8 replies to this topic

[Dads203]

Hi all, i'm really having fun with masking up Tamiya TS sprays. I'm building a Sand Scorcher and trying painting it in the box colours,
I laid up some tamiya white primer waited 14 days and laid up the TS White
Spray, waited a week before i masked up the white using tamiya tape and then sprayed the TS blue.
To my horror the masking tape has etched into the the paint leaving it dull and pitted !!!

Now that was the first attempt, i stripped the body, re- primed amd started over, changed masking tape to professional 3m tape used by the auto
Industry, primed and the white laid on, waited two weeks before masking and spraying the blue. The same issue. At first i thought it was just the tape residue left behind but it's actually etched the paint. So far i've waisted around £ 60 on consumables and i now have to strip the body again and start over again.

I'm now thinking of buying some halfords paints and trying them in a last ditch attempt to sort this out. As you can imagine i'm rather P****d off at the situation so any help and advise would be great.

Best Regards

Dan

[bromvw]

Hi all, i'm really having fun with masking up Tamiya TS sprays. I'm building a Sand Scorcher and trying painting it in the box colours,
I laid up some tamiya white primer waited 14 days and laid up the TS White
Spray, waited a week before i masked up the white using tamiya tape and then sprayed the TS blue.
To my horror the masking tape has etched into the the paint leaving it dull and pitted !!!

Now that was the first attempt, i stripped the body, re- primed amd started over, changed masking tape to professional 3m tape used by the auto
Industry, primed and the white laid on, waited two weeks before masking and spraying the blue. The same issue. At first i thought it was just the tape residue left behind but it's actually etched the paint. So far i've waisted around £ 60 on consumables and i now have to strip the body again and start over again.

I'm now thinking of buying some halfords paints and trying them in a last ditch attempt to sort this out. As you can imagine i'm rather P****d off at the situation so any help and advise would be great.

Best Regards

Dan

Hello Dan . I've used Halfords paints for a few years now . IMO their better value and quality than tamiya . from what you've said i can'nt see a thing you've done wrong . Strip it back and make sure its 100% clean . Start over with halfords primer . then as per you have done . Leave the last coat a couple of weeks then buff with halfords rubbing compound . If you view my Funco/Champ thread you can see the results you can get .

[Japanscaledriver]

clear coat?

The white paint from Tamiya is very prone to this problem. With my scorcher, I just painted over the dullness with clear. I should have sanded it lightly with 2000 grit paper first, but it's white, it will only get so shiny.

[TongueTied]

Your problem probably rests with the tape. Tamiya tape is actually very good as a masking tape but all masking tapes have a tendency to perish and etch into the paint VERY quickly. 14 days doesn't really seem like enough time to etch itself into the paint but I wouldn't dare leave it on that long. Many moons ago, I worked a summer at a body shop and their painters insisted on us removing the masking tape within a few hours for fear of the tape permanently etching itself into the paint. If we didn't, they would threaten us with having to sand and rub down the tape residue and paint and pay for the respray.

I'm actually not a big fan of Tamiya paints or any rattle cans for that matter but then not everyone likes using an airbrush. However, here is what I do to deal with masking and paint bleeds. Once you have your mask down, I use a coat of AutoAir Transparent Base (product number 4004). It isn't a "clear' that you would use on the final paint job but a transparent sealer that seals the layer below; similar to a primer. Why I use it at this stage is to seal the tape edge. Any bleed that might happen is then a clear bleed and is not going to be noticeable. You can then spray your second colour over top. Because of the transparent seal on the tape, you don't have to worry about a colour bleed since the colour coat can't get under the sealed tape edge. Wait for the paint to dry but not too long; depending on the paint, a few hours should be enough. Then remove the masking tape. Leave it a few days for the paint to fully dry, then mask off the next colour and again spray a transparent base over top. I don't know of a rattle can version that is similar to the AutoAir Transparent Base but I'd be surprised if it was the only one out there.

[oz-trash-cowboy]

Once the paint has flashed off, (tacky dry) remove the tape. Pull it at 90 degrees to the edge that has been painted. This will give you the cleanest line and best allow the paint to "release" the tape without the risk of a paint to tape bond occuring. The masking tape adhesive has solvents, which can react with the pigments in the paint. Do not leave the masking tape on for any longer than necessary!!!!

[Percymon]

To add to all the good info above, if you apply a heavy wet coat any masking tape will become saturated and then the risk of bleed through and reaction/solvent dissolution of the tape adhesive and potential reaction with underlying layers.

At least two relatively dry coats is the only way to 'seal' not only the edge but also the top of the masking tape, before a heavier wet coat for smoothness.

[JYCM3]

Your problem probably rests with the tape. Tamiya tape is actually very good as a masking tape but all masking tapes have a tendency to perish and etch into the paint VERY quickly. 14 days doesn't really seem like enough time to etch itself into the paint but I wouldn't dare leave it on that long. Many moons ago, I worked a summer at a body shop and their painters insisted on us removing the masking tape within a few hours for fear of the tape permanently etching itself into the paint. If we didn't, they would threaten us with having to sand and rub down the tape residue and paint and pay for the respray.

I agree with TongueTied. Tamiya masking tape is really great stuff and I always remove the masking tape an hour or two.

[Dads203]

Thanks guys, what i forgot to mention is that the masking tape was on the body for about an hour.
I don't think it's the tape being the issue as i' ve changed the tape and the same thing, i found the blue paint marred much worse
Than the white.

I'm now going to try some halfords paint hopefully it will be more resistant.

I had great sucess with tamiya ts paint on my buggy champ, it turned out well i think.





Thanks for all your help, i'll keep you all posted on the progress with some pictures hopefully this weekend.


Dan

[WillyChang]

fresh coat's solvent is what's soaking into the tape and marring the existing gloss

it usually doesn't matter if you're gunna overcoat in clear

sometimes with metallic colours it softens the underlying paint enough
to allow the metallic particals to realign themselves differently,
this gets rather unsightly