Does anyone know who makes the narrowest masking tape? I would love to have 1/8"-wide, or better yet 1/16"-wide Tamiya tape, but I think their narrowest is 1/4". Pactra makes tape down to 1/16", I believe, but their tape is thicker than Tamiya and doesn’t have the adhesion or flexibility. Something as good as Tamiya in1/8" or 1/16" would be ideal… if such a thing exists. Suggestions? Thanks,
Tom
Aizu from Japan makes some very thin masking tapes, you can use them to mask very narrow stripes, etc.
Talking sub-mm width here.
Jammy Dog (in the UK) sell tape as thin as 0.5mm and go up from there in .25mm increments. I’ve ordered from them before and received the order quickly to the U.S.
3M 471+ Finline tape is available down to 1/8" & is readily available, very flexible & works well for masking;
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?mwsId=SSSSSu7zK1fslxtUn8_U58_Bev7qe17zHvTSevTSeSSSSSS--
HL, Michael’s, Office Depot & Office Max all carry something called Art Tape…basically just really narrow masking tape…and it’s waaaay cheaper than the Tamiya stuff. I picked up a couple rolls of 1/8" and a roll of 1/4" for $1(US) each a few weeks ago on clearance!
I picked up some stuff at Hobby Lobby called 3M Scotch Artist Tape for Curves that’s at most 1/8".
There’s also the artist tape RESlusher mentioned, but personally I find the roll I picked up at Office Max far too sticky for my liking. YMMV though.
Pretty sure Gunze also makes narrow tape strips - think I’ve seen them while browsing on Sprue Brothers.
Another option is to lay out some Tamiya or whatever tape on a sheet of glass, break out a straightedge, and start slicing.
TB: Get some 3M 218 fineline tape at any auto parts store like NAPA or Advance. aceses5[snWcm]
Thanks everyone for the advice. You suggested several sources that I’d never considered and I will investigate those. I did just run across the 3M Artist Tape for Curves on the internet, but can’t find a provider locally. Michael’s here doesn’t have it, and the local Art store doesn’t carry any 3M products. For me, 1/8"-wide tape is almost good enough for curves and irregular surfaces (if it’s thin enough), but 1/16" is way better and makes the task just SOOOOO much quicker and easier. Once I get that initial line down, it takes no time at all to back it up with wider tape and/or paper masks. Thanks again for the leads.
Tom
Auto parts stores carry very thin vinyl pin striping tape. Its extremely flexible and comes in a large variety of sizes. I just put a piece of Sure Tape sold at Sherwin Williams on an old ceramic tile and cut the size I need. Sure tape is the same as Tamiya but waaay cheaper.