Paint bleed issues

[Al Knights]

Chaps, need some help with the above. Despite my best efforts in masking the canopy frame of my lysander, after painting, I still find the paint has managed to bleed under the tape. I have tried a little thinners, some white spirit, even isopropyl alcohol and even resorted to trying to scrape the dried paint off with a modelling knife....nothing has worked...any help greatly appreciated.

Allan.

[Denis Watkins]

If it is to fix, " a job already done and dry " Allan

I mask of the good bits

And carefully polish out the bleed with a dremel soft disc with toothpaste as the abrasive

Be careful and light pressure, so as not to allow any heat build up

Clear plastic will polish clear

Prevention is the best route with good masking tape

Edited By Denis Watkins on 08/07/2019 20:40:19

[Don Fry]

And some clear lacquer to seal the masking tape. But t Dennis is right, patience is needed.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Allan Bennett]

Once the paint has dried an abrasive or sharp knife is about the only way to remove it safely.

To avoid it happening again the best way is, after rubbing down the edges of the masking tape well, to first paint around the edges with the same colour as the base material or previous coat (or clear lacquer if it's compatible with your colour paints) to seal them. Any that bleeds through won't be visible and, once it's dry, will prevent your next colour coat from bleeding through.

That works for me with regular masking tape, though if I need any kind of a curve I use Artool Ultra Mask.

[Engine Doctor]

Specialist tape ie; Fine line tape from auto paint factors or Halfords. will do the trick , and leaves a crisp line . Try it next time you paint . Once in position rub edge down firmly and you will notice that the colour changes , its a translucent tape so you can see when its stuck down properly. paint the area and remove before paint has dried as this leaves a finer edge. As already said if its on the clear plastic and set then scraping is about your only option . Thinners can make the acetate go cloudy so be careful .

[Martin McIntosh]

Tried frog tape once when a had to mask off the edge of some wooden flooring. The Dulux bled through everywhere leaving a right mess. Never again, and that is supposed to be the good stuff.

For models I use tape from a quality paint supplier such as Brewers. Buy 2" wide and cut into appropriate strips with a new blade. Never use the outer edges of the roll. OK for painting your house but they are not crisp enough for fine work.

See my Lancaster/Spitfire/Mosquito etc albums for how this turns out without any scraping.

[Craig Carr]

Hello Alan.

The toothpaste and Dremel soft brush is probably the best way to go

As Denis says prevention going forward. I’ve personally found Tamiya tape to be spot on and for jobs like canopy window I would use Tamiya’s masking sheet”. I did my Vulcan cowl this way... great stuff.

Edited By Craig Carr on 09/07/2019 18:39:13