12 replies to this topic

[DavidR]

I see some of the work by Noose and others with super clean tape lines, ive tried several types of masking tape but most dont leave as clean a line as wanted. What do you use?

[Noose]

Tamiya - Parma. That’s it.


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[Rotorranch]

https://www.3m.com/3...294857497&rt=r3

[Jay Guard]

You might want to try "ParaFilm M", which technically is a laboratory wrapping material.  It's a thin stretchy plastic film that will go into corners and over compound curves by pressing it down.  Then you trace around what you want to mask with an x-acto knife and peel off the excess.  Takes a bit to get use to using it but it will give perfectly sharp lines.

[dc-65x]

3M Teflon tape:

 

 

This stuff is very thin, flexible and very very expensive.

 

But if burnished down properly won't let paint bleed through and leaves a very crisp line. You can also easily see through it to trim out windows. It can be cut into narrow strips and bends around corners well as shown below:

 

 

 

 

Painting bodies is difficult for me and I will take advantage of anything I can if it helps me. This tape definitely helps "mask" (pun intended) my lack of painting skill.      I don't paint a large number of bodies so I splurge on my masking tape.

 

If "normal" masking tapes work for you that's great. But if you are having trouble with them you should splurge on a small roll of this stuff and give it a try.

[DavidR]

Thanks everyone for the reply

[Bill from NH]

Sharp, crisp edges can be cut on masking tape & vinyl using an X-Acto knife or scalpel with a sharp blade on glass. Some of the best masking tape I've used is the thin tan tapes that Pactra used to sell in various widths. Generally speaking, the better your burnishing job, the better your paint work will look.

[dc-65x]

Generally speaking, the better your burnishing job, the better your paint work will look.

[Dan Searcy]

When you first begin to paint, try spraying a LIGHT coat and then hit it with a hair dryer.  It helps to seal the tape edge.  And as Bill from NH said, the better burnishing....

[Martin]

A friend of mine who used to paint for me always used to shoot a light coat of clear over the tape, so if there was any bleed it would not be seen. 

 

Rick have you seen a small roll of 3M tape online you can direct me to. Your results look great.

 

Is this the correct product?

https://www.amazon.c...vrand=146731826

[MattD]

There are several things to remember when masking.   The first is to put a new blade in your Exacto knife and use it to draw the edge of the masked area.  You won't need great pressure if you have a new blade.     Burnish the edge, several times, it doesn't hurt to have a piece of cloth to rub over the tape to burnish it and get it tight into every crevice.   As Martin pointed out, a coat or clear will bleed and not be visable and nothing will bleed after that.   If you add masking after spraying one color, a coat of clear will keep a second color won't bleed.

     

I have good luck with Tamiya tape, but the teflon tape looks good and what I saw was $10 for an 11 yards, which really will mask a lot of cars.

[dc-65x]

Here's the stuff I've been using:

 

3M 5480 Gray PTFE Skived Film Tape Roll - 0.5 in. x 15 ft.

 

The small roll of 1/2" is $14. 

[Martin]

Thanks Rick, at that price I will give it a try.