Canopy painting advice please...

[BarryW]

I am on my second project, the Tamiya 1:48 Spitfire Vb trop.

For the first time I used Eduard paint masks and found it a lot easier to mask up the canopy than the first project where I cut masking tape around the frames.

After masking I sprayed with a Vallejo gloss varnish to seal it and prevent paint creep. A day later I sprayed the interior colour and a day later the base camo mid stone colour, the paints also Vallejo.

A day later I removed the masking and the paint on the canopy frames came away with it. On the other sections of the canopy I ran a knife around the inside of the frames before removing the masking but again with mixed results. I am now resorting to hand painting the canopy parts. I have to say that hand painting, in spite of using Vallejo Air for it, is producing better results than either previous attempts, much to my surprise, though a fair few cotes are needed and I am not finding it easy.

But where did I go wrong with the canopy masks? I have another Tamiya Spit (mk 1) to do next and have the Eduard masks for that.

I would be grateful for any advice.

[Guest]

Cannot help on the Paint Masks Barry.

But one thing is for certain painting over gloss varnish will always produce poor results. The gloss surface does not provide any stickability for paint.

As you are trying to seal the edges of the mask I would have used Vallejo matt varnish which would seal the edges & you have a better chance of the paint sticking. Used last time a thin coat of Klear which worked well.

Last time I painted a canopy I carefully scored with a knife (brand new morton blade) along the edges & this provided a better release of the tape.

Laurie

[BarryW]

Thanks Laurie. I did wonder if the varnish was the problem. I will try what you say next time.

[stona]

I've had the same problem sealing masks with varnish (Klear). I know a lot of people swear by it but I don't bother anymore. I burnish my masking down with a wooden tooth pick and then paint. Rarely a little creepage may occur but it is easily fixed later. I always dip my canopies in Klear before masking.

Cheers

Steve

[mossiepilot]

I agree With Steve. I put on a coat of Klear then hand paint, scraping off any over paint with a cocktail stick, 1:72 makes for very small masks and I ain't got the hang of it yet, lol.

Tony

[Guest]

I do the same as Tony. I dip the canopy in Klear and then let it dry overnight (with a dust cover), and then I hand paint with a '0' brush. Any paint that strays over the frame can be very delicately removed with a dampened cocktail stick. I've just done it on my latest 1/48 build and I must say it's worked better then any of my masking attempts.

As a side-note, I bought some magnifier glasses and used these; maybe one of my best model building tools are those glasses : )

[Ian M]

One more for the dip and burnish. Never had problems with it.

Ian M

[stona]

Another reason that I dip and burnish is that after spraying the interior colour onto the frames I attach my canopies to the model,and make sure any gaps are sorted.

All the subsequent stages of painting and varnishing take place with the canopy in situ. I think this helps to make the canopy look like part of the aeroplane and less stuck on. It means that my canopy and its masks get a coat of internal colour, primer,camouflage colour and varnish at least. Sometimes my masks stay on for several weeks with no problem.

Here's my latest victim primed. The canopy has first the internal frame colour and the grey primer on it at this stage.

Of course,at the end you have to remove the masks and endure a 'yippee' or 'b*gger' moment.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

I spray a coat of testors gloss coat from a rattle can after I mask and its been working good. I tried the klear with mixed results so I stay clear of it (no pun intended)

[BarryW]

Interesting all these different approaches, thank you all. I put on a second hand-painted coat last night to the frames and, as many of you suggested, cleaned up with a toothpick and it seems to have worked quite well. My main problem is that I am using Vallejo Air so I am having to let the paint dry in the pallet a bit and even then it is a bit 'thin' but one more coat should do it. I think even so the result will be better than my first build sprayed on hand-made masks.