I’m painting an Tamiya M3 Grant with tri-color camo. Since I’ve read that the Brit’s camo was clearly defined, I decided to use blue tack ‘snakes’ as a mask.
Initially, my paint was too thin, so I thickened it up a bit. When I peeled off the blue tack around the areas that got the thin paint, the blue tack turned into a gooey mess, and I can’t get it off. Yes, I probably should have let it dry more, but what’s done is done.
I tried toothpicks, used blades, sanding, yelling at it, hitting it…nothing helps.
Anyone have any tips for removing gooey blue tack???
I might still be able to salvage the paint job with some touch-up, provided I can get rid of the blue tack.
Of all the brands of “tack” i have tried the only one to do that was some I got at Staples. I have used Blue Tac and never had that problem. My guess would be that the initial spray with the over thinned paint attacked the blue tac and softened it. Very little paint should get under the snake. So, even though you didn’t ask, “Hey, what happened?” if, you do… that’s my answer
Now, to answer the what do do now question…
Take a fresh clean piece of blue tack, stretched it a few times to get it a little “activated”, for lack of a better word, and press it on the stuff on the model. It should stick to itself. You may need to do it a few times but that will likely do the trick. And it’s not a rubbing motion… it’s a dabbing motion .
Not all blue tack is created equal. I’ve honestly found the blue stuff far tackier than “white tack” - there’s a product called “Simply Tacky” that you can get at Hobby Lobby that works really well for me.
As for getting the stuff off - simple - put the kit in the freezer for an hour. The blue tack will freeze up and lose its adhesion.
The pumpkin business was slow this afternoon so I tried the first two methods with some success. I tried Goo Gone on the worst spots and while it worked, it also removed the paint. Since by that time I decided the color was too orange and I was going to re-paint it, I didn’t care.
Note: A very light application of Goo Gone will clean up over-spray without harming the base coat.
Key === VERY LIGHT
Anyway, I ‘re-snaked’; adjusted the paint color and re-painted. Naturally this time, I got the paint too thick initially, but finally ended up with a half-decent job.
I think Doogs has a point here. I got this batch at a Rite-Aid back to school sale and it is really sticky. when I pulled it up after re-painting it still stuck in the rivet lines and raised detail.
I started using blue tack , now I use silly putty for masking. Leaves no residue you can apply it over decals if need be and it won’t pull them off and it leaves no residue.
