Hey everyone. Got a question I could use help with. I use Tamiya masking tape when working on model kits, or painting TFs. For my last TF custom, Minerva, I used masking tape to mask parts off. For example, on her chest, after I finished painting, and the paint had dried, I pulled the masking tape off, and it left a teared look where the white and red areas meet. Any tips on how to prevent this? Photo below for my example. Thanks!

 

When you pull down the tape, try and pull it down almost at a angle.

 

I think lighter coats of paint might help as well. (?)

 

Last custom I did I took the masking tape off before the paint fully dried.

 

You can try (if you feel you have a super-steady hand) to go down the line of tape with an exacto knife -- the slight impression made by the blade may look cool actually as sort of a panel line. But you have to be painstakingly slow and steady. Just let the weight of the pen knife's blade do the work, do not cut into it.

 

Not knowing exactly how you've been doing it previously, I htink my best suggestion would be to pull the tape away from the paint rather than pulling up from it.

 

These are my 2 suggestions too.
-G

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try them out.  

 

That wouldn't pull some of the paint off if still slightly wet?

 

I usually just take a q-tip dipped in thinner and smooth out the blemishes from tape removal.

 

I remove the tape as soon as I put down the brush/spraycan, check out the stripes around the outside of the wings on my Starcream(brushed) and Skywarp(sprayed) for example.

If the paint is still wet the edge seems to settle a bit instead of leaving a ridge.

Hakka.

 

Okay. So then it won't pull the dry paint off of the other sections? I'm worried about putting tape down on the white I have painted and getting that ripped off.

 

looks to me like you need better tape. Regular masking tape sometimes doesn't have the tack for razor sharp lines. Also, it's extremely important you never store your tape flat on it's side, the adhesives on the edge will pick up dust and dirt and ruin the tape's edges. The paint or time you're pulling it off is usually irrelevant.

I use (constantly) tamiya's tape:

 

Actually, I use the Tamiya tapes, with the housing, as shown in the photo above.

 

oh wow then. I am gonna guess your paint (when tape's applied) is too thick. Is it the paint which is actually "tearing/giving you a poor edge"?

 

Yeah it is the paint tearing off. I'll try to do less coats next time and see how it goes.

 

Haven't tried the Tamiya tape, but I've had some success with Frogtape (Alphamagnus pointed me to it and did a nice tutorial on it over at Sector70). I used it to tape off the windows of my Jazz and Ratchet customs (both of which I haven't had time to take new WIP shots on due to packing and moving). But it worked well. I've used regular masking tape over the years and the tape just doesn't do a good job, so avoid that. As mentioned, just do light coats of paint and pull the tape away from the edge that was painted.

I don't suggest using a hobby knife to cut along the edge of the tape. It could slip and cut a chunk of the plastic (or windows, if those are taped off).

 

One of the things I do is take the strip of tape I'm about to use and place it on the leg of my pants (as if to mask the area on my pants). Take it off and repeat the process a few times. What this does is it gets lent from my pants onto the adhesive of the tape, making the tape not as sticky as before. It's still sticky enough to cover and adhere to my area, but not enough to do any sort of damage to the masked area.

 

Gave it some thought...I really think it's your paint. It's either too thick, or too rubbery. Sometimes, acrylics tend to be very pliable/rubbery. Even if dry they "tear" on an edge.