Captain Mark Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Hi everyone, I've run into a problem I've not had before, where masking tape has lifted my topcoat of paint (see picture). In short, I'm looking for any input on how best to fix this without a full respray. (I really don't want to have to replace or mask over decals... long story as to why some are already there...) My expectation is that the following should work, however as this is a new issue for me I'd appreciate any input at all to make the process un-frustrating as possible: Gently sand the edges back on the red paint for a perfectly smooth transition from red paint to primer; Use Blu-tac for a gentle mask to allow blending rather than masking tape which will create a solid raised line which will be quite noticeable; Apply red paint in very thin layers at the lowest pressure possible; Does anyone have any other suggestions or pitfalls to watch out for? Thank you, Mark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Beary Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Hi Mark, What I might do is to mask off the white area using post-it notes or de-tacked masking tape so you don't pull up any more paint and then sand etc as you described. I would not mask any more than that and just freehand the airbrushing....everything around the area is red. My thought is that if you use any masking (including Blu-tac) you still stand a chance of the demarcation showing. HTH Bob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
82Whitey51 Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 (edited) Like Bob mentioned, I'd only mask over the white area there...with something low tack. I use Tamiya Tape, sounds goofy, but, stick it to the back of your hand or forehead and lift it off a few times to lessen the tack. Then, lightly sand and feather the edges of the peeled paint area back into the main top coat. Then paint...build it back up as you mentioned in low pressure, thinned paint. Let it dry between coats. Just to be safe, if you have any "Para Film M", I'd wrap the tail with it, or Saran Wrap...white paint seems to attract overspray from miles away. Edited December 5, 2017 by 82Whitey51 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Don't let anything with any adhesive properties near those decals. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
82Whitey51 Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Is the white square area a decal or paint? If decal, covering it with Para Film M is about the only safe thing to put over it. It it's a painted area, low tack tape should be ok. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Mark Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 Hi guys, thanks very much for feedback, I've now got my refined plan of attack! 82Whitey51: It's paint. That's the area which was masked off when disaster struck. Also I did use your suggestion of de-tacking the Tamiya tape... just not on my head hehe. Actually I'm at a bit of a loss as to why paint lifted in the first place... The primer went down maybe a year ago but was sanded back to almost perfect smoothness and kept in a dry sealed area. I used Tamiya acrylic red with a little acrylic flat base in it, and left to dry for a little over a week. The Tamiya tape was first de-tacked by putting it on a clean cutting board a few times and pulling it off. And I removed the tape very slowly immediately after painting (while the white paint was still wet). I can only imagine it was just plain bad luck and there was some inconsistency in the paint I couldn't see, or the primer being too smooth for the paint to properly grab on to. Hmmm... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 3 hours ago, Captain Mark said: Also I did use your suggestion of de-tacking the Tamiya tape... just not on my head hehe. FWIW, I use the palm of my hand. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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