Hi all.
Ive recently returned to modelling after a 20 year gap and am thoroughly enjoying it.My first project is the Airfix Mk1 Spitfire 1/72.
Everything has been going really well,with a lot of help hints and tips from this site.
Until now.
I sprayed the wings/fusalage in green and made masks for the wings.After seeing a tip about using blue tac to anchor the mask I elected to use that after deciding against using water to anchor the paper fearing getting paper stuck to the paintwork. Bad move I think.
After getting the thinners/enamel ration a bit thin,,I have runs of paint under the masks.(very thin obviously but a mess nonetheless).
Also,,the blue tack has stuck into the paint where it has run under the mask!
Im pretty confident the blue tac will come off ok after the paint has dried and cured.
What methods do people recommend to get me back on track?
Im tempted to abandon the paper mask technique on this particular kit and brush paint the rest of the camoflage,or at least to redefine the pattern on the wings.
Looking forward to hearing your advice on the matter.

I’ve recently tried using blue tack myself so I can’t be of much help.

I’ve just used the tack as the mask with out any paper and it worked fine.

Hi Nigel and welcome to Armorama ....and welcome back to modeling ! Sounds like you got quite a mess on your hands. I think you might have to strip all the paint off with easy-off and start over...If the paint isn't too thick you might just try a light sanding and repainting ...the trick about using the paper masks is you need to lower the air pressure on your compressor and spray a very thin layers of paint . The trick is to always spray away from the sides of the mask towards the middle of the color you want to build up... I hope this makes sense to you...

all the best
Rick

Hi and thanks for the advice.
Looks like im going to have to strip the paint off and start again.
After looking through a few postings Ive decided to go with the oven cleaner method.
The airbrush Im using is a single action one, ie I cant regulate the width of coverage,and Im using a can of compressed air with a regulator on top of the can.( no pressure gauge)
Is it possible to regulate the air pressure using this method or I am reliant on the amount of pressure I put on the trigger?
As its the first model Im building since starting modelling again Im fully expecting to use it as a guinea pig for various techniques and wont be put off my "minor setbacks".Although it looked like a pretty major one when I took the masking off!!!!
While deciding which way to go Ive played around with fixing paper masks with water and it certainly looks like the way forward.
All I need to do now is figure out an accurate way of measuring the paint/thinner ratio!
Thanks for the advice guys!!

Happy to report that the oven cleaner method of removing enamel paint has worked fine.
Instead of looking at the mess I was confronted with this morning I now have a spitfire devoid of paint and ready to start again.
Cant say Im convinced about the blue tac method of masking.Anyone out there used it and had good results??
I can now continue from where I was a few days ago safe in the knowledge that if it all goes belly up I now know its not irreversable damage.

I have used liquid mask successfully. As with all things there is a learning curve

We should have stock options on Easy off and Future floor wax..Welcome aboard Nigel.. I think I might know how to help you... A simple fix really... Change to building armour...
Look forward to seeing whatever you build

dave

Havn't tried this myself but I've seen quite a few people on other sites who have used 'silly putty' as a mask with excellent results.A LeClerc and a Hetzer spring to mind.

Hi Nigel!

The blue-Tak method works well if you use it like I did on my Gloster Pioneer (see First Jets article, picture 12 and text) While time intensive, it gives 100% results!
About changing to Armor like dave (Mojo) suggested... don't think about it! :-)

Jean-Luc

Hi everyone and thanks for the advice.
Armour?,,,no thanks,,I built enough Tamiya German armour kits when I was a teenager and the thought of zimmeritt makes my head spin even more than normal!
The underside is sprayed up nicely again and tomorrow I intend to mask it and spray the top brown.Then over the next couple of days mask and spray the green over that.
Im goin to try with the whitetac approach to masking.Thanks for the link!!
Has anybody had any problems with blue/white tac leaving oily marks when removed?
Id love to do the brown and green individually but I dont have a double action airbrush ......YET!..
Looks like one of those and a compressor is definately the way forward.Should be a lot easier to get consistent results with a steady air pressure methinks.and being able to spray thin lines instead of the all or nothing technique of a single action brush sounds fabulous.
Yep,,armours definately got the boot as santas bought me a Beaufighter,a Lancaster and an Me 109 to be going on with.
Although quite how Im going to replicate that mottled camoflage on the 109 is a whole new problem to work through and solve.

I intend to post a photo or two of the completed Spit when I get around to finishing it so watch this space.