3m Scotch 218 Fine Line Tape?
#1
Does anyone use this product for masking off pieces before painting/airbrushing? I came across an article about it on another website, last night. Comes in various sizes from 1/16 to 1/4" I found so far. If anyone does use it, what is the most convenient size? I have a couple of Reading GP30's I want to get in the paint booth soon and looks like some delicate masking off in the cab area has to be done.

Thx,
Mark
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#2
The blurb on it when I googled it sounds pretty good, but you can do pretty-much the same thing with regular masking tape.
I always remove the factory edges of masking tape when using it for actual masking (as opposed to all the other things for which most of us also use it). To do so, a strip of tape is placed, sticky-side-down, on a sheet of clean glass, then a straightedge and sharp blade are used to remove about 1/8" from each edge. This removes the nicks and dings on the edges that occur through normal handling, and the accumulation of dust and fuzz that collects if you've had the roll of tape for some time. It also removes the small portion of the tape right at the edges which has been somewhat exposed to the surrounding air, making that edge a little less sticky than the more well-protected balance of the tape.
To cut strips of tape, either as masking for thin lines or as the thin edge masking (easier to curve than a wide strip) for wider lines which need to be curved, I use a simple set of dividers to make the measurement marks at each end of the trimmed strip - this keeps the cut edges parallel. You can also use the dividers to situate the masking tape as it's applied to the model, keeping it parallel to certain edges when necessary or simply to demarcate where a curve begins and ends, etc.

The dividers are also useful for locating lettering - I usually refer to a photo of the prototype to find a reference point(s) applicable also to the model, then apply a fairly wide trimmed strip of masking tape immediately above or below where that lettering will be located. You can then use the dividers to measure accurately for the places where the lettering will start and end, and also for the spaces between words and/or individual letters, marking those points on the tape with a sharp pencil. This is especially useful when using alphabet sets for lettering items for which there is no commercially-available lettering.

If you do try that Fine Line Tape, I hope that you'll let us know how it works for you.

Wayne
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#3
Tamiya also do masking tape in fine line packs which may be easier to get hold of
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#4
Many years ago I used a tape for graphic design work. Yes, before a computer did the work. We would use a tape called artist "Crepe Tape". You can google it and see it for sale still. I think they had some really thin rolls but if I recall they didn't have any so thin it would scale well for HO. They don't have the selection they had before but you can still find some.
It would be nice to find a thin yellow line you could use for the lines on roads is an idea of how to use it.

Dave
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#5
Dave, if you need it for lines on roads, UniPOSCA paint pens work very well for that
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#6
shortliner Wrote:Dave, if you need it for lines on roads, UniPOSCA paint pens work very well for that

Thank you, I'll look into that for sure. Do you have any photos of how the lines look for scale and coverage of the ink/ paint?

Dave
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#7
Dave, oddly enough, YES ! I'd just been looking at another post on the same subject <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/113030-millarville-mkii-this-time-its-freemo/page-2#entry2434799">http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index. ... try2434799</a><!-- m --> post #38 onwards - I hope it helps
Best
Jack
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#8
Dave, oddly enough, YES ! I'd just been lookingat another post on the same subject <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/113030-millarville-mkii-this-time-its-freemo/page-2#entry2434799">http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index. ... try2434799</a><!-- m --> post #38 onwards - I hope it helps
Best
Jack

Edit - These are some of mine and may help All HO

   

   

   
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