it has a short life (considering how old I am, let's say less than a normal lifetime), it loses the adhesive first, then it becomes brittle and crinkly, gets yellow, then it falls off or stays on the surface requiring a razor blade to remove. If one keeps their model in an airtight box in the basement, it could be safe. So I'm going to do an experiment, and I would like others to try it too, because a viable study requires multiple experiments, done by others who are better to be skeptics to prove me wrong. I remember seeing paint test panels below billboards in Phoenix, Arizona, which is obviously a harsh climate, where the Sun's Ultra Violet rays trash paint, rubber and plastic in no time flat. So this is an accelerated test. I wrote the date with a Sharpie pen, which will also be tested against the UV rays because I know that fades, also did a squiggle with a Pigma Micron pen for my own edification. In my case, it's on an east facing window (inside), it gets hot during summer mornings, but south and west should be just as good, but not north. Tell us your latitude too, solar insolation is a huge factor depending on location. I also have the brand of tape in the picture. I would think humidity is a factor, but I don't care to go that overboard. This should be as exciting as watching paint dry! ?