Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

After many years of sitting around in the bare bones, after retirement I am finally getting around to finishing my Monocoupe D-145. It started out as the IKON N-west kit but I like to think of it as scratch building using some of the kit parts as anyone who has built an IKON kit would understand!

I'm an experienced builder with many seasoned skills but I've discovered that masking all those 14 cowl blisters for paint is not one of those skills! Here is the problem: This cowl has no clear line where the blister stops and the cowl begins. The blisters have a large, smooth radius as they blend into the cowl. Deciding exactly where to mask on that radius is difficult. I can easily mask one or two of the blisters but I can't seem to maintain any consistency for all 14! It seems that pre-cut vinyl masking stencils might be in order but I have no experience with this sort of thing.

Does anyone have any suggestions or can you point me in a direction to complete this task? Have you used masking stencils before and where can these be sourced. Any suggestions to complete this task would be appreciated. Yes, I did some searches and read quite a bit about this but feel I still need some more guidance. The paint will be Klass Kote. Thanks in advance!

gravlrd44

www.getstencils.com Ocala, FL Ask for Vicki or Jerry

Russmall

I ran into that problem on a Jungmeister cowl, with the main color being yellow and the blisters black. I found it easier to paint the blisters black color on first, then the next day mask the blisters and spray on the yellow. Worked out well.

foodstick

you might be able to cut a template piece out of a thick plastic or wood, then sit it on som 2-3 inch wide masking tape. Cut the outline with a exacto knife and then place it over the blister. Once you get your shape right I would think it would work ok.

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

I've made a pattern for a paint mask and am sending it off to one of the vinyl cutters so it can be duplicated in paint mask material. When received back, I'll do a number of masking tests on scrap materials to get use to the process. Having never used this material before, my main concern is getting the mask material off while still leaving a clean, sharp mask line. I'm tempted to do these in urethane base coat as it is much easier to pull the masking than it is with epoxy paints. The final product will be clear coated.

ARUP

Wax your cowl, spray with PVA then pull a mold off of the cowl that includes some of the blisters. Cut away one of the blisters so that a blister shaped hole remains. Place the mold back onto the cowl. Trace the shape onto the cowl. Move the template over one blister and trace the next, etc. Once they are all traced get some 1/16" blue vinyl tape and mask them for painting.

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

Now that sounds like a good idea! I'll try that as I have everything here to accomplish that. Thanks for the tip.

Thinking further about your idea, (it hurts my head) I can see some other possibilities that could also work.

acerc

Plastic sheeting works well also. I lay a piece over the blister and heat with a heat gun.

20181c

I just ordered graphics for my Waco which includes the cowl blisters. Ask for Dennis.
http://www.angelfire.com/oh2/kirbysgraphics/

LesUyeda

There is a stuff that I have used called Liquid Mask, used in automobile detailing. You paint on several coats, scribe the outline with an X-acto knife, and peel away the part that you want to be painted. Not simple, not easy, nor quick, but worked quite well.

Les

WacoNut

For the blisters on my WACO I had a buddy cut me some simple vinyl mask on his vinyl cutter. I painted the white first then masked off and sprayed the blue. It is trimmed with 1/16" Gold 3M pinstripe and then clear coated. Blisters are a PITA.

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

Very nice cowl WacoNut! I'm leaning towards the vinyl mask and have found several sources that will do the job. My cowl bumps / blisters won't be outlined so the paint lines need to be crisp and neat the first time around. As stated in my first post, I can mask a few of the blisters but from there I just can't maintain consistency. A pre-cut mask should resolve this consistency issue. Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

TomCrump

Anthony

Your friendly pink tape supplier does an excellent work in vinyl, both paint masks and graphics. http://decal-it.com/

WacoNut

Tom,
Yes I had forgotten about Gary getting back into the decals and mask. I had used his mask on several projects in the past and he does excellent work. He sent me some of his new prop decals and they are very nice. Gary is one of the nicest guys I have ever done business with and I highly recommend him to anyone.

Truckracer,
Thanks for the comments on the cowl. It is painted with Klasskote gloss paint with the Klasskote clear gloss over top. Very nice product as well. It is a bit on the pricey side but as the old saying goes you get what you pay for.

Later!!
Anthony

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

I just placed a fairly large order to KlassKote to replenish my supplies. I have used some of their stuff in the past (especially the primer) but had not used much of their color or clear. I have been using automotive base coat / clear coat paints but the costs are getting out of control. The clears are still reasonably priced but the base coats are simply beyond anything that can be called affordable. So, its back to the epoxy paints again at a price that is about 1/2 that of automotive products. I'm not sure whether I will stay with the urethane clears or go back to epoxy. Will have to experiment on that one as the clear costs are about the same between epoxy and urethane.

I used quite a bit of the old K&B Super Poxy when it was still available and cried when it went away. It was a blessing when Klasskote came on the market.