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Canopy masking question


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I'm getting ready to mask the canopy of my latest project and I'd like to try a different way of going about it. In the past, I've always used Tamiya tape (which works great for me) and cut it into small strips, then placed the strips around the edge of the canopy frame. Then, I would mask the rest of the canopy with larger pieces of tape. I'm thinking about using a new technique, where I would take a large piece of tape, cover the entire canopy, and use a sharp X-acto blade, cut around the edge of the canopy frame, then remove the excess. Do any of you guys do this or have any advice about using this technique? I figure it would be about as tedius as using small strips, but I was hoping that the new way I mentioned would be a little quicker. Thanks for the help!!!

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Guest T-bone

Well, I have tried using a larger single piece of tape to cover several sections of a canopy at one time, but find that the large pieces of tape do not conform well the curved surfaces and/or will wrinkle. Therefore you end up needing to slice the tape to allow it to conform to the curve or create a wrinkle that will potentially allow paint to seep under the tape.

On the other hand, with small and relatively flat sections, I have had good luck using a single piece of tape and then trimming it with a sharp blade. Obviously, you just need to be careful not to let the knife wander and mar your canopy! :D

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I have tried the masking tape. Had problems with the compound curves.

I have tried the Parafilm. Had problems with hobby knife cutting into the canopy.

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I now use Bare Metal Foil. It goes down on the curves with ease. Then I use a wooden tooth pick to burnish down the entire canopy. Using a new no. 1 blade, I carefully and lightly pull the tip along the canopy frame. Then using the tip of a fine needle, I left up the Bare Metall Foil to expose the area to be painted.

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Now after all painting is done, and its time to revel the canopy, I use the fine tip needle to pry up the edge of the foil and

gently pull up the foil using fine tweezers. You will see the residue left from the Bare Metal Foil. Take a drop of WD-40 on a cotton swab and lightly clean the canopy. Dry and your done. The WD-40 did not harm the canopy or the paint.

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Model On.........

JG85

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Using a new no. 1 blade, I carefully and lightly pull the tip along the canopy frame.  Then using the tip of a fine needle, I left up the Bare Metall Foil to expose the area to be painted.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it! Eye Spy, are you saying to use the blade to score the foil, then the needle to completely cut through it? Thanks for the help!

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Polly Scale Airbrush Thinner also removes the residue left behind by Bare Metal Foil. Of course, if you're painting with acrylics, this might not be the way to go, but I use it in conjunction with enamels all the time, and it works great.

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Using a new no. 1 blade, I carefully and lightly pull the tip along the canopy frame.  Then using the tip of a fine needle, I left up the Bare Metall Foil to expose the area to be painted.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it! Eye Spy, are you saying to use the blade to score the foil, then the needle to completely cut through it? Thanks for the help!

No, you use the pin to peel away the excess. The blade actually cuts the foil.

I'm personally fond of outlining canopies with thin lengths of masking tape, then filling in with liquid mask. Much faster and easier than filling in with tape and with less residue.

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I've had great results using the technique you're talking about, MoFo. I was hoping that cutting out the outline of the canopy frame with a knife would go faster. The only downside is the possiblity of the blade slipping. ;) Thanks for the help!

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Drew,

I've been a Bare metal foil masker until my last project... I tried the tamiya tape, and having tried both, I think i am going to the tamiya tape in thin strips atound the edge, with liquid mask in the middle.

Chris

PS..... doing that sb2c-4 helldiver canopy and windscreen with baremetal foil nearly drove me insane. It took me ours to mask the canopy and cut around the frames!

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That's an excellent idea. For my last project I bought some EZ Masks (made by Chris Loney in Ontario, Canada)...they worked like a charm except that the canopies were blown on their sides by the force of the spray can so I ended up getting overspray on the inner side of the canopy. Next time I'll hold them down with something and maybe use an airbrush at a lower psi. Or else I'll try the Tamiya tape/liquid mask idea. I've already used liquid masks for masking the entire canopy while spraying/airbrushing the airframe, and then brushing on the canopy frames once the airbrush work is completed. My 1/72nd F-18 Hornets are a good example of this technique being used.

Justin

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