masking?

[Nathan G 123]

I am new to ship building but I have built alot of aircraft and armour anyway I am just looking for some advice on how you guys paint ships I have got the cyberhobbby USS Cole and this will be my first ship models do u mask it as this was my intention but it would be quite difficult I think ?

[Timmy C]

Well, the simple answer would be how you answer this question: "Can I paint this part of the ship nicely without using a mask?" If you can, then go ahead and do it without masking - if you can't, then mask.

For example, what I usually do on the decks is to paint everything the deck colour (Dark grey in this case), and then go back and pick out the details with the colour of the fitting (in this case, haze grey). Do you think you can do this without masking the areas around the fittings?

[Nathan G 123]

thank you :)

[Rob-UK]

That's good advice, I'm also planning a large 1:350 ship, and was wondering the best method for airbrush painting.

So the recomendation is painting the deck first, then for vertical surfaces mask along the deck at the edge of the vertical bulkhead surface and spray the vertical surface haze grey. I intend painting all small details/parts by brush.

[les]

I build in scale larger than 350th. I always paint the vertical surfaces first. The reason, it's easier to mask the vertical surfaces than the deck. If the deck is serperate you can always paint them before assembling, however you'll probably have some touch up. Just my way of doing things.

[Rob-UK]

Ok thanks. I think it'll be a case of look at how the kit builds up and see if it can be assembled in sections that makes the vertical surfaces easier to mask. It would make sense to do the verticals first, as the scheme I'm doing has the verticals in a lighter shade (haze grey) than the decks.

[aleccap]

Can I throw a spanner in the works, there's (a great surprise to me !) several types of spray/rattle tin, and paint masks on the market, on one Japinese carrier, the decking is so complex you either need to be an artist or use a mask, 1-350 aircraft mask, hull mask, look on ebay also WEM carries some, make sure you know what you're searching for. Timmy C said about painting around small pieces 000 paint brush after giving everything a base colour, if you're simply using masking tape, be carful of paint build up along the edges of the tape. Hope this goes a little way to help.

[DrPR]

There are some liquid rubber masks that can be brushed on over painted parts. The liquid sets up to a flexible semi-solid rubber coat in a few minutes. Then you can spray paint right over the masked parts. After the paint dries, the rubber masks just lift off.

This stuff is great for masking complex shapes where masking tape won't work, and it adheres tightly to surfaces so the spray can't run under. It is also perfect for masking very tiny details. You can use very thin coats and this reduces the "edge" of dried paint around the masks.

You can also paint on complex mask shapes, like camoflage patterns, much easier than trying to create a paper or tape mask.

[Hallis]

I'm going to bring this thread back to ask a question. So as far as secondary gun tubs, etc, I haven't had much luck in masking the vertical surfaces with tape, Would the liquid mask be much easier to use in this case and just do it in a reverse order? Paint the deck first, and then mask off the deck and paint the vertical surfaces of the tubs and bulkheads using the liquid mask? I had some difficulty getting nice crisp transition lines on my arizona build, especially on the weather deck where all the smaller secondaries were.