PAINTING CARS-- what masking material do you use?

Alan, for my meager painting attempts, I use the green "Frog tape", it seals well at the edges and doesn't allow leaking if you seal it good.  Also, make sure you peel it off before the paint totally sets or it'll leave divots at the seam.

3M fine line masking tapes. Paper tape if doing clean, straight lines ( this is the least expensive) blue vinyl fine line for intricate curves, and turns, such as wrapping around corners, etc,……( this is more expensive)

Pat

I bow to the guy that paints cars for a living.

Good Morning Everyone,

In addition to the above mentioned tapes,  I have had good success with the Tamiya brand of various widths of masking tape.

I second the good success with Tamiya

3 for tamiya tapes.  Once I mask the real edges with tamiya, I just use plain old painters tape to mask the big areas behind it... its cheaper.

this ?

another vote for using Tamiya for taping.   It also comes in multiple widths.

Pat (Harmonyards) had a good trick for covering large areas away from the edges using aluminum foil.

$&#@ the difference in price, ….3M vs. Tamiya runs about the same, …..Tamiya is obviously more connected to model making because of the name,…..either tape would perform fine …..

Pat

Tamiya tape is hard to beat, it comes in various thicknesses & is flexible for around curves. I use it for most of my military models, especially canopy framing.

I’ve also had excellent results with green frog tape, see attached pictures for those projects.

@Boilermaker1 posted:

3 for tamiya tapes.  Once I mask the real edges with tamiya, I just use plain old painters tape to mask the big areas behind it... its cheaper.

I  2nd that. Just got done doing 3 diesels.  U can't beat that tamiya .

I've used both and for me the Tamiya is easier to press down for a clean edge, probably because it's thinner than 3m and Frog tape. I use the Tamiya for the edges, and the 3m or Frog for the rest of the mask (or paper if it's a large area).  The Tamiya tape dispenser sucks, it's a pain to peel off the dispenser, but it does a good job of keeping the roll edges clean. Clean edges is super important, try to keep any masking tape in a clean container or bag or else it will look like a used lint roller.

Whatever tape you use, keeping it clean is a great suggestion.

I am ashamed to admit that I use plain tan masking tape and "blue" tape. The blue is a bit less sticky, and that can be handy, and is useful for quickly covering large areas, like roofs.

But - I paint mostly steam locos ("which black would you like - new or weathered?"), and do few fancy diesel paint jobs. And, really, I have not noticed much in the way of ragged edges. The fancy tape that goes better around curves is a gift I need to give myself, for sure. I'm not trying to save money; I just never seem to remember to look for the Dee-loox stuff.

"3RO" and "saving money" are mutually exclusive, anyway.

Hey Alan:

I'm with GunrunnerJohn.......I like the "Frog Tape" also, but I prefer the "yellow" version. It's a bit more gentler on the surface it is sticking to, and gives a great "edge", because it is very thin.

Here is the latest job on the workbench.....changing the colour of a Baldwin AS-616 diesel shell from Pennsylvania Rail Road (PRR) green, to Union Pacific (UP) yellow and grey.

Got the shell from forum member Charlie Powel.....thank you soooo much Charlie, been on the look-out for a 616 shell for over a year. Just waiting for the decals to arrive from "The States" to finish her off!!!

Peter.......Buco Australia.

I use 3M Green automotive tape. Also spray paint border of tape ahead of final color spray. Works great.