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nowinaminute

How long to leave lexan paint to dry before removing masking tape?

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I just finally painted the black roof on my 2cv rally. If you've seen my thread on it, you'll know the paint work has been a disaster at every step.

I'm fully expecting there to me a catalog of errors when I take the masking off but I was wondering how long does it need to dry before you remove the masking?

I only ask because I'd like to get it off while the paint is soft enough to easily remove with Tamiya body cleaner BUT I know if you try to do it too soon, the paint will be like rubber and you'll get a horrible wrinkled edge where the paint stretches instead of breaking off in a clean line.

Does anyone have any idea of a minimum safe time to leave it? I usually put the coats on quite fast and dry in between with a hairdryer but once the final coat is on, I usually go the opposite way leave it a good 24 hours to make up for it.

Do you think 24 hours would be too long in terms of being able to remove any errors?

Or should I just leave it and just deal with the possible extra elbow grease needed later on?

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I think Ive found the opposite to work for me be honest. I tend to leave it about 15mins and peel off when the paint is slightly tacky as the wrinkly edge tends to shrinks back as the paint fully drys. I find it also easier to scrape off any bleeds or push back edges with a scalpel blade too when its like that. The thing to watch out for is getting accidental finger prints in it.

Where ive had problems before is where ive painted multipe colours / layers over maskingbtape and left it to dry too long which has cracked the line of the paint between whats dried on the tape and whats on the body which then needed remasking and spraying again to get the edge back.

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Really there probably isnt a right or wrong way. If the gods are feeling generous it will go well. Ive had shells ruined when im sure ive done everything right and sprayed in ideal conditions, and other times where I know im rushing or cutting corners and its worked out ok.

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Just now, Superluminal said:

To be honest there probably isnt a right or wrong way. If the gods are feeling generous it will go well. Ive had shells ruined when im sure ive done everything right and sprayed in ideal conditions, and other times where I know im rushing or cutting corners and its worked out ok.

That's exactly my experience too lol.

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Well that was grimly predictable. Most of it was ok but one bit was terrible.

I dont know what to do now. Not sure I have the will to do it all over again and what if I get the same result anyway?

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Hope it turns out OK for you.  As @Superluminal said, sometimes it just feels like you need to get lucky for everything to go right...As far as removing masking, I usually removing pretty soon after painting, sometimes right away.  Way less change of lifting an edge when removing with the paint still wet.  

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Work with masking is difficult. I found it is necessary to make sure the tape, has no air, all is on the surface, then no paint can go under the tape, usually using white tamiya masking tape for all corners. Well for me to take tape off i need the paint to be strong, because can easy scratch it, so i leave it for couple of hours, if using tamiya paints. It really depends on the paints.

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I also found out the masking liquid gives much tidier results then tape. I know a lot of you will say I just use tape and it works out great... but this stuff is better. Fact. Maybe harder to work on... depends, you need apply liquid let it dry, And then with a hobby knife mark the edges you want to paint first and peel of. Layer per layer

https://youtu.be/g7ZfsPNsiys

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I don't know if this makes sense, but I've peeled the tape off when the body stops feeling cold. Maybe it's because I'm painting in Australian conditions. I assume it's the point after all the volatile solvents have evaporated - it's around 10-15 mins, and the inside is just touch dry. I've done 4 bodies using this method and I haven't had an masking removal disasters so far.

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Every one has their way of doing things, all I would say is get stuck in have a go but the more you do the better you get. It's is something that you have to keep on doing so you don't loose them skills.

I've done a few at the same time, some don't turn out its just the way it is but I will say this TAKE YOUR TIME! always check what you are doing and lay the paint down a little at a time.

Pro tips... heat the can of paint up in hot water and then shake well and be for you start make sure the masking tape edges are stuck well.

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26 minutes ago, DayRider said:

make sure the masking tape edges are stuck well.

I have a tool especially for this, like a tiny little spoon that can press down on the edges of the masking tape. I find it invaluable. I think it's called a 'burnishing' tool?

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Unfortunately, I had the very issue I was worried about. Some of it came off beautifully but in other places, the tape didn't break away cleanly and stretched before snapping leaving a horrible wrinkly edge. The issue isn't bleed but that some paint has torn away from the body and come away with the tape.

I did all the usual stuff like burnishing the tape edge etc. It's literally just a matter of the paint being too soft still from what I can see.

I feel like I should have either done it a lot sooner or just left it 24 hours like I usually do.

Ironically, despite all the other issues I had painting the inside, this wasn't one of them! In fact, I dont think I've ever had this exact problem myself, I've just seen other people have it. Typical really. Never even thought about this problem before till this specific application where I wondered if I could take the tape off sooner than usual 🤦‍♂️

You can see in the photo that some parts are perfect and then other parts just randomly become terrible.

pwmEevM.jpg
aKL1YQ3.jpg

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that masking tape is horrible eh? I use the stuff decorators use.

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Booooo - sorry to see that i feel thats partly my fault now. Although If thats the plasticy tamiya masking tape for curves I dont think ive ever had great success with that and always find i get bleeds under it no matter how tight I press it down. I have used a roll of 3mm wide gloss black vinly tape which i use on the outside after painting before to straighten up edges and improve the line between colours espcially around areas like canopies and window frames.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Solid-3mm-50m-Roll-Sticky-Self-Adhesive-Pin-Stripe-Vinyl-Decal-Tape-Car-Styling-/171789316084?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

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3 minutes ago, Superluminal said:

Booooo - sorry to see that i feel thats partly my fault now. Although If thats the plasticy tamiya masking tape for curves I dont think ive ever had great success with that and always find i get bleeds under it no matter how tight I press it down. I have used a roll of 3mm wide gloss black vinly tape which i use on the outside after painting before to straighten up edges and improve the line between colours espcially around areas like canopies and window frames.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Solid-3mm-50m-Roll-Sticky-Self-Adhesive-Pin-Stripe-Vinyl-Decal-Tape-Car-Styling-/171789316084?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

Yes it's the tape for curves. The problem seems to be that paint got pulled off from the body rather than bleed, though.

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23 minutes ago, nowinaminute said:

Yes it's the tape for curves. The problem seems to be that paint got pulled off from the body rather than bleed, though.

Is it rally or the other 2cv? will up be able to use decals to sort it?

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10 minutes ago, DayRider said:

Is it rally or the other 2cv? will up be able to use decals to sort it?

The Rally one thankfully lol. Should be able to hide a lot of the sins. Already managed to get random little clouds of black paint underneath the main colour somehow so I'm going to probably try and do some weathering too.

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4 minutes ago, nowinaminute said:

The Rally one thankfully lol. Should be able to hide a lot of the sins. Already managed to get random little clouds of black paint underneath the main colour somehow so I'm going to probably try and do some weathering too.

some times a good black marker pen just to run in them edges I use one with a thin nib to go round the window frames.

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Painting with masking between colours is a bit of an art I find.  Never let the paint dry over night before removing masking.  Colour choice is important as you don’t want paint too thick otherwise  the crinkly edge appears when removing the masking.  I’ve found electrical insulation tape has a better adhesive to stop colour bleed getting underneath.    Also a light clear coat first to seal masking then colour on top can help.  Probably a bit late for advice now though 😕

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35 minutes ago, Toolmaker72 said:

Painting with masking between colours is a bit of an art I find.  Never let the paint dry over night before removing masking.  Colour choice is important as you don’t want paint too thick otherwise  the crinkly edge appears when removing the masking.  I’ve found electrical insulation tape has a better adhesive to stop colour bleed getting underneath.    Also a light clear coat first to seal masking then colour on top can help.  Probably a bit late for advice now though 😕

The roof paint goes on the outside anyway so I was a bit stuck really. I suppose the idea is to get that satin look you get when you use PS paint outside to better resemble the canvas roof. 

Ironically, I didn't have any bleed issues this time, I was careful to lay down really light coats at first to avoid the paint pooling up and bleeding which seemed to work well. the issue was simply the paint not breaking cleanly in some places. Just too much elasticity I suppose. Probable doesn't help that the black is one of the densest colours. 

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Ahh - hadnt realised that. I thought the orange had been sprayed over the black inside the shell. If that black paint is on the outside of the shell i think you should be able to neaten that up quite nicely with some brush on black paint or even scrape it back carefully with a pin or scalpel blade to square it off where its pulled past the line you want it.

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6 minutes ago, Toolmaker72 said:

Bridgend formerly Southampton,  Ford I guess 🤔?

Nope. Married a welsh dragon :lol:

Not together any more though. Hence the freedom to have too many RCs lol.

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