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How to mask Alclad-painted surfaces?


Kartal

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Dear members,

I really need a piece of advice here. Recently I am working on a new project -a 1/32 Hasegawa P-47D bubble canopy model. After airbrushing the alclad polished aluminium as the main coat for the airframe, I wanted to accentuate some panels with different tones of metal (different shines of Alclad, such as stainless steel, duraluminium, etc). I masked the panel areas to be painted with a different tone. However, when I remove the masking tape after painting the second coat, I observed the tape's glue remnants over the background paint. It was a good quality modeling masking tape (Tamiya yellow) and not supposed to leave such a dirt on the surface. These are very difficult to get rid of and have ruined my hours of work. Do you know any method to clean these gum-like debris without harming the paint? What can I do next time for the panel accentuating without encountering such troubles? Thanks in advance..

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Usually, I use blue painter's tape that I have "de-stickyfied" by applying it to fabric (jeans, sweatshirt, etc.) so it sticks, just not so well. This will also work with Tamiya tape. While Alclad is a pretty tough finish (in my experiences), I treat it carefully. Using tape with less tack helps immensely. Hope this helps you!

 

 

Frank

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This is the first I've heard of Tamiya tape leaving any residue. I've never had that problem with it over Alclad or any other paint. My only question would be was it stored or sitting around in an area that's hot (90dgs or more)? Heat is the only thing I can think of that might loosen the adhesive, since it does this on other tapes too.

 

Do you have any Goo-Gone? This is an industrial adhesive remover generally used to degrease metal parts and people's hands. I've used it on clear plastic canopies with some success without affecting the paint on the canopy frames. You light try a small amount of this on a section of the Alclad with the adhesive staining to see if it wipes it off. If it also affects the paint, you shouldn't be too worse off, since it sounds like your only other choice is to repaint anyway.

 

Although there are other low tack tapes available, I'm not aware of any that are better than the Tamiya tape, and haven't used any that work better. But, next time you can try Post-It tape or Post-It notes. It's extremely low tack, but also not flexible. It'll work well for masking off a panel on a relatively flat surface, but might not have enough tack to stay bent (curved) over a fuselage side while masking a panel there. Still, it's about as harmless a masking material as I can think of.

 

The last suggestion is "old school", used on metallic finishes that are NOT maskable (like MM Metalizers and such): damp paper masks. This can be magazine pages, newspaper, or copy paper that's cut into strips or panels and then "wet". It's the wetness that allows it to stick and conform on a surface, but you have to airbrush VERY carefully to avoid blowing it off.

 

Hope something here helps!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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Greetings

I have used Alclad "a Lot" . I have had Tape lift metal finish and look like tape residue left behind. I have used SNJ buffing powder to "Repair" the finish. The best method of masking was to put a coat of Alclad Clear Coat then Mask. I use Yellow Frog Painters Tape..which is like a low tack Tamiya tape.

 

My Two cents

Bill

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Despite being told that Alclad can be masked with impunity, I too have been disappointed when trying to mask it. I used yellow Tamiya masking tape, left on only 24 hours. It pulled off the Alclad that had been dry for days. Bill, do you have a source for SNJ? I loved that stuff. I have some powder, but do not having any of the paint. Thanks. Nick Filippone

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Sorry Nick

I have two bottles of powder that I am hoping will last my Lifetime.

I had some of the Paint but it separated and I never was able to get it back..trashed it

Cheers

Bill

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Thanks for the solutions. Still I am struggling to get rid of it without damaging to the paint work.

 

Here is an example of what gives me trouble post-3215-0-80563700-1495819199_thumb.jpg

 

I think some solvent in the Alclad was first absorbed by the tape and then this dissolved some tape glue and left its residue on the paint (?) Any comments?

 

 

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Hi Altin,

 

The 3 links below are for some great striping tape I've been using to mask with. I recently used it for the multiple color Alclad job I did on the burner cans of my F-14A. It didn't lift the Alclad, didn't have any of its adhesive transfer to the model, and its resistant to most solvents. One of the really cool things about this stuff is that its really easy to get it to follow a contoured pattern and still lay completely flat...the stuff is very flexible. I use Scotch 471 tape at work for masking around aircraft antennas on pressurized planes before sealing them, but it only goes down to 1/4" wide, so I went looking for something with the same properties. I found it in the Great Planes striping tape. Try a roll of it and see if it works for you...gives a nice, crisp line between colors too, no bleed-under. Not sure if its been suggested yet, but 70% isopropyl alcohol can safely remove a lot of things with a little, gentle scrubbing with a Q-tip. Had to use that method on my F-14A when I went to put a semi-gloss clearcoat on it and picked up the wrong can...WHITE PRIMER! YIKES! I thought I had killed the whole project, but a little, careful work with alcohol and Q-tips cleaned it right up...even left most of the decals intact (glad I had a spare decal sheet).

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015NZMEA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015NU55G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015NZMFY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Here's a pic of the burner cans.

 

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/4UZvZ6wOiYMId4K50AR1qcj9WLi8rET7RWIJdWGSEDp

 

Eagle

Edited by Eaglecash867
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