Masking tip...

[CREG Customs]

Hello all,

I just finished two projects that required a LOT of complicated masking. I don't know about you but I hate using tape on small areas. It also hard to use on any surface that is not flat.

My tip - which may not be news to some - is liquid latex. I bought some mold making liquid latex for the TF Optimus Prime heads I was casting and it failed miserably. Picked it up at Hobby Lobby for $13

BUT! It is a Godsend when needing to mask small or detailed areas. Just brush a couple of coats on, letting them dry in between, and voila! Perfect masking!

Peals right off when finished. it dries clear when thin so make sure to coat twice to cover well.

The only thing to watch is that the nature of removing the latex will create a jazillion micro paint chips so remove it over a trash can/ area and be careful about paint flakes sticking to gloss or light tact areas.

Anywho - I will never use or cut tape on small detail areas again.

Give it a go! You may love it...

[frenzyrumble]

very cool. however, doesn't liquid latex or any rubber type mask take hours to dry? I'd imagine it would make a perfect mask though. They also sell liquid mask, which is like glue consistency when wet, but dries in a few minutes

[CREG Customs]

very cool. however, doesn't liquid latex or any rubber type mask take hours to dry? I'd imagine it would make a perfect mask though. They also sell liquid mask, which is like glue consistency when wet, but dries in a few minutes

This stuff dries in about a minute or so. That liquid mask sounds a lot like this stuff.

Looks like a tub of Elmer's glue. I used this on my Hot Toys War Machine and it worked great. There are 3 kinds of plastics on the figure, soft hard and hard clear - and I had no problems with sticking at all.

[Primoscustoms]

WHat I been using for masking is silly puddy or Play doe..Worked really good for the head of Dinotitan.

[BigHank]

I use Microscale Industries Micro Mask.

Pretty much behaves the way Creg describes, but one coat is good. Then you can take an exacto blade and cut details in that you want and peel away the area to be painted. Fpr example, paint on a mask over an entire car hood, then cut out the flame details to be painted. Real crisp lines too.

I have also done like Aprim and use that ticky-tack stuff you use for like posting pictures on a mirror.

[Hotwire]

Does this stuff mask pretty well when painting with a brush? I use Tamiya paints for the most part, and brush them on. Actually was at the hobby shop looking for tape that Tamiya won't bleed under.

[- Z -]

Does this stuff mask pretty well when painting with a brush? I use Tamiya paints for the most part, and brush them on. Actually was at the hobby shop looking for tape that Tamiya won't bleed under.

Unfortunately you will not be able to use Tamiya paints with the liquid micro mask. Both are water soluble and Tamiya in an acrylic paint which is water based.... so it will dissolve the mask. I had had some horrible issues over the years with it. For enamels, lacquer, and urethanes it is AWESOME.

[thyvipera]

i'm gonna have to try this. i've heard of using silly putty and i've always wanted to try that too. I'll give em both a whirl

[CREG Customs]

Does this stuff mask pretty well when painting with a brush? I use Tamiya paints for the most part, and brush them on. Actually was at the hobby shop looking for tape that Tamiya won't bleed under.

As long as your brush is in good shape - I don't imagine it would hurt it or bleed through. Just do a test area first.

[FREED]

What I do is just masking tape. Just finely cut out a piece to accurately adjust to the masked space. VOILA for me. I guess patience is the factor that would affect this huh?

[thyvipera]

What I do is just masking tape. Just finely cut out a piece to accurately adjust to the masked space. VOILA for me. I guess patience is the factor that would affect this huh?

definately. i've tried that before, and the masking tape I used, wouldnt stick worth a shit. I hate masking

lately for wheels, I've been using packing tape

[CREG Customs]

What I do is just masking tape. Just finely cut out a piece to accurately adjust to the masked space. VOILA for me. I guess patience is the factor that would affect this huh?

I actually enjoy the tedious work of customs but I don't like the risk of scratching smooth surfaces with an exacto blade when trimming it. But to each his own.

[CREG Customs]

definately. i've tried that before, and the masking tape I used, wouldnt stick worth a shit. I hate masking

lately for wheels, I've been using packing tape

~GASP~ (experiences flashbacks of buying multiple adhesive removers and spent hours to clean up an Optimus Prime after leaving packing tape on overnight....)

Brave man... brave man. Don't get cheap tape ;)

[thyvipera]

~GASP~ (experiences flashbacks of buying multiple adhesive removers and spent hours to clean up an Optimus Prime after leaving packing tape on overnight....)

Brave man... brave man. Don't get cheap tape ;)

yea, i've never left it on overnight, i could see what you mean. The wheels are primed in flat black. when it's time to base coat the figure, I mask the wheels, base coat the figure, and I remove the tape about an hour later. Havnt had any problems so far.

I've also used shrink wrap, lol

[Anovasinn]

silly putty is mainly used for doing camo type paint jobs with rattle can or airbrush. it works well for this because of its stretching ability and curvy look IMO it is unreliable for stuff like flames its hard to cut too .
Also i do not see why people complicate liquid mask all i ever use is school glue sometimes i water it down depending on the application. At full strength it covers in one coat thinned it takes several. I have sprayed laquers ,enamel and acrylics over school glue without any problems. brushing paint on is a no go the paint stays wet to long and can eat at the liquid mask as said before

[FREED]

if you ARE gonna use masking tape, try to figure out which ones are maskable. I've masked everything with masking tape and discovered that Gloss Black enamel gets highly dirty from the masking tape residue.