I used vinyl stencils for the first time and had some problems.  I think I may have had to much thinner and retarder in the mix, plus put it on to heavy at first.  The major problem was with paint pulling up when I removed the mask.  I think I may be able to salvage the top, not so sure about the bottom.

James

It certainly looks like an adhesion problem to me. I've had this sort of thing happen when I was spraying urethane on a dope substrate. It's why I went to all dope up to clearcoat at least. tough problem. The red looks like it leaked under the mask also. This is why it's a good idea to shoot a little clear on the mask before you shoot the color.

Sorry you're having problems. This is why painting is often more art than science.

Mark and Randy thanks for the tips.  I suspect an adhesion problem as well.  I used the spray can primer (ala Sparkys system) and I noticed that the primer stuck but not the white (Brodak dope).  If the white wasn't thinned enoug would this cause an adhesion problem?

James

James,

Gary makes a good point. Following whatever system you use for prepping the surface (primer, talc or sterate filler or whatever), its a very good idea to shoot some sealer over it. I use some 90% thinned clear dope. Gary suggested 70%, but whatever, use heavily thinned dope to seal down the substrate. Saves a lot of headache later.

why would you not just have he masks cut on the correct material? thats what its made for, and it works much better and more reliably? I just dont understand the logic?

why would you not just have he masks cut on the correct material? thats what its made for, and it works much better and more reliably? I just dont understand the logic?

Mark,

The place I go does not use this masking material.  It is a whipping to have to go all over town to find it.  I still had pull ups even when using gerber, FAR LESS, but they still happened.

Moved to the hair dryer trick and all the pull ups and peel ups and left over adhesive marks are simply a thing of the past.  Using a hair dryer is a no brainer. 

Using vinyl with the hair dryer actually pulls up easier than gerber without heat.

Another nice thing about the vinyl with the stronger adhesion, drying paint wont shrink it up off the plane as much.  Red seems to really want to curl the mask off. 

If gerber is available then by all means use it.  It is great material and easy to work with.  But vinyl can be used as well. 

NO MATTER WHAT USE A HAIRDRYER WHEN REMOVING ANYTHING THAT HAS BEEN STUCK TO THE PLANE!  Tape, masks, whatever you have on there heat it up and it will roll right off.

Plus the mask should stay on the plane as short a time as possible.  With auto paint that can be as little as 15 minutes.  If you have to leave it for a long time then please use some heat to remove and you will have alot less troubles along the way.


Here is are vinyl masks I used with no pull ups. 

Shoot James I am sorry I didn't do a follow up on the primer. My SV11 Is almost ready to paint and I think I will do a full step by step on this so there is no confusion. Yes Gary is right about sealing the primer. However you can get away without doing it if you paint your colors very thinned. Dope is a chemical bond. The thinner melts into the first layer. So if the paint is not thinned enough you get this problem.

The whole project is salvageable! you will never know if you follow theses steps. First wet sand the infected area to feather the edges into the primer. Airbrush white into the area. Don't worry about the ridge. Once all the area are fixed in the appropriate color let dry a day. Grey Scotchbrite the whole plane lightly. One coat of clear Urethane ,sand with 2000 and buff. Never know the difference.

Hey Robert, good to hear from you.  I actually just finished wiping the entire finish off the airframe and am going to start over.  The weight was starting to get up as well as several spots I still wasn't happy with.  I'm starting to wonder if the problem goes back to the primer I got at ORielly's.  I wiped all of the dope off with lacquer thinner, but the primer stayed which makes me wonder if it is indeed lacquer (it's Dupicolor).  As I looked at it before I wiped it down the paint was pealing off in long chunks.  I'm weighing my options now, may even consider iron on for the wings so I can finish and get on to another project (I still have that Cardinal wing and fuse pieces, wasn't able to sell it so may go ahead and build it).  Anyway, I'll soldier on.

Where do I get the Scotchbrite?


Thanks,

James

I do not use DupliColor primer. I use Lacquer primer by NAPA. Any paint store you will find Scotchbrite.

Thanks Bob, looking forward to you article on your SV 11.

James

James,
You are not alone. I used Duplicolor Primer and Duplicolor paint in the spray cans and had the same problem. I suspect with living in So. Ca. along with I don't know what I'm doing that maybe the EPA had somethng to do with it. Anyway I won't ever use it again. I learned my lesson. I know others say they use it successfully, well good for them, I pass. I also used a mask that was impossible to get off and eventually it ripped up the paint. Hate, Hate, Hate. I ruined a good plane. It will never see the flying field. The more I tried to fix it, the worse it got, until I gave up. The shop that made the mask said they never had that problem before and they sell hundreds of masks for the modeling world. I removed all the duplicolor cans from my shop so I wouldn't be temped to use it.

Sorry to hear that, I ended up removing the finish with thinner and paper towells.  I'm thinking my biggest problem may have been spraying the dope to dry.

James