Need some masking pointers

[Monty]

These are some of my favorite C3s. I have the kits to reproduce them, but I'm not confident that I have the right tape etc to mask off the two-tone features, especially the wheel arches. If you look closely, you'll see that each car features pinstripes, which I'll need help replicating as well.

I'd appreciate any tips, product recommendations, procedures, whatever you have.

[Karmodeler2]

  On 3/19/2010 at 6:56 PM, Monty said:

These are some of my favorite C3s. I have the kits to reproduce them, but I'm not confident that I have the right tape etc to mask off the two-tone features, especially the wheel arches. If you look closely, you'll see that each car features pinstripes, which I'll need help replicating as well.

I'd appreciate any tips, product recommendations, procedures, whatever you have.

Hey Monty,

You will probably get as many ideas as there are people on this board, but I will toss in my two cents. If I use masking tape, I usually cut a fresh edge using a ruler to create a "clean" edge that is not so prevalent when using the factory edge straight from the roll. Also, I cut templates from plastic for curved areas so my mask are the same for each side. You can use a drawing template with all those holes in it to get the right size. Place the template on the masking tape and cut your mask. I use BMF almost exclusively when doing two tone paint as I find it had ZERO run under when applied correctly (Burnish down with Q-TIP, then with flat tooth pick). If you mist your first couple coats on, then go to heavy later, you should not have a problem. If you are doing a white/black car, then you may want to spray a coat of clear first, then the color. That way, only the clear ran under and filled all the "holes" and then when you spray your base, remove the tape and clear the whole car, you don't see it. Hope this helps.

David

[MrObsessive]

Two words.............Tamiya Tape!

Best stuff there is for masking off and such! I used it here for this Mustang when I wanted painted stripes as opposed to decals..............

The clear stuff you see on the tape pics is Parafilm. I got a huge roll of it off the 'net and a little goes a long way. Check the link here for availability.

Hope this helps!

[Monty]

Bill, any thoughts on doing the wheel arches or pinstripes? Those are going to be my main concerns.

[MrObsessive]

Pretty much as David described is what I would go with. For the pinstripes you could always paint some decal paper of like color and cut them from there. I would first put a coat of Microscale Decal Film over the painted decal paper first before cutting to make sure they don't crack on you.

It would be a good idea to practice on a junk body if you're uncomfortable with painting around wheel arches and such beforehand if it were me.

[Karmodeler2]

  On 3/19/2010 at 8:58 PM, Monty said:

Bill, any thoughts on doing the wheel arches or pinstripes? Those are going to be my main concerns.

Hey Monty,

I have a solution, similar to my first post, where I had to cut an exaggerated "S" for a pinstripe. What I did was to cut a plastic template in the shape I needed. The cool thing was all I had to do is flip the template to get the other side. I used .020 evergreen. I then taped two razor blades together. (I use the smaller "snap-off" blades you get at Home Depot. If you really want the good stuff, go to your Benjamin Moore paint store or Sherman Williams and get the OLFA brand. They are Japanese and they are very sharp and very nice to use...like the Tamiya stuff).

You can put a piece of plastic ranging from .005 to .060 or more between the blades and this will alter the width of the pinstripe. You can practice on BMF to see what you like and what looks correct for the scale. The cool think about this is the pinstripe, which has two edges, actually has two radius, where the inside arc is "smaller" than the outer. You will create this, with ease, with the two blades taped together and using the template to "trace" the arc.

After you figure out the template, you can then print decal paper the color you need (see how wide of a strip of red you need that will allow you to cut the arc of the pin stripe...you will know by the plastic template) and cut to your hearts content.

Good luck....and let us see it when you are done.

David

[Karmodeler2]

Hey Monty,

Here is a pic of the model I was talking about. You will notice that the "S" is the red strip between the blue and cream. This template allowed me to do it on both sides and keep it the same width with the plastic shims between the blades. The front area was done the same way, with a plastic template as a guide for the blades as I cut the curve in the stripe as it turns down toward the ground.

Hope this helps.

David

http://images17.fotki.com/v297/fileruhu/fc7d7/5/573883/4267404/DSC05133.jpg

http://public.fotki.com/turbo590/nnl-nationals--30-2/dsc04049-jpg.html

[Monty]

Thanks, Dave!

[Nick Winter]

This is sort of a old house painters trick that works great on cars too, use the tamiya tape, lay it down, then spray a bit of clear over the edges of the tap on the inside edge tht's going to be covered with paint, let it dry, then paint the color on, and it should seal the edge of the tape and keep paint from escaping underneath the taped edges.

I used this method on this Van

oh and one more thing, paint you lightest color first.

Note my crappy, straight edges, that was me not the tape or paint.

Edited March 21, 2010 by Dukefan69'

[sjordan2]

Bill – what paint did you use on the Mustang? It's very low in metalflake prominence. (Sorry to diverge from the subject.)

Edited March 21, 2010 by sjordan2

[MrObsessive]

  On 3/21/2010 at 9:21 PM, sjordan2 said:

Bill – what paint did you use on the Mustang? It's very low in metalflake prominence. (Sorry to diverge from the subject.)

The paint is Dupont, but I got it directly from the local paint jobber who mixed it for me. It's whatever shade of blue Ford called it for '06, but the name escapes me at the moment.

Thanks for asking!