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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! ?

I did a test on a 1/25th scale AJPE engine block from Shapeways. The print lines on the side of the block where the "ribs" are were pretty bad. You can't sand that area of course so I took my media blast kit from TCP Global and the Paasche Eraser Compound (very fine btw) and shot it at 45 PSI. It did an awesome job of eliminating the lines while not messing with the rest of the material. You'll see some lines on the oil pan but I only passed over that area twice very quickly. Shot at a distance of 1/4". I think this is very workable for small parts but for larger items, bodies for instance, not a great idea. Cheers, Tim

Test

OK I see it, Do you??? Well now its gone, go figure!!!!!