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Clint wrote:(and tamiya mask tape..this stuff is wonderful)

crazydave wrote: I didn't like that Tamiya tape. Its super thin, and that's great, but it doesn't have quite enough stick for me, kept lifting up in spots, and it absolutely refuses to form to contours. 3M tape has a bit of stretch to it. The Tamiya stuff also doesn't like to cut unless I got it on glass. When I have to trim off a piece inside the body, it'd rather tear than cut, unless I dig the blade into the body. I'm in love with sheets of Parma masking film. Being in sheets lets me draw out my whole graphic. Its thin, cuts great, with really clean lines, and its super stretchy vinyl. It also comes with a strip of lift off tape, that makes it easy to transfer intricate designs. Only problem is my LHS refuses to carry it, because the owner don't use it to paint, he uses liquid mask. Well I'm not gonna special order a sheet of masking film, so his loss. I noticed its made by Avery, so I gotta be able to buy it bulk somewhere.

Clint wrote:Crazy, all the design type masking was done with vinyl airbrush frisket(sounds like it's similar to your Parma film). The tamiya tape was used for the straight stuff(agree it doesnt like to stretch much) and blue 3m was used to protect large areas. The skull and ghosts
were done with some artool templates i picked up at the AB class.

I got some of that airbrush frisket at the local art supply. Its a lot cheaper than the Parma stuff, $8 for 6 sheets vs $5 for one sheet. Its good stuff, I'll find plenty of use for it, but its not stretchy like the Parma stuff. Until I find a cheaper option I'm gonna have to stick with that in areas with a lot of texture or curves. Also the stuff I got is clear, I'm assuming that's better for illustration so you can see your work undewrneath, but on a lexan body, that makes it kinda hard to see.

My wife went in for me, and there just happened to be an Iwata rep there doing a demo, so I missed out on that, but she brought back lots of brochures and catalogs. In the one for Artools, I see they also sell "Hobby Mask" which is advertised as being stretchy, but they also sell "Stretchmask", don't know if that's the same or stretchier, bit I think the only difference is the size, the hobby stuff comes in 6"x10yds rolls, where as the stretchy stuff comes in 18"x 10yd or 18"x 25yd rolls. Looking around I see rolls of this stuff for about $30 which is a lot cheaper in the long run.

I haven't tried it but I was thinking about trying common rubber cement as a cheap paintable mask. It looks like it should work like the expensive liquid mask but for $2 a bottle at BigLots. Next time I break out the airbrush I'll let you know.

I just hit the local body shop and obtained some plastic body tape. It's maybe 1/16 of an inch thick and designed to peel off when the paint's dry.

sidewinder wrote:I haven't tried it but I was thinking about trying common rubber cement as a cheap paintable mask. It looks like it should work like the expensive liquid mask but for $2 a bottle at BigLots. Next time I break out the airbrush I'll let you know.

Seems like rubber cement would dry kind of thick. You wanna stay thin as possible to avoid paint build up on the edge. Liquid mask is more similar to plain ol' Elmer's glue, we had a member here that swore by Elmer's.

crazydave wrote:we had a member here that swore by Elmer's.

that's what I use for small things like bit taillights and headlights. Kind of paint it on with a toothpick. I've always used it in areas where it can pool, never tried it on big flat areas.

Thanks, I'll give the glue a try. Is there any special clean up required or does it come off clean?

normal white glue peels right off. I'd be carefull to let the paint dry properly first tho

The thing I was mentioning about using it in places where it can pool is because the white glue has a very high surface tension, so any place that has a defined edge, like a taillight or a body panel line should work. Like tape, it's good to trace the edge of it with an exacto after painting to get a clean removal.