I suspect that I am not alone when it comes to disliking masking a plane for painting.   Well, have I got good news for you. 

And that news is the "3M Hand-Masker M1000 Dispenser".   It was mentioned in one of Curt Contrada's columns a couple of years ago.    I didn't think too much of it at the time, but eventually I bought one, and I'm telling you here that that sucker is worth it's weight in gold when it comes to masking a plane.

For those who are not familiar with the dispenser, it simply holds the masking paper and the masking tape and dispenses the tape attached to the paper, as you pull the paper out.  Hold the dispenser next to your plane, pull out the paper and tape to the desired length, tear it off like wax paper, and apply to your plane.  It speeds up the masking process immensely.   

The paper is bought separately, and comes in a 6" and a 12" width.  There are different types of paper....be sure and buy the type that is appropriate for lacquer type paints.

Bottom line.....you are doing yourself a disservice if you are masking a plane without one of these dispensers.  I guarantee that you will love it, and perhaps dislike the masking step just a little bit more.

Cheers.

Warren Wagner

Hi,

Tamiya do very similar masking tape dispensers - just bought two - 6mm and 18mm wide x 18 metres tape length. Should last a while...

Not cheap (hey, this is the UK!) - but seem ok (have not tried them yet - weekend work!

Rgds


Harry

Where did you buy it from???  it looks pretty cool!

Steve,

If you do a Google search, you will find many sources.  I bought mine at Home Depot, but other home improvement centers like Lowe's, Ace Hardware, and even Amazon carry them.   Price was somewere around $22-24.

Harry,

You misunderstand.   This is not just a tape dispenser.   Please re-read my post.   As you pull out the paper to the desired length, it attaches the masking tape to the paper.   So when you tear it off, you have a length of masking paper with the tape ALREADY attached to it.   It's a terrific invention.

Below is another photo that may help clarify the dispenser.  In the dispenser is 6" wide masking paper, and next to the dispenser is a roll of 12" wide masking paper, and the necessary cutter extension.

I "gar-rone-tee" you will love it.

Cheers.

Warren Wagner

It also works great for multi-pane windows and doors. You'll find that the air turns blue much less often!

Warren,

See SN, Mar/Apr 2001, "Beginning". Unfortunately the fotos got lost in the shuffle!

I went to the 3M web site and they list about 9 different masking tapes.

Here is their selection
http://www.3m.com/us/mfg_industrial/indtape/masking/html/simple.html

Which tape are you referencing?

In an earlier post it was mentioned that 218 worked well but I don't see it there and wonder if it is discontinued.

Oops I see I was looking at the generic masking tapes earlier and now did a new search and found their specialty tapes here

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/electronics/home/ProductsandServices/Products/TapesAdhesives/SpecialtyTape/

So is 218 the tape of choice?

Thanks,
Lane

Warren, You are absolutely correct. These maskers are the only way to go.  You made me run out to the garage to check. I wanted to be sure I still had mine.  Years and years ago when I spent a lot of time restoring old auto's we bought a masker for each size of paper. I like what you found, with the adaptors much better.  I could only find one of my maskers, so the good news is I will go shopping for a new one.....