Painting Apogee Saturn 1b

I cant for the life of me keep the black paint from bleeding passed the masking tape onto the white paint between the grooves on the wrap. Theres only so much paint I can apply before the wraps look smooth. Ive tried masking then painting white, then the black hoping it would fill in any spots it might seep through. Im using some good blue tape. Any other tricks before I set this thing on the shelf for good?

Ive also used a Sharpee along the masking tape, even the Sharpie bleeds.......

Well I got it finally. What a relief. Used a different blue tape, 3M Scotch Blue. Its got a lot of flex in it.

ascastil said:

I cant for the life of me keep the black paint from bleeding passed the masking tape onto the white paint between the grooves on the wrap. Theres only so much paint I can apply before the wraps look smooth. Ive tried masking then painting white, then the black hoping it would fill in any spots it might seep through. Im using some good blue tape. Any other tricks before I set this thing on the shelf for good?

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Get yourself some Tamiya tape. It is pricey. Only use it for the actual edges. Once you have it where you want it, use your fingernail or something similar to burnish the edge down. Use your blue tape to tape down paper or other covering to protect from overspray. The other thing you want to do is use light coats, be sure to follow the paint directions about recoat times. Once your done spraying, wait about 20 min and peel the tamiya tape off. With a little practice you can get great results. Paint another model or similar trying this method then go back to your complex model paint job.

Thanks, Ill look into getting some of that tape. I got one part painted and now Im just gonna take a break and stare at the success. I think that was the 4th attempt on the first section of black I was painting. It didnt look promising. Anything to help make the job easier Ill invest in.

Does anyone tape the their model then use clear coat to seal the tape before painting the next color?
We use to do it that way some years ago, guess tape is much better now.

Flash said:

Does anyone tape the their model then use clear coat to seal the tape before painting the next color?
We use to do it that way some years ago, guess tape is much better now

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Yes, that works great, that's what I do. Actually I spray the same color as the lower coat of paint, and then paint the next color. It gives a very nice, clean, sharp edge.

Actually if you watch some of TVM videos on his SV build there are some tips and tricks for painting the black roll patterns. He used some liquid mask which can be brushed on.

I'll second the Tamiya tape. It works well on curved and textured surfaces. Comes in a varity of widths. Any hobby shop should have it. It's yellow in a plastic holder thing.Plastic modelers use it for like canopy masks and such. Just be sure to burnish it well down.

Chris Michielssen in his Saturn V build recommends using scotch tape that had been reduced in stickiness by sticking it to jeans and pulled off, that usually gets a cleaner edge than blue tape in my experience. But if you can afford the Tamiya tape that probably works better.

Maybe somebody sometime has been able to paint a Saturn with perfect edges, but it sure hasn't been me.

A good air brush would help too, but now were talkin even more money

What about Frog tape or the blue tape with the "Orange" inner color. It has less tack, but I hear it works. I think the S1B is a great kit along with the SV, but along with the actual cost of the kit(s) you have to invest in quality materials to get them to look good. I never built one, but might try my hand at it this year, not sure yet?

Decals

AfterBurners said:

What about Frog tape or the blue tape with the "Orange" inner color.

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Caution: test Frog Tape with the paint it will contact before using it on your rocket. I found that the adhesive turned gummy when using Krylon paint for plastic.

Best -- Terry

I believe Frog tape is made for latex paint and needs the water in the paint to help create the seal. I used it on my Alway Saturn V and the black bled like crazy under the Frog tape, but did not in the few areas that I used regular masking tape. I may be way off, but that was my experience using Frog tape.

zog139 said:

ascastil said:

I cant for the life of me keep the black paint from bleeding passed the masking tape onto the white paint between the grooves on the wrap. [...] Im using some good blue tape.

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Get yourself some Tamiya tape. It is pricey. Only use it for the actual edges.

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+1 on Tamiya tape for super-sharp edges (available online, and at Hobby Lobby).
HomeDepot carries "Frog" tape that is second best.
Basic blue tape will always bleed colors on the edge, but is great for large surface masking.

Option #2 is forgoing spray painting the edges (leave 1/8" unpainted(), and applying edges of black patterns with either a small brush, or a black marker. Then you seal everything with clearcoat.

And there is a matter of paint layers "bubbling" or "alligator skinning" on top of each other. Even when using same brand paints, and following the instructions to the letter.

But that's a headache for another thread.

a

I got 3 rolls of Tamiya tape in the mail today. I'll let you guys know how it goes. The single black section at the top I got a pretty good edge using the thin Scotch blue platinum and I sealed the edges with the white base coat before I sprayed the black. It's really flexible thin sticky tape. Also used liquid mask on the raised parts that I'll paint with a brush. That stuff is neat. Pulled it off with masking tape.

Edit: Post #3 I had the wrong brand tape. Its Scotch, not 3m.

Heres a pic of the edge I got.

Tamiya tape, love it! 2 hrs masking these areas off. Very happy with the results.

That looks great! Tamiya tape is the way to go in my opinion. They actually have two kinds of tape...the regular tape is the tan colored and they have a white tape designed for compound curves etc...its not as tacky but is thicker than the regular tape. For what you masked I think the regular tape is perfect. I have been building a lot of plastic models lately and I love the stuff. great work!

MALBAR 70 said:

I believe Frog tape is made for latex paint and needs the water in the paint to help create the seal. I used it on my Alway Saturn V and the black bled like crazy under the Frog tape, but did not in the few areas that I used regular masking tape. I may be way off, but that was my experience using Frog tape.

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I remember reading the same. Perhaps an experiment is in order. What if you mask with frog tape, wet the sealing edge, wipe off the plastic, and spray paint? Hmmmmm…….
Will get back to you.

Nice job ascastil. I have the Tamiya tape ready to go for my Saturn V in the next few days. Hopefully I will get as good a result as you did with it.

Thanks everyone. All that's left that's hard is the fins. I'm not nearly as nervous now that I had some practice. That's the longest I've ever spent masking.

mikec said:

Chris Michielssen in his Saturn V build recommends using scotch tape that had been reduced in stickiness by sticking it to jeans and pulled off, that usually gets a cleaner edge than blue tape in my experience. But if you can afford the Tamiya tape that probably works better.

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I don't stick clear Scotch tape to my jeans - With the Scotch tape masks you want it to stick and seal.
I only do the jeans thing with regular brown masking tape. The brown masking tape is used for masking larger areas after the Scotch tape
border lines are in place.

Scotch tape masks only work well if you have very smooth surfaces or a very smooth root edge glue fillet.
If you are a quick or "rough" builder, don't expect great results using a Scotch tape mask.
I don't use Tamiya tape. I have in the past, but it is too expensive and I can get as good a result with the Scotch tape.

3 rolls of Tamiya tape on Amazon for 7 bucks. I'd guess if your just doing edges on detailed pita paint schemes it isn't too bad. I probably didn't even use a quarter of the roll.

ascastil said:

3 rolls of Tamiya tape on Amazon for 7 bucks.

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Sounds like a real bargain!

Well I'm wondering if I should paint the white part on the black fuel tanks or skimp out and just put the United States on the white tanks. The paint is turning out good, don't wanna mess anything up now.
Thought about using white car wrap but I don't know if that will match the white paint that I already used.

ascastil, I was wondering what you used for primer on the 1B?

I cant even remember it's been so long. If I were to guess it would be Rustoleum. I like the way they spray.

On another note, I just went and looked at the decals. The section of white under the United States on the fuel tanks is on the stickers lol.

Finished the fins. Getting real close to final assembly!!!!!