Masking Fluid how do you do it.

[LaurieS]

The little Islander I am building does not come with & no one produces paper masks.

Have to use masking fluid. It is for 1/72 with lots of curves so impossible, for me, to mask up with tape.

I have Mr Hobby Masking Sol.

How do you apply this stuff. Mr Hobby comes with a large brush which I do believe is going to be difficult to be accurate in applying. Have one or two ideas but yours I would be grateful to hear.

Laurie

[Nocoolname]

Hi Laurie

 

Without seeing a picture I'd be making a bit of a guess but for gradually curving lines I've used a narrow strip of masking tape - around 1-2mm width - which can still bend with the curve, then used a spare paint brush to carefully paint masking fluid over the edge that touches on the part you want covered then just add more over the open space. I've used the above approach for achieving straight lines over curved surfaces on such things as drop tanks and under wing pods as well as larger surface areas. 

[dnl42]

I also use thin tape to mark the outline and fill in with masking fluid. 

 

Be very careful to check paint compatibility with the masking fluid!!

[-Ian-]

26 minutes ago, Nocoolname said:

Hi Laurie

 

Without seeing a picture I'd be making a bit of a guess but for gradually curving lines I've used a narrow strip of masking tape - around 1-2mm width - which can still bend with the curve, then used a spare paint brush to carefully paint masking fluid over the edge that touches on the part you want covered then just add more over the open space. I've used the above approach for achieving straight lines over curved surfaces on such things as drop tanks and under wing pods as well as larger surface areas. 

Same here.

 

OP - Tamiya do produce extra narrow tape specifically for this purpose but I get much better results from cutting their regular tape into thin strips and using that.

Edited March 24, 2021 by -Ian-

[Space Ranger]

Aizu also makes some narrow masking tapes in various widths.

 

[bmwh548]

I haven't used the normal one, but the R version I have grips like crazy so be careful you don't pull the paint off trying to peel it. Also: the longer it stays on the better it grips.

[Cheshiretaurus]

I find one of these quite useful https://www.amazon.co.uk/Molotow-Grafx-Masking-Liquid-Marker/dp/B00FVPXAM4 

 

[LaurieS]

9 minutes ago, Cheshiretaurus said:

I find one of these quite useful https://www.amazon.co.uk/Molotow-Grafx-Masking-Liquid-Marker/dp/B00FVPXAM4 

 

What an idiot I forgot I have 3 of the pens. Thanks for the reminder Cheshire.

 

Laurie

[dogsbody]

I have a fairly old bottle of this:

 

 

 

I never used it before until last summer, when I was painting my Hurricane. I shook and stirred it up as best I could and it seemed okay.

 

I was using AML masks for the main camo, but needed a bit for the nose. When I removed the masks and the masking fluid, I saw that the Masking Sol had taken the bit of shine from the G-S Dark Earth H-72.

 

 

 

 

 

Chris

[LaurieS]

48 minutes ago, dogsbody said:

I have a fairly old bottle of this:

 

I never used it before until last summer, when I was painting my Hurricane. I shook and stirred it up as best I could and it seemed okay.

 

I was using AML masks for the main camo, but needed a bit for the nose. When I removed the masks and the masking fluid, I saw that the Masking Sol had taken the bit of shine from the G-S Dark Earth H-72.

Chris

Think Chris it sticks so well I would only use it on gloss clear plastic. I do not use Klear on my plastic but wonder if it takes that off as well.

 

Laurie

[dnl42]

I've had good results with MSI Micro Mask on Mr Color paint.

 

I use Deluxe Materials' Looks Like Glass after the canopy frames are masked and painted; the other order was a complete failure.

[dogsbody]

3 hours ago, LaurieS said:

Think Chris it sticks so well I would only use it on gloss clear plastic. I do not use Klear on my plastic but wonder if it takes that off as well.

 

Laurie

 

As I hadn't got to decal stage, I hadn't coated it with future yet.

 

 

Chris

[dromia]

Copydex is my masking fluid of choice.

[Ray_W]

On 3/25/2021 at 5:07 AM, LaurieS said:

How do you apply this stuff. Mr Hobby comes with a large brush which I do believe is going to be difficult to be accurate in applying. Have one or two ideas but yours I would be grateful to hear.

 

Hi Laurie,

 

To specifically answer your question on the Mr Hobby product. I use it regularly as a gap filler between tape masking on canopies. My usual masking approach as described by @dnl42. This works well as I model in 1/48. A bit more of a challenge in 1/72. Typical of these types of masking products, Mr Hobby Masking Sol rapidly cures on the brush so you need to keep the brush wet in the solution. For that reason I will often apply using a smaller brush or a disposable microbrush. It is always a pain cleaning the brush as you invariably end up with rubberised hairs. I remove the residual on the brush with Mr Tool Cleaner. I do not find Masking Sol good for fine work and if you want to apply a film and cut with a sharp scalpel there are better products. Cutting to the chase, as a canopy framing product - not recommended. As a fill-in - easy and convenient.

 

I am also not keen on using Masking Sol as a general masking product being wary of paint reaction unless the base is a lacquer. Mind you, it is very satisfying removing all the cured rubberised goo which invariably dries in the lid and in the top of the bottle. 

 

For micro masking, that is where I want to use a brush, I use the Windsor & Newton Art Masking Liquid - much thinner and easy to apply with the same curing on the brush challenge. Take care though, it smells a little like it is ammonia based so be sure to test before hand. I used the W&N product here over the decals to provide a hand painted edge to the roundels before the white stripes. The decals were sprayed with Gunze GX100 Clear lacquer, allowed to thoroughly dry, before applying the masking solution. Removal? Roll with your thumb and tap with Blu-Tac. In all cases I never leave masking solutions in place for very long. 

 

 

For complex small canopy framing, I am a little old school, and use burnished Bare Metal foil. Cut by rolling a new curved scalpel blade against the framing edge. Wonderfully described by Paul Budzik here. I also have made my own foil using low tack adhesive and cheaper aluminium foil, but as I always have some Bare Metal foil lying around and only needing a small amount, I have opted for convenience rather than cost.  

 

 

Ray

Edited March 26, 2021 by Ray_W
typo

[TonyOD]

On 3/24/2021 at 6:45 PM, Nocoolname said:

I've used a narrow strip of masking tape - around 1-2mm width - which can still bend with the curve, then used a spare paint brush to carefully paint masking fluid over the edge that touches on the part you want covered then just add more over the open space.

 

I've done this too, one thing I have noticed though is that Maskol doesn't seem to get along with transparencies that have been dipped in Klear.

 

In general Maskol is hugely useful stuff though, I use it to mask any and all gluing surfaces (from fuselage and wing edges to the tiniest bits) to avoid having to stick paint to paint.

[Ray_W]

Just now, TonyOD said:

Maskol doesn't seem to get along with transparencies that have been dipped in Klear.

A good point. I polish my canopies so never had such issues.

[TonyOD]

1 minute ago, Ray_W said:

I polish my canopies so never had such issues.

 

I've just invested in a bunch of micromesh pads of various grades so this is the way I may go in future.

[ckw]

41 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

one thing I have noticed though is that Maskol doesn't seem to get along with transparencies that have been dipped in Klear.

 Maskol contains ammonia (Klear's Kryptonite). I use Mr Masking Sol-R which is water based (you can dilute it if you want) and works just fine over Klear

 

Note that there are two flavours of Mr Masking Sol - 'Neo' which uses an ammonia/latex mix and 'R' which is a water/latex mix.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[Space Ranger]

11 hours ago, TonyOD said:

 

I've done this too, one thing I have noticed though is that Maskol doesn't seem to get along with transparencies that have been dipped in Klear.

Some masking fluids contain ammonia, which will remove Klear/Future.

[TonyOD]

7 minutes ago, Space Ranger said:

Some masking fluids contain ammonia, which will remove Klear/Future.

It's a mistake I only made once, didn't so much remove it as turn it into a horrible sticky mess.