The Little World

I counted up the bottles on my Little Workshop shelf and I now have more masks than Zorro.

That’s not counting the tiny rolls of modellers masking tape or the big ones from Bunnings – I’m talking about bottles of goo designed to mask under spray paint.

a. Maskol from Humbrol – the heading image.

I’m willing to bet this is a spinoff from some old rubber cement mask that was used in the days of typesetting and offset printing…it has that sort of dead office odour. Ammonia, apparently.

It works a treat masking under enamel – also under acrylics or solvent paints. But it can react over any of the last two paints and slightly disrupt the surface. It dries readily, but hardens over a three-day period to make it very difficult to remove. Beware if you are running around delicate parts.

b. Micro Mask from Micro Scale Industries.

A clear blue gel that you can push into fairly tight corners. It carries a warning that it is not suitable for acrylic paints. It can sometimes creep back from the edges of the work and let paint under, but it is otherwise useful. It can strip off paint if there is no undercoat to anchor it.

c. Mr. Masking Sol Neo

A blue version of Maskol but without the fierce ammonia odour. Remains rubbery after drying.

d. Mr. Masking Sol R

A slightly thicker version of the Micro mask. Does not creep back from edges. Possibly the most useful of the solutions.

All these are adjuncts to the tapes. Use the small expensive tapes to outline the area you are protecting like a wing edge and then infill with cheaper hardware store tape and finish off any un-maskable areas with the liquid solution.

Monitor the setting of the paint closely and remove the mask as soon as you can safely do so – this prevents it from marking the undersurface.

In a pinch you can use PVA glue as a mask for some windows or other flat surfaces but beware that you may have a fight to get it all off later.