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Any way to solve this mess? (Paint under masking tape)


GS34

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Somehow the paint decided to flow under the masking tape. Any ideas on how to solve this mess?

 

This is my first ever model, so might have made a mistake while masking it.

 

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Edited by GS34
typo
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In such circumstances I use a combination of 

  • Gentle scraping with a sharp blade
  • Gentle sanding with wet wet&dry
  • Just masking locally and touch up spraying.

You're not the only one this happens to! 

Cheers

Will

 

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This suggestion won't help the present situation of course but a tip or two for next time:

Make sure the underlying surface is really smooth before applying the tape. That eliminates gaps.

Burnish the masking down with a flat hard tool like the edge of a wooden spoon.

After masking apply a coat of the underlying colour.  It will seal the edge and be invisible because there is no colour change.  Then apply the second colour.

Pray.

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2 hours ago, malpaso said:

In such circumstances I use a combination of 

  • Gentle scraping with a sharp blade
  • Gentle sanding with wet wet&dry
  • Just masking locally and touch up spraying.

You're not the only one this happens to! 

Cheers

Will

 

 

2 hours ago, RJP said:

This suggestion won't help the present situation of course but a tip or two for next time:

Make sure the underlying surface is really smooth before applying the tape. That eliminates gaps.

Burnish the masking down with a flat hard tool like the edge of a wooden spoon.

After masking apply a coat of the underlying colour.  It will seal the edge and be invisible because there is no colour change.  Then apply the second colour.

Pray.

 

Will give it a try.

 

Many thanks on you both.

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Some nice tips there - never thought about using the previous colour again!

 

One thing I've recently discovered is that using different types of paint can be handy. e.g. I use lacquer as my primer / base coats which is super tough but then if I'm detailing painting (e.g. windscreen rubber) I'll do this in Vallejo water based stuff, if I make a mistake don't worry: just wait for it to be touch dry and then scrub it off the excess with some of their airbrush cleaner on a super tiny cotton bud - the Vallejo airbrush cleaner isn't harsh enough to remove the lacquer but will remove their paint!

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before painting, having laid the masking tape down, spray or brush a thin layer of varnish along the edges of the tape...............seals the gap and creates a barrier to stop paint creeping under the tape

 

Happy New Year

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I used my airbrush for the first time this past August. I had a little under-mask bleeding and some paint ridges. I used a round, wooden toothpick, cut off at an angle, to rub down the ridges and rub out the bleed.

 

50390979453_d925d6e913_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

Chris

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Excellent suggestions above!

 

Here's the type of tool I use to burnish tape edges, particularly around surface discontinuities and panel lines. The upper paint seepage examples look like they are due to the panel lines, the lower-middle appears to be due to that raised feature. For the bottom example, did you have multiple layers of tape (1 for brown and the other for green)? Those are all areas to pay attention to.

 

Another thing to consider is how you hold your airbrush. I try to keep the airbrush as "normal" to the surface as I can (see the blue arrows below), particularly around tape edges. In particular, try not to "aim" under the paint.

640px-Normal_vectors_on_a_curved_surface

 

Also, the paint surface looks rough. It should be smooth. If you're holding the airbrush too far from the surface, the paint can dry before it hits the model. The paint should be wet when it hits the surface. I always pay attention to this when I paint, using a strong light source to watch where I'm spraying. I hold my airbrush 5mm to 45mm from the surface.

 

HTH

-- 

dnl

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To add to the excellent advice already given - there is some 'ridging' apparent in your pic (build up of paint along the masked edge) This can result from not spraying at 90 degrees to the surface but also too heavy a coat. Multiple light coats are better than a heavy coat. I would think that in this case the base coat is thick enough and the leakage light enough to allow clean up with very fine sand paper (3000 grade or finer).

 

BTW you don't mention what tape you used - some tapes are better than others. Tamiya masking tape, available in various widths, is probably the best there is.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

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