Masking for a vinyl top?

[rickd13]

Can anyone give me some advice about masking off the body of the car so I can spray for a vinyl roof? What do you use to mask all the little nooks around the rear windshield? Bare metal foil? It seems almost every time I try to do a vinal top it comes out sloppy. The car I'm doing (1970 Superbird) already has a vinyl top look molded on the car, so I'm not looking for advice on how to get a vinyl top look. I just need a good technique on how to mask.

[CadillacPat]

I use Tamiya Modeling Tape for all my tape jobs.

Tamiya has a nice clean smooth edge and while it lays down without allowing any bleeding under it is also an easy release tape.

Using a good tape like Tamiya means you've always got a clean straight edge for straight lines or curves.

Then you can always fill in behind it with 3M Green or even use baggies to finish masking.

CadillacPat

[Fat Brian]

If its a very irregular surface like across the window trim or a very curved area I use silly putty. I picked it up from armour modelers. Once its down you can stick tin foil or plastic wrap to it to mask the rest of the area, securing with tape where neccesary.

[CadillacPat]

3M works just the same and is cheaper by far than the Tamiya.

Futurabat,

If 3m satisfy's you that's great but 3M can have a very ragged edge and Tamiya is a clean smooth almost vinyl like tape.

How much cheaper can one tape be than another. I'm not going to haggle over 50 cents once I've laid down a few layers of paint.

When I'm building something I don't look necessarily for the cheapest product but the best.

Once you buy the Tamiya dispensors you need only order the refill rolls. Very inexpensive.

Either way Tamiya is not expensive.

CadillacPat