I am not sure this is the right forum for this question, so my apology if it is not.
I finished up the paint on my helicopter model this morning, and now I’m trying to remove the masks on the canopy and side windows. They are not being cooperative, to say the least. Thus far I’ve managed to remove a few of them, but it was not easy. And the risk of damaging the model seemed high using the method I normally have used, that being to lift an edge of the mask with tweezers and then peel it off. These edges seem to be well stuck down.
For some background info, the masks are from Flying Leatherneck, and they are made of some form of blue plastic. I was very pleased with them, as they fit well and were relatively easy to remove from the backing paper and apply. The directions said that they should be removed as soon as possible after painting was done. So thats what I’m trying to do. But note that the painting process took about a week, starting with Tamiya Fine white primer, followed by a coat of Vallejo acrylic, then a coat of Testors Gloss, then a final coat of Testors Dullcote.
Do you folks have any suggestions or tips on how I should go about removing the masks? Would using a hair dryer to warm the masks up a bit help. They seem pretty stiff to me, especially compared to other masks I’ve used in the past.
I often use “P-Mask” canopy masks, which may be made of a similar type of material. I usually tease up one corner of each panel with the tip of a No. 11 blade, to make the tweezers’ work a bit easier. If you don’t want to risk that, maybe a sharpened cocktail stick/toothpick might be worth trying? Softening the mask with a hairdryer sounds like it might help, too.
I prefer paper masks, not keen on the vinyl ones. But eitehr way, i use a fresh scalpel blade and pul up one corner. If need be, run the blade around the edhe of the panel to seperate the paint.
Yup. Sharpened toothpick here as well. Also works extremely well for peeling liquid masking fluid out of really tiny places, without the risks of not knowing that you’re having an off day until its too late.
Thanks for the suggestions and advice folks. I’m happy to report that with your help, I just finished removing the masks without any damage to the canopy. Phew!!
The method that worked best for me was using a #11 blade to lift the edge of the mask at a point I had lightly scribed along the edge with the blade. Then I used the tweezers to carefully remove it. And for these plastic masks, warming them up with a hair dryer seemed to really help getting them to come loose without leaving any sticky residue. They became more flexible when warm, and it seemed to lessen their adhesion to the canopy. So there was no tearing or breakiing of the mask into smaller pieces, which was a problem I had prior to warming them up.
I have a good set of tweezers that has a pair of needle-sharp points. They have been discussed in the tools forum. Ten tweezers to the set, I think, and at reasonable prices from Amazon. I have never found a mask or masking tape I could not get under with those. I forget the brand name but will look at them in a day or two unless someone else has the name.
I got them after the recommendation in the tools forum and were delighted.
Yeah, I use a toothpick when removing masking, whether tape or masks. I’ve found that no matter how careful I am with a metal tool, it’ll scratch the clear. I use the toothpick to lift, then a tweezer to pull the mask away. I use a toothpick to remove any paint that bled, too.
I failed to mention I don’t try to stick the #11 between the mask and the canopy. I poke the blade into the masking material at a slight angle and raise it. Tape comes up, blade never touches the clear styrene.
Pixnor is the brand of that tweezer set I got from Amazon. One of the set has needle sharp points. Amazon has several sets, I got the cheapest seven piece set, eight bucks.