The Little World

Well the experiment went as planned – I waited 24 full hours before masking and spraying two mules.

I checked that the red surfaces felt absolutely dry, then used both the cheap and the expensive masking tape to make a pattern. A spray with the vile turquoise colour and an hour’s wait until it had dried.

The result was similar to the first batch, but to a much lighter degree. The expensive tape left a smaller mark, but it still did disrupt the gloss surface of the paint. So it was a case of waiting another 24 hours before the second set of mules could be done…wait…wait…

Aaaaand the 48 hour results are in – still a visible mark, but somewhat less than the 24 hr. But it definitely means that no aqueous gloss can stand masking and expect to remain untouched.

Note – at this stage of the game I eschewed science and went for a hunch. I tried spraying a Mr. Color solvent-based lacquer as first coat and then let it set for only one hour. Then tape masking and the second coat. When it was ready for the peel-and-reveal there was only the very faintest evidence of a masking material pattern but you had to be primed to see it in a strong light.

The conclusion I have drawn from the last three days is to use the gloss aqueous stuff up as the occasion permits in areas that are never to be masked – but to do all the complex patterns with either matt surface aqueous acrylic or lacquer-based acrylic. And that the expensive tape is good for curved lines but the straight masking can be done with the cheap stuff – and large areas can actually be blocked out with hardware store tape. Or Avery label material if the surface is flat.

I shall totter off and clean up the Little Workshop. There are bits of sticky tape attached to every surface including the shop spiders. And that will be the end of testing for the time being – if I get any more mules I’ll be hauling borax in Death Valley…