BMS/Alway Saturn V Build, Part 22, Masking The Tubes

The glue areas for the fin assemblies and detail pieces are masked for gluing later on.

On the fin fairings, set a masking tape strip on the diagonal line. A second piece goes on the lower right corner. Mark the right side with a pencil and remove the tape. Cut the triangle with a straightedge on glass.

Replace the triangle back on the tube.

All the small detail piece masks are set with 1/8" strips.

Everything gets sprayed with gloss white paint. As the instructions say: "A gloss finish will improve decal adhesion."

After the decals are applied you can use a flat clear coat if you want, but bear in mind it will dull the silver paint on the Service Module and fin areas.

The instructions recommend using a Scotch Tape mask for the white box areas on the Service Module. Your surfaces must be smooth for Scotch tape masking.

On the right, the tape edges were burnished down with a Q-tip. The Q-tip removed some of the Sharpie ink. Be sure there isn't any black Sharpie ink transferred to the body tube.

TIP: Notice the centering pencil marks on the tape and between the RCS thrusters. Mark the body tube center (between the RCS thrusters) and the center of the tape mask before putting it on the model. Simply line up the center marks. You won't have to measure back and forth from both sides of the mask.

Here's the mask after the tape was removed.