I’m starting with two different Spitfire canopies from the spares box.
When masking for a kit I would dunk the parts in Klear and left them to dry thoroughly in a dust-free environment (normally in a plastic tub that locusts come in). I have not done so for this tutorial.
The tools I will be using for the masking process are
- Steel rule
- Scalpel (with new blade)
- Tamiya tape
- An old paintbrush handle (sharpened to a point)
I use two methods of masking. I cannot claim that either is foolproof, perfect, works every time or anything else – these are just two methods I have arrived at after trying several.
METHOD 1
The first method is to use large pieces of tape to cover each transparent piece. A bit like this
I would then use my patented sharpened (but not too sharp) paintbrush handle
To press the tape into the moulded detail on the canopy parts
See the lines created by doing this
These lines are your cutting lines. If you hold the blade at 45 degrees to both surfaces you will ensure that your cut is in the best place. You can see my first cut
Then simply make your cuts all around the masked item. Once all the cuts have been made, the masking tape excess can be peeled away, leaving you with a nicely masked transparency.
We then continue to the next part to be masked and follow the same process.
You can see that over complex curves that the masking tape bunches up. It is very important to press the tape into the seam to prevent bleeding of paint back under the tape.
Once done, slice around with your blade.
More than one transparent panel at once can be masked using this method, as can be seen here
And again, careful cutting leaves us with a part ready for paint
So that is method 1. It is relatively quick and works well on many different transparent parts, especially where the moulded detail is quite heavy.
METHOD 2
My second method of masking uses less masking tape but is more time intensive and fiddly.
I start with a length of tape slightly longer the longest length of tape I will need.
I then use my scalpel and steel rule
To cut the tape into strips about 1mm wide
I never use my fingers to pick these up or hold them as the tape will lose its adhesiveness if handled too much. So I use my scalpel to ease up one end
And then some tweezers to lift the rest of the tape strip
This strip of tape is applied to the transparent part, roughly where it wants to be.
Then, only holding the ends of the tape, the strip is manoeuvred into position and pressed down firmly. Any excess length is folded up into the inside of the part to stop it interfering with any further tape that’s being added.
When you need shorter lengths, simply slice one of the strips at a convenient point.
Then add to your part
You can then do the same with the sides
Once you have surrounded your transparent section you can start cutting. The cuts need to be on the outside of where the pieces of tape overlap. Prior to cutting
After cutting
Then just peel off any excess that was wrapped over into the interior, leaving you with a transparency with a good edge
The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that there is a small 45 degree fillet that I have not cut out yet. You can see where it should be when you look through from the inside
To deal with this part, I simply apply a small strip of tape that lines up with that fillet
So on the outside, it now looks like this
And then cut where the pieces of tape overlap
Job done.
The different panels on the windscreen are dealt with in the same manner
And cut
The very front section with the curved top
Is dealt with similarly for the straight edges
But the curve I deal with slightly differently. I start with a piece of tape
I then cut the top off in a curve
I then cut another curve below the first
Which leaves me with a thin curve of tape
This piece is then applied around the curved section
I use this curved piece of tape as it if far easier to apply than using a straight piece and forcing it to go round a tight curve.
And it is all trimmed as before
For the clear section above the front windscreen I just apply one strip of tape horizontally then two smaller strips at 45 degrees.
Once trimmed, the front section of the canopy is complete
The sections of this canopy that need to be clear can be left unmasked (like this) if you can be 100% sure you won’t get paint on it, or you can use oddments of masking tape to fill in the gaps or use Maskol (or similar masking fluid).
And there we are – two masked canopies.
But of course, this isn’t the end of the story – parts need to be painted
And here they are post-painting.
There was some bleed here
And using the same sharpened paintbrush I simply push the bleed back to where it should be
Much better!
Here’s the second canopy
Again, some bleed
And again, tidied up
Issues around the front
Easily sorted
And now we have two painted canopies
Please ignore the dodgy painting – I simply slapped on a couple of coats of acrylic, where I would normally have used Klear, two coats of enamel, more Klear and then mattcote, which gives a much more consistent finish and doesn’t tend to pull away the paint when removing the masking.
I hope this has been useful.
