Newbie - Revell 458 Italia - How do I paint window detail?

[Guest]

Hi, I'm a newbie so sorry if this is in the wrong forum.

I am in the middle of building my 458 Italia and it's coming along well. This is my first model since I was 12, and lets just say that was "some time ago". I am trying my best to avoid the mistakes I made all those years ago.

I am currently at the stage where I need to work on the glass. My question is around painting the window rubbers and black edging on the glass itself. The kit has etched areas of glass that would take the black paint. My question is "how do I do it neatly?" the window etching done by Revell is perfect, but how do I make it black? I have tried masking it, but finding it tricky to do neatly. Are there any secret / special techniques you guys can tell me that might help?

Feeling a little frustrated, as everything else is coming along really nicely except this (

Thanks in advance,

Olly.

[yak face]

Hi olly welcome to the forum. If youre wanting to get a neat edge , possibly curved too , then strips of Tamiya tape or similar should be fine. Are you painting the black on the inside of the clear part ? If the edge is curved quite tightly on the corners then it really helps to cut the tape into thin strips 2 or 3 mmm wide as these will bend round the corners easier. You can cut the tape with a steel rule , just stick it on a piece of glass or an old ceramic tile and cut into thin strips. If it helps post us a picture of the part youre doing , hopefully someone better qualified than me (ie ,someone who does cars!) might have a better solution , hope this helps , cheers tony

[Wendall]

Hi Olly and welcome. There is sometimes an easier way but I've had a quick look online for pre cut window masks but I can't find any for this particular model. So unless you are confident enough to attempt them freehand then the method Tony has described is realy the only way. It is definitely worth the time and effort though as this is one of those details that can help turn a good build into a great build. Good luck with it mate and it would be great to see some pics.

Jason

[Guest]

Thank you Tony - I will certainly try the Tamiya tape - will do a bit of googling now. I have just gone out to my man shed and taken a few pics. It's a little tricky to catch the etching, but I think I have managed it. You're correct, I will be looking to paint the inside of the clear part to hopefully get a better finish from the outside.

If anyone else knows of a magic trick, please let me know!!

Thanks again,

Olly.

[Guest]

Thanks Jason - I have a roll in my shopping cart ready to go

[Wendall]

Just a quick point, Tamiya tape is good stuff but make sure you burnish the edge well when you've applied it and you are happy with the positioning. I use the end of a paint brush to do this, this way you shouldn't get any paint creeping under the edge and spoiling the effect.

Jason

[Guest]

sure - will do. Pot of white spirit on standby for when it all goes wrong!!

[flyjoe180]

Hi Olly. When you make your mask use a very sharp knife to get the best results. As Jason said burnish the edges thoroughly to prevent paint creep. You should at the end of it have a nice cleanly painted window.

[Guest]

I use bare metal foil as it burnishes down tighter than tape and instead of paint you can also use a black marker pen as an option.

[Guest]

You could aways use a Sharpie pen, also use the pen to run round the side edge so that when the clear part is in place you can't see down through the clear part into the car body.

Try this link

[Guest]

I built this one a few years back.

A simple tip - don't try to mask the entire window in one go.

Use one strip of tape and mask one edge, then paint it.

You could actually mask two opposite edges and paint them together.

When dry, mask the other two edges and paint them.

Touch in the little curved corners afterwards with a black Sharpie.

It takes more time but is pretty easy to do.

Here's my build, done the way I describe, all the windows were done in the same way:

Roy.

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[Guest]

Sweeeeet

Scott