Tamiya Acrylic Paint

[rossfox]

Okay, so I painted my 56 Ford Victoria with Tamiya acrylic blue paint on the bottom half of the body - a two tone that will be with white on the upper portion. It looked good. So I put it in the hydrator for 6 hours. Then I waited about 4 days before I handled it. So I decided to mask (Tamiya masking tape) over that Tamiya blue paint to do some more painting on other parts of the body. When I pulled the mask off the paint underneath is very rough now and noticeable. My question - did I not wait long enough for the Tamiya blue acrylic to harden?? I am almost afraid to do anything else to the car body, as I wonder if the blue is just very fragile and touching it will cause more damage. 

[Shark]

What did you think it with?

[Bainford]

How long was the tape in place?

 I think the blue would have been sufficiently cured for what you were doing. I have had a similar experience twice, once on Tamiya lacquer and once on Color Match lacquer, both times with Tamiya tape. It leaves an alligator skin texture in the paint. Perhaps it has a similar effect on their acrylic, too. Tamiya tape is great stuff, I use it a lot, but I've learned to not keep it on more than a day or so (actually I limit an application to two hours if I can). A real pain for some jobs. For straight two-tones and stripes, etc, it is good to remove any masking tape anyway, as soon as possible after the paint sets up, which for airbrushed lacquers is only a few minutes. And never put it a body in the dehydrator with tape on it. 
 

To address the damage, I had decent luck with polishing out the texture with micromesh pads and Tamiya polish (if there is sufficient paint thickness left), but under very close inspection some evidence still remains. 

Edited Sunday at 08:48 PM by Bainford

[Dave G.]

We have had other reports on this issue using Tamiya tape. But on all different paints. I don't use Tamiya tape personally but I know from 1/1 painting two tones, not to leave the tape on for any longer than needed to get your second color on and tacked up. That's regardless of brand. Then get it off of there. Pretty much as Trevor mentioned above.

On another note, I thin Tamiya acrylics with lacquer thinner, which according to Tamiya, leaves a harder shell finish. I dehydrate for X paints 30 minutes, then let it air dry at least 3 days before moving on. I've also had a new finish sit from one month to years lol !! Not because it was deliberate mind you.

[stitchdup]

tamiya tape used to be good but in the last few years its gotten worse. the thinners in aerosols seem to change its make up from glue that sticks to glue from post it notes that somehow doesn't stick yet pulls the shine off where the tape has been. I've been using 1" frog (green lid) tape since. its like tamiya used to be but the tape itself is thicker. theres also low tack 2" rolls of purple tape that is pretty thin and slightly transparent that work pretty good. both these can be cut to any width and are cheaer than tamiya and the transparency of the purple tape make is ideal for graphics

[bobss396]

I also remove the tape ASAP. And never put anything taped up into the dehydrator.

I use mainly Tamiya TS sprays and lacquer. Very little acrylic use, just for small items I brush paint.

[rossfox]

Thanks for all of the advice. Good advice it is. So, I left the Tamiya tape on for a day - probably too long. I did find out that I put the body back into the dehydrator for 6 hours at 122 degrees and the aligator effect is now gone away. So, I am back okay at this point. I have got to figure out how to handle these painted bodies without messing them up. I hate cotton gloves and I can't work with them. Latex the same way. I guess I will just have to constantly wash my hands to keep the oils off of the bodies, unless someone knows another trick.

[Dave G.]

29 minutes ago, rossfox said:

Thanks for all of the advice. Good advice it is. So, I left the Tamiya tape on for a day - probably too long. I did find out that I put the body back into the dehydrator for 6 hours at 122 degrees and the aligator effect is now gone away. So, I am back okay at this point. I have got to figure out how to handle these painted bodies without messing them up. I hate cotton gloves and I can't work with them. Latex the same way. I guess I will just have to constantly wash my hands to keep the oils off of the bodies, unless someone knows another trick.

I don't use gloves. . I wipe my fingers with alcohol soaked tissues. I don't get carried away with it, just a quick wipe . I do use nitrile or latex gloves when airbrushing a body, for the sake of easy clean up of my hands lol..

[Radretireddad]

I painted my ‘53 F-100 with Tamiya acrylic and let it sit at room temperature for about 2 months. When I went to finish it, I was able to handle it without leaving any fingerprints at all. I test applied a piece of standard masking tape to the back of the cab overnight and it peeled off with no effect on the finish underneath. It still polished and buffed out perfectly.

[papajohn97]

I've never had any luck applying tape over Tamiya gloss acrylic paint. The flat (XF) Tamiya acrylics are rarely an issue with any masking tape.

When I spray two-tone auto models, I use lacquer based auto base paints such as Scale Finishes/ Zero Paints/ MCW Paints and an airbrush. Hot lacquers such as Tamiya lacquer rattle can paints tend to bleed through masking tape edges, no mater what brand of tape I use. Once the two-tone matte base paint scheme is cured, you can use whatever clear coat to produce a gloss finish without worrying about mask edge bleeding.

[bobss396]

I run my dehydrator at 105 F. I'd rather be a little conservative and give it more time. With lacquer, I let it flash-off for 10 minutes before it goes in. Also with TS Tamiya sprays.

One of the best model builders told me years ago, wash your hands often during final assembly. I take it one step further. Be aware of touching your face (oily-ish) and also anything you may be eating.