After masking the root edges of all the fins, a paper cover was made to entirely cover the fin sides.
In the back of the BT-101 tube, rolled paper was taped to the inside to keep out the black paint.
I did my best to cover the rest of the fairings that will remain white.
Maybe I should have used that expensive tape!All the lines masked with Scotch tape came out clean.
The masking tape results were just okay.
Enlarge the picture to see the masked edges over the vacuformed wrap. All are repairable.
Here the Scotch tape mask is pulled off from the fin root edges. The Scotch tape lines were clean.
Time spent on build: 1:00
Total time on build so far: 54:45
I got mediocre results from my masking and painting of the interstage. There was some black paint that had seeped under the tape in a few places that I had to go back and retouch. It wasn't too bad.
ReplyDeleteAs I'm looking in the instruction sheet to see where to mask this section, I did the weirdest thing and actually read the instructions. I know! So the instructions say after masking a section for painting black, first give it another coat of white and letting the white dry.
This seems like it will make a huge difference, and I'm definitely trying it on this bottom stage!! Have you done this before? The fact that you're not mentioning it in the blog (or maybe you did and I missed it in two places) makes me think you don't seal the masking with white first. It sounds like it should work so I'm hoping for good results.
I usually have a little touch-up after pulling the masking tape up.
ReplyDeleteI didn't spray white over the mask before spraying the black. Your surfaces have to be absolutely smooth and well prepped to spray the second color over a mask. Otherwise, you might get seepage under the masking tape.
I use clear scotch tape for my masking. But like any new tool, there is a learning curve to get good results.
Regular hardware store masking tape is meant for masking and painting a window in your home - not for a model rocket.