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Liquid mask?

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Seen some YT vids where liquid mask is used. Most were sprayed on but a couple used a brush and it worked well.

These vids were from the US and not been able to find this "pva" looking type here in the UK just the humbrel and maskall sort. Used the maskall on plastic kits before and its not very good for that even.

Anyone used or know a good one? Its for a lexan body,should of said this first!

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I wouldn't call it good, but this is usable in tricky places.  The brand is "Mr. Hobby." The product is "Mr. Masking Sol."   Amazon or ebay might sell it.  I've been using the same bottle since the 90's.   

[Problem 1]  Because it's liquid you can't draw a clean straight line like masking tapes.  Even curved lines would be clean looking with tapes.  

[Problem 2]  When you take it off, the edges of paint won't be sharp either.  It would be for small scale models where the spray is thin.   But for RC car, the paint is much thicker and stronger.  Masking solution doesn't have the physical strength to cleanly break away from the paint because the mask is rubbery and the Lexan paint would be rubbery too (this would be the same for hard shells).  If I could use tapes, I would use tapes.  (But the lights were difficult to mask, and they were going to be covered with stickers on the outside. The masking solution was a convenient solution) 

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I bought the liquid mask by bittydesign. The demo video looked good. I intend to spray it on and have not tried that yet. It is available in the UK, £15.99 from wireless madness.. If you intend brushing it on I could crack mine open nd give some feedback.. assuming I still have some body offcuts...

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I just checked the FAQ from bittydesign website, says can be brushed, also gives the required gun pressure and nozzle size which isn’t the on the bottle.

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38 minutes ago, Lee76 said:

I just checked the FAQ from bittydesign website, says can be brushed, also gives the required gun pressure and nozzle size which isn’t the on the bottle.

Thanks,will look that one up.

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I use masking liquid on every shell I do.  I would never go back to tape, not even for a 2-colour design with a perfectly straight junction between them.  Good masking liquid for RC (Fasmask, Bittydesign, Bob Dively) can be brushed on easily, I use 2 heavy coats applied with a 1" wide brush.  The edges you get between colours is razor sharp.  No tape can match it.  For straight lines, just use a ruler and run your knife down it when you cut the mask.  As straight as tape, never bleeds, and an even sharper line.

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53 minutes ago, LongRat said:

I use masking liquid on every shell I do.  I would never go back to tape, not even for a 2-colour design with a perfectly straight junction between them.  Good masking liquid for RC (Fasmask, Bittydesign, Bob Dively) can be brushed on easily, I use 2 heavy coats applied with a 1" wide brush.  The edges you get between colours is razor sharp.  No tape can match it.  For straight lines, just use a ruler and run your knife down it when you cut the mask.  As straight as tape, never bleeds, and an even sharper line.

LongRat, Have you ever had issues with using mask on top of tamiya spray paints? I’m planning on masking on top of the lacquered finish, I’m assuming if all the proper prep is done nothing should peel... but don’t want to find out the hard way! It’ll be on an ABS body not a lexan.

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I've never masked this stuff onto paint, only ever clean Lexan.  So I can't help you there, sorry.  I guess you need to do a test on some scrap first.

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14 hours ago, Lee76 said:

liquid mask by bittydesign

I use this. 

I've applied it with both an airbrush and a HVLP gun. The former took a long time, so to save anyone the effort, don't do this. Get an HVLP gun from eBay for £15, they just about work with a small airbrush compressor. One base coat then two thick coats and you are done.

You can spray it - or paint it - on too thin, and it won't lift if you apply a backing colour from a can. You can get it on too thick, too, to the point where it won't separate well and can take the paint off with it. Be warned. You will need to experiment. 

You can get razor sharp edges. BUT. Your scalpel - fu needs to be 10/10, because any deviation from straight or curve arc will be painfully obvious  - you can see here, the definition is great, but my weakness with a scalpel is clear. 

 

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The professionals use a combination of LM and pre-printed masks done on a plotter, put together on a computer program like illustrator. 

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When using liquid mask with PS paint, I’ve found that the paint can soften the mask, so wait times between peeling mask will need to be longer. For airbrush acrylic paint the mask doesn’t seem as affected. All the quality paint jobs done by airbrush would almost 100% use liquid mask

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45 minutes ago, mtbkym01 said:

When using liquid mask with PS paint, I’ve found that the paint can soften the mask, so wait times between peeling mask will need to be longer

PS sets like rock over the mask. If the mask isn't thick enough, it will not be strong enough to break the PS paint when you go to remove it. It will come off in shreds , which is a bit of a disaster. I've found it gets worse the longer you leave the PS. So I've kind of found the opposite - remove the mask when the paint still has a bit of tack. This might be compounded by the mask softening a little, but I haven't really noticed that. What I did notice was that if you are backing with PS the mask has to be evenly applied (HVLP gun) and thick.

I back all the airbrush stuff I do with PS paint - you kinda have to because acrylics for lexan lack the 'bite' that PS does.  A layer of PS protects and also provides the backing colour. 

The airbrush pro jobs you see...at least the ones where someone has been paid to do it - are done with a combination of plotter printed sticky back mask and liquid for large areas. But they use less liquid than you think. They don't do the detail stuff with liquid - cutting it out with a scalpel is too time consuming, risky and un-repeatable.  

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2 minutes ago, Howards said:

PS sets like rock over the mask. If the mask isn't thick enough, it will not be strong enough to break the PS paint when you go to remove it. It will come off in shreds , which is a bit of a disaster. I've found it gets worse the longer you leave the PS. So I've kind of found the opposite - remove the mask when the paint still has a bit of tack. This might be compounded by the mask softening a little, but I haven't really noticed that. What I did notice was that if you are backing with PS the mask has to be evenly applied (HVLP gun) and thick.

I back all the airbrush stuff I do with PS paint - you kinda have to because acrylics for lexan lack the 'bite' that PS does.  A layer of PS protects and also provides the backing colour. 

The airbrush pro jobs you see...at least the ones where someone has been paid to do it - are done with a combination of plotter printed sticky back mask and liquid for large areas. But they use less liquid than you think. They don't do the detail stuff with liquid - cutting it out with a scalpel is too time consuming, risky and un-repeatable.  

All liquid mask

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My best mate probably paints 3-4 shells a week, yes he sometimes uses stencils or vinyl masks, but only after completely coating the body in liquid mask, always backs the paint with PS, but only after the entire job is complete. 

I know of others who exclusively cut out logo’s by free hand, they draw the design on the overspray film, then cut the design fully, every cut made before any peeling and painting, additionally, the blade does not leave the surface until all cuts that are connected are made.

There are a few ways that these guys get the results they do is my point here, I know this first hand

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Since using liquid mask for the first time, I have never turned back.

I have found the mask can get soft, but not sure if it's the PS paint, or being warm from the hairdryer?

Nearing the end of the spray job after multiple coats of multiple colours, I need to run the scalpel along the cut lines as the paint seals the cuts and can be hard to peel the mask otherwise.

In saying that, I do use a bit of paint to get the colour density I'm after. The weight difference is noticeable. Next time I paint a shell, I'll weigh it before and after.

 

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25 minutes ago, mtbkym01 said:

All liquid mask

Yes! Looks great. You can get really good results with it, I'm not disputing that. It's probably the sweet spot for hobbyists in terms of what you can achieve and the outlay you need to make. Vinyl, a plotter and the expertise to put it all together are not cheap, but they allow a level of speed and repeatability that you can't get with LM, which is why those who make a living from paintwork tend to steer towards it. 

This was the second shell I did with LM, like you say, drawn freehand then cut from the back with scalpel. Found getting consistent line widths a near impossibility once a couple of layers of paint were down. Next time I try something like this I'll use curve tape for the curves and LM for the bulk of the mask.  

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The ability to get even line widths freehand is why these painters can charge for their work, like I say, my mate who owns a Hobbyshop does this a lot (and gets paid) and most of his work is freehand, As do others that I know of in the racing scene where I live. JA Designs (A painter I have used previously) has painted concourse  winning designs at world championship events (he is actually sponsored by Bittydesign to use their liquid mask).  Yes they use stencils (mostly hand held) to get different effects, and stick on vinyl, but I think you’ll find that the liquid mask is the more common method, not less common is what I’m trying to get across

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10 hours ago, mtbkym01 said:

The ability to get even line widths freehand is why these painters can charge for their work, like I say, my mate who owns a Hobbyshop does this a lot (and gets paid) and most of his work is freehand, As do others that I know of in the racing scene where I live. JA Designs (A painter I have used previously) has painted concourse  winning designs at world championship events (he is actually sponsored by Bittydesign to use their liquid mask).  Yes they use stencils (mostly hand held) to get different effects, and stick on vinyl, but I think you’ll find that the liquid mask is the more common method, not less common is what I’m trying to get across

I bow to their god-like skills then! Wish I could do that. I did see some Bitty shells that looked like they had a sketch effect which is presumably something that can only be done with LM. 

Would be good to see other shells people on here have done with it - I've got a couple that have stalled due to other things but this inspired me to pick one of them up again. 

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This is an example of what can be done with Liquid Mask and tattooist like skills. This was traced onto the overspray film, then hand cut and airbrushed. The skills are god like as you say

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Admittedly this is a 1/8 scale body so has a little more space, but it blows me away that my mate can do this, it’s skills I’d love to possess. Liquid mask really is an amazing product 

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13 hours ago, mtbkym01 said:

The ability to get even line widths freehand is why these painters can charge for their work, like I say, my mate who owns a Hobbyshop does this a lot (and gets paid) and most of his work is freehand, As do others that I know of in the racing scene where I live. JA Designs (A painter I have used previously) has painted concourse  winning designs at world championship events (he is actually sponsored by Bittydesign to use their liquid mask).  Yes they use stencils (mostly hand held) to get different effects, and stick on vinyl, but I think you’ll find that the liquid mask is the more common method, not less common is what I’m trying to get across

JA Designs work is AMAZING!. I tried to find some old photos on RCTech, but they have disappeared.

@Howards, this mans work cannot be believed until seen. Think the tiny sponsor logos on something like a Rough Rider or Super Champ, JA can cut that by hand with a scalpel and LM.

He is truly a God. B)

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1 hour ago, Falcon#5 said:

JA Designs work is AMAZING!. I tried to find some old photos on RCTech, but they have disappeared.

@Howards, this mans work cannot be believed until seen. Think the tiny sponsor logos on something like a Rough Rider or Super Champ, JA can cut that by hand with a scalpel and LM.

He is truly a God. B)

I actually remember seeing his work and being surprised that he was doing it freehand. I asked a couple of people - who are literally painting shells and other things for a living - and they were using vinyl and LM because of the increase in speed it afforded, but then they simply wouldn't agree to try something like JA's work or the freehand Hulk above at a 'normal' £ price. Their designs although technically awesome - literally no mistakes - were quite samey after a while.  

I'm doing the 2008 VIP Porche shell at the moment and I'm going to paint some of the details rather than using the stickers. Nerve wracking. 

Way back in the 90's when I was racing a chap at my club painted Sonic on the nose of a Cougar 2000 shell - it was incredible. And I think he did it with tape. Which made it even more nuts. Paint and graphics were his living though. 

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GT3 went OK. Mix of painted and sticker details. Slight variation in the Ti gold stickers vs. paint makes me think backing it in black would have helped. spacer.png

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On 7/27/2020 at 5:41 PM, Howards said:

Updates

 

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These look great, can I ask if there’s ever any issue with trimming the body after painting? Do you use a knife or scissors? Does paint ever peel? And is leaving the body untrimmed just for ease of holding while painting or making the mask easier to peel off? Any insight (Pro’s cons)  appreciated I have a Fat Fox to do.. lots of trimming and masking..

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6 hours ago, Lee76 said:

These look great, can I ask if there’s ever any issue with trimming the body after painting? Do you use a knife or scissors? Does paint ever peel? And is leaving the body untrimmed just for ease of holding while painting or making the mask easier to peel off? Any insight (Pro’s cons)  appreciated I have a Fat Fox to do.. lots of trimming and masking..

Good question. You have to be careful but I think this is a good thing. I’ve been a bit trigger happy with unpainted shells and regretted the speed at which I’ve gone at them which led to mistakes. 
 

Curiously with the painted shells, other than not damaging the paint, you can be a little rough with the lines and it’s really unnoticeable. I’ve not had the paint flake or come away
 

I do leave them for about a week to cure beforehand. So they paint is pretty tough. I use scissors where I can - the Porsche and presumably most touring shells are easy like this. The buggy shells I use a knife to score then snap the  lexan. Then finish with some wet and dry. Sometimes use a dremmel to cut and to sand. 
 

I find it’s easier to manipulate them for painting when the flashing is still attached and it also gives you a small safe zone for testing colours. 

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