Tape on Fresh Paint – How long to wait?

[Buccaneer]

I painted my Fleetwin cowls last Saturday
(used rattle can polychromatic blue from Effanaco).
I need to mask off to paint the center "silver" as
in the photo of an original cowl, not mine.

Q. How long till the danger of lifting my fresh blue
paint with the masking tape?
After the fiasco of destroying my "Starting & Operating Instructions"
decal with masking tape, I’m a little gun shy!

I have some "fine line" 1/4" tape to lay down first to mask the
corners smooth (or try anyway!), then hardware store "blue painters"
making tape to go over that.
Any other tips that you learned the "hard way" appreciated!
Thanks.

P.S.- The "cast" letters "Forward, Neutral and Reverse" appear from photos
to be just painted over blue as I have them now. They don’t really
"pop" out this way. Anyone paint them to pop out, or sand the
tops of the letters off to make aluminum color magically appear?
Would be interested in seeing and or learning about your results.

---

Attachments:

Prepare to be boarded!

[mr-asa]

The paint needs to completely cure before you do anything. Typically that includes waiting 24 hours for it to dry, then gently heating it.

For me in Florida that usually means putting it out in the sun all day till it’s hot enough that you don’t want to hold it in your hand too long. I’ve also seen people make a curing box by lining a smallish plywood box with aluminum foil and throwing in a couple shop lights holding 60W bulbs.
If the little lady doesn’t mind, you can throw them in the oven for an hour at it’s lowest setting, but making sure you don’t exceed 200 degrees, the house will smell funny though.

[Mumbles]

I’d recommend starting with 1/8" Fine Line as it will go around corners easier than the 1/4" stuff will. The quarter can be use next to bring the edge out further for the masking tape to bond to. I’d also go with an automotive paint type masking tape instead of the blue or green household masking tape. 3-M makes a quality product. It seals better on the edges and will lift easily without taking the underlying paint with it. Big Box Store tape is better suited for window casings and trim inside your house where bleeding on the edges isn’t so noticeable. You will also want to burnish the edge of the fine line to make sure it is down tight so buy it in translucent instead of a solid color so you can see it bonding. Large areas can be masked using a roll of plastic film or paper with the masking tape already on it. A sharp razor knife and a pair of tweezers will also help to make the corners crisp. Have fun!

If you use automotive base/clear such as DuPont Nason line, everything can be done in a few hours on a warm day. Masking can be applied shortly after the base color flashes and can be removed just as quickly after the second color has gone off. It takes me about an hour to mask a two color hood. The clear can then be applied, allowing proper flash time between coats.

[Buccaneer]

Thanks for the replies. I’m in no big hurry, so I’ll let the paint
cure naturally for now. I’ll look for some 1/8" fine line and
automotive masking tape. I have part of a roll of automotive
masking paper 18" wide.
I did some automotive painting (on personal stuff) years ago,
but no one mixes paint locally anymore.
The last time I needed something I had to drive 120 mile
round trip. The expense, and the fact that I cant paint parts
with a spray gun in my garage, in the winter with a wood stove
going, decides my fate using "rattle cans".
Cheers!

Prepare to be boarded!

[wedgie]

Warming the tape with a hair dryer when de masking helps to soften and release the adhesive.

[Buccaneer]

Good idea Wedgie!

Prepare to be boarded!

[wiscoboater]

Paint looks great Buc! Nice job on getting the metallic to lay down even.

[Buccaneer]

Wannabe, Dust coat and two medium coats with the rattle can.
May have got a little run in the back of one cowl where I was
trying to get the paint down a deep pocket. (hand grab).
I’m mixing paint systems, so am taking a chance of something
not turning out, but there’s only one way to find out if I can
save a few bucks!
I used DupliColor Engine primer, then Effenaco Polychromatic Blue.
Seemed to be no issues with that mix match.. so far.
Hopefully the DupliColor Engine Clear isn’t a problem over the Blue.
Going to wait on that until I paint the silver on the hood and get
the decals!

I’ve received no input on this previous paragraph……

"P.S.- The "cast" letters "Forward, Neutral and Reverse" appear from photos
to be just painted over blue as I have them now. They don’t really
"pop" out this way. Anyone paint them to pop out, or sand the
tops of the letters off to make aluminum color magically appear?
Would be interested in seeing and or learning about your results."
Thoughts? Thanks!

Prepare to be boarded!

[wedgie]

I didn’t bother with trying to highlight the cast letters on mine because I don’t believe they were originally.

[wiscoboater]

I’ve used the Duplicolor clear over the Effenaco paint with no issues. Keep in mind they have 2 clears. 1 is lacquer and 1 is enamel. I used the enamel. Cant really say if the lacquer will react with his paint or not.

[Author]

Posts