"Masking tape tears my paint when I pull it off..." Topic

I've used masking tape to paint some straight lines on a building (window and door trim, stuff like that). I'm using acrylic on plastic and sometimes when I pull the tape up it rips little chunks out of the paint and I have to go back and touch it up, which usually messes up the straight line.

I'm particularly having problems with this when I do enamel paint on die cast cars.

Any suggestions/advice?

What kind of tape are you using? Also, how long are you letting the paint dry before pulling it off?

I would say you should either pull it off before the paint dries or let the paint dry fully and completely and then pull it off…

Brandon

Use the blue painters' tape. I've had excellent luck with that. It seals well enough to prevent paint leakage but comes off easily without pulling paint with it. I got mine at Home Depot.

"Use the blue painters' tape."

And (as I found out last weekend) they have a "sensitive" type now in addition to the regular that I have used before.

Another vote for blue painter's tape.

Model hobby shops have a special tape used for painting models and airplanes. I found tape under Tools/paint/accessories. They have a 800 number and great to work with when I walk in their store.

link

Another blue tape recommendation here. Its good stuff.

Yes, as others have said above. Try to use low tac tape (even less sticky ones than painters'/masking tape) especially made for modelers (Tamiya is the name brand here) or for people who sew/embroider. Check out the appropriate section in hobby and craft stores.

Also you need to wait for the initial paint to dry thoroughly. The adhesion problem might also be caused by your not having sufficiently cleaned the underlying plastic surface with detergent etc. before you put the coat of acrylic on.

Gloss diecast paint probably needs to be lightly sanded before it would take another coat properly.

There is also a special tape used for airbrushing, sold in 8-1/2" x 11" sheets. Look for it in the drybrushing section of your local hobby shop or craft store. I got mine from Michael's, and I think it was Badger brand.

Back in the "old days," the trick we used was to put the tape on your skin first, before applying it to the model. That way, it picks up some of the skin oils, and it less tacky.

I've heard some people use low-tack office products (i.e., "yellow stickies").

Definitely use blue painters tape. Having spent a great portion of my life painting and refinishing, I would say you aren't allowing the paint to dry thoroughly. Possibly, the tape is pressed against the area you are trying to paint and when you lift it off it's catching more than you want.

TIP: When pulling blue tape off, pull it off at a 45 degree angle. I find this creates less paint peel.

Good luck!
-Steve

The paint can peel in two ways: paint under the tape can stick to the glue or the tape can lift up the new paint. For the first problem, there are several options.

First, you can not use tape at all. If you are painting on a flat surface you can use a sharp edge and hold it in place to paint the edge. Second, you can use frisket which is a clear film used for masking when airbrushing. It is very low tack and comes in sheets that can be cut to shape. The glue is also much more evenly applied making bleeding of thin paint much less of an issue. If you must use tape or frisket, make sure that the paint underneath has cured completely. I would give it at least 24 hours as curing happens long after the paint "feels" dry. Also important is surface preparation for the paint underneath (i.e. cleaned and primed.)

If the tape is peeling off the new paint, then you are letting the paint dry too much before removing the tape. The tape should be removed while the paint is still fluid. This eliminates peeling, and also greatly reduces paint bleeding under the tape through capillary action. If you have to do more than one coat then this doesn't work very well. In that case, use a sharp edge pressed down on the model parallel to the tape. This prevents chipping but takes more time that peeling when wet and doesn't prevent bleeding.

HTH,
Tony C.

A light slice along the tape edge with a razor does wonders

the simplest way to solve this problem is in the way you remove the tape. When you pull the tape off make sure you pull it back on itself so that the tape thats no longer in contact with the surface is pretty much back to back with the tape still stuck down. This effectively "cuts" the paint that overlaps the tape edge and prevents the paint from lifting – don't pull the tape off at 90 degrees to the surface!

[I've used masking tape to paint some straight lines on a building (window and door trim, stuff like that).]

Maybe you should use decals.

tchristney hit it: it's the new paint coming off. The die case cars are very hard (someone else pointed out that they are actually baked). I will switch to the blue tape (or try the skin/oil tip) and pull it off while mostly wet but not runny.

Thank you all VERY much!

I have also used the tape on the skin method when draftsman tape was not available. Have never used the blue, but it should work.
Draftsman tape has a low tack so it does not tear vellum.

Cutting along the edge, as mentioned above, also helps to remove it cleanly.

Never use tape. A 'bad' habit I picked up painting house interiors. Straight lines aren't that hard if you use an angled brush.

Need a straight line painting 1:1? Use a 2 inch sash brush.

Need a straight line painting 1:64? Use a Winsor & Newton 560 Angle.

Regards, the Gorb

Well, I post an average of once every 3.89 days. That means I should reach 400 posts sometime about mid-September.

Regards, the Gorb

the Gorb: There is no way my hand is steady enough at these small sizes to paint a straight line, even with an angled brush. The tape must stay, I'm afraid.

Actually, it's funny. When I was a kid my dad owned a body shop and I spent many a summer of my teenage years sanding, grinding, doing bondo, and taping off cars. Of course, you had to because we were spray painting. I even did some pinstriping (but not much, dad usually did that while I was doing grunt work on another part of the car). Now, here I am, decades later spending my summer doing it on tiny little cars.

There's a bit of synchronicity in there somewhere.

the Gorb: Last night I topped 1,200 posts and this morning I was ranked as No. 99 in the Top 100 Posters. I don't know how long I'll keep that rank, but it's nice to bask in the glow for a day.

;-)