Question: What Masking Materials Do You Use When Painting an RC Body?
When painting clear Lexan RC bodies you probably don't want every part of it to be the same color. Masking is a technique used to cover areas of an RC body that you don't want painted a certain color or that are to be left clear. There are several different masking materials that can be used to accomplish this task. What you don't want is something that permanently bonds with the body material such as glues or anything with a strong bonding agent that will prevent you from painting the area if you choose to do so later in the process.
Answer: You can use multiple types of tapes or rubber cements as your masking materials.When using tape you want a tape that adheres to the Lexan but with the least amount of residue when removed. This makes cleaning easier if that area is to be painted later. When working with any new or unfamiliar tape or liquid masking materials it's always a good idea to test it on a scrap piece of Lexan (such as the wheel well area that will be cut away later). Make sure it adheres to the plastic but comes off -- leave it on for a little while -- with little or no residue and doesn't damage the plastic.
When you start to paint an RC body you will be working in layers (multilayer design) sometimes masking over already painted areas. Or, there might be a particular section of the body you want to stay clear during the entire painting process (for example: windows).
Masking with Tapes
Masking tape, painter's tape, and auto pinstripe tape come in a variety of widths and lengths. For masking RC bodies you don't need a huge amount. I do recommend,if you are planning to do an elaborate paint job, that you get two different sizes of tape. One is to cover broad areas (wide) and one (pinstripe) is to do curving and rounded corners such as for flame jobs. You could use the wide size tape to cover an area and plan your design by drawing directly on the tape. This is perfectly fine. The pinstripe tape makes it a lot easier to think out your design without having to remove a wide area of tape. The pinstripe tape also keeps the residue down to a minimum.- Masking tape (Compare Prices)
- Vinyl pinstriping (Compare Prices)
Masking with Liquids
If you don't like using tape or precut masks for designing a paint job you can use liquid masking or rubber cement formulated for arts & crafts applications. Compared to masking tape, liquid masking can be easier to apply;but, you have to wait for it to dry. This also applies to rubber cements. When applying liquid mask or rubber cements make sure that the area is completely covered. Most rubber cements are clear. You can hold the RC body up to a light to make sure that the masked area is covered.- Liquid masking film (Compare Prices)
- Rubber cement (Compare Prices)
Masking with Precut Decal Sheets
This type of masking is the quickest and easiest to work with. You have precut designs, numbers, and letters to choose from. You can also get precut window masks designed for specific body styles. The only decision to make is where to place the precut mask. No tape to cut. No messy liquids. You also have the option to mix and match different design packs to make your paint design unique.In a pinch: "Poor Man's Masking"
If you don't have the budget to buy liquid or tape masking you can do what I call "Poor Man's Masking." This type of masking is done by using electrical tape and paper. When using this setup you want to make sure that the paper you use is thick enough that it isn't going to absorb a lot of the paint and bleed through the masked area. Sometimes multiple layers of paper (2 or more sheets) prevents paint from bleeding through.There is no one and only way to mask and paint a RC body. You have to experiment and try out all the different methods of masking to find the one that suits you the best. I like using all these methods. Sometimes even two or more methods on one RC body.