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I'm gonna need to do some masking with my first vehicle soon, and have heard a few people mention horror stories of paint coming off...

What were they doing wrong? What should i be doing to avoid that?

Make sure you have a good primer first and foremost.

Then make sure you've used some actual modelling masking tape as standard masking tape has glue that will be too strong.

Make sure the paint is dry.

That's all you really need to keep in mind and just be careful!

 Sentionaut wrote:
I'm gonna need to do some masking with my first vehicle soon, and have heard a few people mention horror stories of paint coming off...

What were they doing wrong? What should i be doing to avoid that?

Blue painter's tape is the most post-it-y tape on the market. If your paint still comes off from blue tape, then most likely the culprit is the paint being too thin or the model not being primed properly.

De tack the tape before applying it to the model, the back of your hand a couple of times should suffice. Giving the first coat adequate time to dry thoroughly is a big one too, not just touch dry but properly cured.

Just to be ultra safe, you could stick with hobby brands designed for the purpose, the Tamiya stuff is good and comes in a variety of useful widths. I tend to use their thin stuff for the edges and then blank out the big areas with pound shop tape.

First, give your paint every chance to stay on well (the base layer).
- Clean the surfaces well of mold release, usually done prior to assembly. (Detergent, degreasing type).
- Lightly sand surfaces (tooth for the paint to hang onto).
- A strong rattle-can solvent based primer so if any grease did not come off, that should kill it. Airbrush spray-on primer will be really dependant on the prior steps.

Masking:
- An ideal paint-on type I like is "Grafix Mr Frisket - White Liquid Mask", it seems to work well between layers of paint.
- Silly putty and Blue-tac seem to work to good effect and is a good starting method.
- Masking putty is really... interesting, a more fun and professional means of covering but a tiny bit more cost.
- Using the good old painters green / blue masking tape works, just do not push it on terribly hard (other than the leading edge with say the wood end of a paintbrush) and do not leave the darn thing on overnight or it will stick hard like normal tan masking tape.
- Tamiya masking tape is really good, it is really low-tac but again a higher cost.
- I find "Cling-wrap" works incredibly well depending on the application but is increasingly becoming my go-to.
- Actual frisket is a low-tac plastic sheet that leaves very sharp edges when painting, I find it is ideal for large flat surfaces and not so much anything with tight bends.
- A normal paper towel works fine for a bulk cover if say covering a base.

Painting:
- Thin multiple coats of paint is ideal, thick coats are more likely to peel off.

Removing mask:
- If it is a paint-on, it would not hurt to run the tip of a sharp knife along the edges to ensure no peeling occurs.
- Removing tape, try lifting it, not peeling back in a tight curve: that is the worst means of removal.

Everything i could think of to help with a bit of paranoia thrown in... hope it all works out!

 Tyranid Horde wrote:
Make sure you have a good primer first and foremost.

Then make sure you've used some actual modelling masking tape as standard masking tape has glue that will be too strong.

Make sure the paint is dry.

That's all you really need to keep in mind and just be careful!

I though you were supposed to take the mask off before it was dry.

 Desubot wrote:

 Tyranid Horde wrote:
Make sure you have a good primer first and foremost.

Then make sure you've used some actual modelling masking tape as standard masking tape has glue that will be too strong.

Make sure the paint is dry.

That's all you really need to keep in mind and just be careful!

I though you were supposed to take the mask off before it was dry.

I assumed he meant the surface he's masking, not the spray you just masked for.

Actually, peeling off the tape after the layer has dried can potentially have a interesting "chip" effect. Obviously, the application is limited and should be planned ahead.

 skchsan wrote:

 Desubot wrote:

 Tyranid Horde wrote:
Make sure you have a good primer first and foremost.

Then make sure you've used some actual modelling masking tape as standard masking tape has glue that will be too strong.

Make sure the paint is dry.

That's all you really need to keep in mind and just be careful!

I though you were supposed to take the mask off before it was dry.

I assumed he meant the surface he's masking, not the spray you just masked for.

Actually, peeling off the tape after the layer has dried can potentially have a interesting "chip" effect. Obviously, the application is limited and should be planned ahead.

Ah yeah, should have clarified, don't apply the mask to an area unless it's fully dry. The other way you'll end up with that chipping effect, which doesn't look great on Eldar vehicles funnily enough!

I guess one more thought I'm having is don't let the paint build up at the masking line as you'll get a nasty ridge if you're not careful.

 skchsan wrote:

 Sentionaut wrote:
I'm gonna need to do some masking with my first vehicle soon, and have heard a few people mention horror stories of paint coming off...

What were they doing wrong? What should i be doing to avoid that?

Blue painter's tape is the most post-it-y tape on the market. If your paint still comes off from blue tape, then most likely the culprit is the paint being too thin or the model not being primed properly.

Yea, I used to prime my models with just black paint mixed with some varnish. Worked well enough, and if I put another coat of varnish on top it was durable enough for the tabletop, but it didn't hold up well to masking. Switched to using actual primer (vallejo acrylic / polyurethane black primer) and have had no issues with masking now. It's a bit rougher on the airbrush (requires more cleaning), but certainly worth the trouble.

Thanks for all the tips guys.

I already use Vallejo grey primer, and usually apply through an airbrush for good coverage. So i assume my priming is up to code.

I do in fact use cling wrap, as one person suggested, and it works great. But that's more for protruding areas of a miniature - the subject of this project is a rhino, so i'll be looking to block off flat panels on the chassis with clean edges.

De-tacking sounds like a good suggestion too!

Lester Bursley from AwesomePaintjob used silly putty as a masking medium, which might be good if you don't want sharp edges. Might be a decent alternative if you need one.

I've found that Tamiya masking tape works well, even when the paint is just painted on the bare plastic with no primer.

You can always go the RC route and use liquid masking that you can brush on over your model and lightly cut and remove the area you want to spray. It peels off like rubber cement when you are done.