Estes Skylab #001973, Build, Part 21, Outlining the Upper Section Wrap

TIP: Don't glue the Solar Array Wings until after the outlining and black spray painting is done.

Those tall rectangular plastic pieces are to be sprayed white and can be glued over the black painted areas. Waiting to glue them on can save you some masking time later.

When masking a Saturn V, the best advice I can give is take your time!

TIP: Don't try to do all the masking (or bordering shown here) in one sitting.

Do the top section one day, then the middle section another day.

It can seem overwhelming, so spread out the tasks.

I don't have any great shortcuts for the masking measurements in the instructions. When the measurements get into 19/32" and 53/64" you'll find it easier to use the Metric measurements.

Again, this is the technique that works for me. You can certainly do standard masking but getting clean lines working around the corrugations is a crap shoot. There will be touch-ups after the tape is lifted.

The sides are outlined with a Ultra Thin Sharpie pen. Masking tape is set down the middle of the inked borders. Black paint is then sprayed.

Depending on how thick your spray coats are, they can be a slight paint ridge where the tape edge sat. In a few areas - I had to go back, sand the ridge slightly and do some brush painting to smooth out the ridge and get the black tones to match up.

This outline technique I learned from watching the older Apogee 1/70 scale Saturn V build videos. The newer Apogee videos show liquid mask being used.

How can you mask and  paint around those corrugations?

TIP: On the left - Keep the body tube wrapped with a taped paper towel (or copy paper) to keep your hand prints and skin oils off the white paint!

Use a new Ultra Fine Point Sharpie pen to outline the black areas. The pen is very opaque and can help you get a clean border edge.

On the right - I've wrapped a line of masking tape around the wrap to get a straight line.

This masking tape line is only a reference! Don't use the tape edge as a straightedge for your pen.

Keep the pen ink nib away from the tape edge so it can't bleed underneath.

Note the plastic card. That's one of those promos that comes in the mail. It's plastic and provides a smaller straight edge. It can be cut down for smaller areas that need a line border.

The tops of the corrugations are marked first.

Then the low dips of the ribs are filled in from the back - up to the marks made earlier.

I also used the tape for a white area reference indication.

Notice my mistake - on the left, the black line near the bottom. It is a confusing paint job, mistakes can happen.

The right side picture shows the fine line borders nearing completion.

The reference tape strips were removed.

Here I'm carefully widening the borders, into the areas to be sprayed black. 

I added "Xs" to remind me what areas will be black. Mentioned before, it is confusing.

I don't have any great shortcuts for the masking measurements in the instructions. You might find it easier to use the Metric measurements.

All the white areas are masked off before spraying the black paint.

See the last picture in the next post to see the final tape mask.