Aerotech Mega Initiator #89541, Part 15, Matching The Nose Cone Color

The question has come up on the forums: 

"Which Red spray paint color will match the red sticker on the Initiator? 

Some considerations:

1. The nose cone is molded in black plastic so it would require a good white undercoat. Otherwise, you'll get a darker red on the sprayed nose cone.

2. The Aerotech printed stickers are translucent. The white paint under the sticker makes the red in the sticker almost a brighter red "candy" color. 

I've been to a few hardware stores with my kit stickers in hand, trying to match with any red spray paint available. Sure, they look close side by side, but on the model it's a different story.

Model building is a little like a puzzle. Sometimes I ponder assembly questions awhile until I can come up with a good solution. This one took longer than expected.

I decided to mask and spray the red on the wrap and nose cone at the same time. This will require masking the area at the top of the upper wrap.

Before spraying the model, I tested to see if the paint might bubble up on a scrap piece of leftover sticker material.

No bubbles and a good adhesion.

I marked a thin strip of Scotch tape with a Sharpie. After marking the tape, wipe off any excess ink with a paper towel.

I had to use a thin strip so I could flex the tape around the curve without raised folds.

On the right is the full border mask. The rest of the area underneath must be masked off.

Widen the mask below with a single strip of brown masking tape. Note there are many fold bulges. The upper edge covers about half of the Scotch tape mask.

On the right side is the full mask. The nose cone will be slid in and both will be shot with the same red color.

I know - Why not just use Tamiya tape? 

I'm cheap and I get just as good a result using inexpensive Scotch tape.