Rough Tape Edges

I sprayed my rocket white and when that dried I taped off for the red areas and sprayed them. There are ridges at the edges of the red so I have been thinking that I should sand them down.

I am fearful of doing so because I once had painted a rocket light gray and then painted a fin blue, same process as above. Well the blue came out really bad so I wet sanded it off. The problem was the blue water got on the gray (of course) and tinted the gray. I couldn't get it cleaned off so I ended up repainting the gray. I was using the same paint then as I am now, Rustoleum 2X enamels.

I am afraid that if I wet sand the red, it will ruin the white. How do you deal with this?

-Bob

Can you put some masking tape on the white edge along the ridge so that when you sand the white paint will be protected?

spray clear over it.
are ya spraying just enough for coverage?

You will never be able to protect the white. it WILL turn pink! I like to use 3M fine line tape. Others have said Tamiya is good . After you run your tape lines, burnish it down with a tool of even a finger nail. Light coats will bleed less. I don't even use the same sandpaper between colors. Wet sanding will remove any ridges, then a clear afterwards to smooth it out. I use 2 part automotive paints, PPG Omni a lot. I do not know if you can get that Rusty stuff to dry enough to wet sand. Others may be able to help with that.

You could probably carefully wet sand the edges?

I think I am going to leave it like it and hope the clear will smooth it out some.

I usually use 1/4 vinyl tape on the edges and I pull the tape about 5 minutes after and the edge comes out pretty smooth. For this rocket I used blue painters tape because the edge was so long I thought it would be easier to get it straight. I pulled it off about 5 minutes after I sprayed and I got a nice clean edge but I noticed there is a ridge at the paint edge that I don't get with the vinyl tape.

Thanks for all the suggestions,
-Bob

Hey Bob, the only other thought I have is after it is GOOD and dry, you could try taking a new and very sharp exacto blade and scrape the ridge a bit. I have cleaned up smudges many a time like this. Just go slow, if you do try it.

Sometimes you can carefully pull the tape immediately after spraying, This lets the edges lay down more. I do this when I can. It is easy to mess up the job if the tape falls from your fingers while doing this, so masking with an eye for removal is a good idea.

Sanding carefully, even a pass or two, prior to clear is a good idea, unless it messes up either color. Sanding fine metallics is not a good idea, as that will probably show under a clear.


Pinstriping tape from the auto paint store, or Napa, leaves a good edge, and is flexible for following curves. Laying an edge with this, and then covering large areas with the green 3M tape is a good method for masking. Say, for flames, the shape can easily be done in the fine pinstriping tape, and this makes filling it in with wider masking tape easier.

I don't recall whether I've done it or not (been a while) but when the paint has gelled but is not fully cured, IIRC you can lightly score the edge by the tape with a fresh sharp blade. Then pull up the tape. You get a cleaner edge that way. But get someone more professional in painting to confirm, or do a test piece. Note you are not really trying to CUT the paint, just score it very shallowly. The paint will separate along the score line.

Gerald

tomsteve said:

spray clear over it. . .

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Exactly.

G_T said:

I don't recall whether I've done it or not (been a while) but when the paint has gelled but is not fully cured, IIRC you can lightly score the edge by the tape with a fresh sharp blade. Then pull up the tape. You get a cleaner edge that way. But get someone more professional in painting to confirm, or do a test piece. Note you are not really trying to CUT the paint, just score it very shallowly. The paint will separate along the score line.

Gerald

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Scoring the paint at the tape line is useful for preventing the tape from pulling paint from the freshly painted adjacent surfaces. It does not really help with a hard edge.

I'm gonna stick with vinyl tape from here on out. The edges come out where they need no fixing.

Thanks for all the suggestions,
-Bob

It's tough to avoid paint dams at masking tape edges; thin tape (like Tamiya) helps, as does airbrushing, but most rattle cans are going to leave a noticeable dam/edge even with the most careful spraying.

After the paint cures, I'll knock the edges down, wet-sanding with a #1000 grit. A clear coat after that usually has the edges blended in.

I have had decent success with this method. When the paint has sort of dried and it definitely still in the wet adjacent stage but not enough to smear I pull the tape and then immediately ‘sand’ the high ridge with just my fingerprints. It seems to push it down a little bit. Becareful because you can easily damage the paint. It will definitely take some of the glossiness away too. Also do not move towards the top color move away from it or you can pull back the edge.

John, you don't have a problem with the yellow or black "tinting/staining" the white when you wet sand with the 1,000? That was my worry.

-Bob

BTW, the paint is excellent. Something for me to aspire to.

No, I’ve not had that problem. In the Steelers rocket example, I used DupliColor lacquer and waited till all of the painting was done and fully cured. Yes, there was some residue to wipe up (always the case with wet sanding), but no staining. Perhaps it’s a paint-related issue, with some paints softer than others and therefore more pre-disposed to absorption.

This is my Sea Tiger. As you can see from the picture something happened when I sprayed the blue. It's Rustoleum 2X paint. When I wet sanded the blue smooth, the blue colored water got on the gloss gray and would not come off. I ended up spraying the gloss gray again.

That is why I was worried the red might mess up the white on the Black Brant if I tried wet sanding the edges. Maybe it's just that the gray had only dried for 4 days before I did the wet sanding. Enamels are a pita about dry times...



Bob

John Brohm said:

A clear coat after that usually has the edges blended in.

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Bruiser said:

BTW, the paint is excellent. Something for me to aspire to.

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You can say that again, how do you get those clean points and tapers?

I would try some painters tape, has worked for me, if you don't spray at angles, but spray directly above the tape lining you should be able to get clean lines. If not you could retouch with a paint brush...

Nytrunner said:

You can say that again, how do you get those clean points and tapers?

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Tamiya tape. And a lot of patience.

John Brohm said:

Tamiya tape. And a lot of patience.

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I'll echo the sentiment that those are extraordinary. If I hadn't seen your work before I'd have suspected a Photoshop job.

I'll have to try the Tamiya tape. I think they have some at Hobby Lobby.

I was going to start cloning a Ventris next but out of the blue I won a Cosmic Interceptor off eBay. Now I'm confused. Anyway, is it cloning if I'm using Pro Series parts? Lot's of masking for the roll patterns on the Ventris

-Bob

Cloning would be using the same parts as the original kit. Purists would say it's not a clone if all the parts aren't the same. Myself, I beg to differ. If I sub balsa parts for plastic parts that are unobtainable, it's still a clone to me.
The Ventris is a Pro Series II rocket, it used PS II parts.
Cosmic Interceptor is a great kit, enjoy the build.
BTW watch out for glue grab when installing the coupler style engine mount.
Don't ask me how I know.
Laters.

Bruiser said:

I'll have to try the Tamiya tape. I think they have some at Hobby Lobby.

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They do. Make sure to get some that's fairly narrow; it has the ability to curve a bit which is handy... But the wider stuff is useful as well. As previously mentioned I now have three different widths amongst my supplies, plus two different widths of tape for curves.

Bruiser said:

Lot's of masking for the roll patterns on the Ventris

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Tape off the whole section, then cut out where the paint goes. Much easier than laying down 50 strips of tape

Here's an archived link to the Ventris paint scheme from the Estes website. I would just home print the pattern on decal paper, but that's just me.
https://web.archive.org/web/2013050...a//instructions/9701_Ventris_paint_scheme.pdf
I think I wound up ordering some vinyl from Mark at Stickershock23:
https://stickershock23.com/product/estes-ventris/

Decal or cut some vinyl with a Cricut. No way I would mask that.

It's a complex pattern to mask, no question. But depending on the goal, it might be worth the painting challenge. The risk with a decal wrap is that the decal assumes a certain circumference. Most likely there will be either an overlap, or a gap, where the two circumferential edges land once laid, depending on how close the width of the wrap matches the circumference of the painted surface. Masking/painting allows one to tailor the roll pattern layout specific to the surface one is working with. But yes, the masking and layout will for sure take more time. Ultimately the choice depends on how much time one wishes to invest in the thing, and whether layout precision actually matters; not always a concern with Sport models.

The roll pattern for my L1 ship, Old 54, was masked and painted in part for the color match, but also because I could lay it out precisely on the underlying surface. Tamiya tape, and rattle can paint.

Duplicate

sadly, another duplicate!