Hello everyone!

Im new to modelling and have just purchased my first airbrush. Im finishing a Spitfire Mk II with a camoflage pattern reflected by pictures in an old book.

Im painting with acrylics and have masked and painted the lighter color first, how long should I have to wait to mask over paint without pulling it off? Do I need special masking tape or will regular painters tape work? Thanks!

generally speaking, the least aggressive tape (least "stick") that does the job (still sticks to curves and such) is the best tape to use.

You can use painters tape , but make sure the edges are burnished down really well or you will get bleeding under the tape . You can seal the edges with a coat of gloss or even future will do the trick . It's best to wait for 24 hours before masking the next colour to go on . Some times I will wait up to 48 hours to be on the safe side . If you are able to get Tamiya mmasking tape which is the best out there and will save a lot of hassles in the end .

Thanks for the tips I appreciate it very much! Luckily I even have future kicking around, the applications seem to be endless! Cheers and thanks again!

Hey Dave, welcome to the world of modeling! I use just regular masking tape when I mask. Just take a piece off and place it on the palm of your hand a few times to take some of the tack off.

You will find will practice that you will be able to free hand many camoflage by just turning down the pressure of your air compressor and using the double action feature of your airbrush. Hope this helps some. Russell

Thanks for the warm welcome Russell
I look forward to the day that I can free hand airbrush my models! Its something to strive for and i'm sure i'll have fun working my way up to it! As for now i'll stick to masking haha. Cheers

Practice makes perfect. Take an older model and play around with it. Adjust the airpressure on you compressor and got to town! Russell

Hey there..

another helpful way to prevent bleeding under your tape is to use a couple of light coats allowing the first to dry a bit before adding the 2nd.. or third as needed.

Hi Dave

You said that you have got a new airbrush.

I reccomend checking out

Vallejo Air paints - they are especially designed for an airbrush as they are the right consistancy.

another thing is - Tamiya, along with others do extra-thin masking tape (0.6mm) - buy this from little-cars in the UK

Hope this helps

Jake Kilshaw