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