Hi guys,

I have used vinyl paint masks for a while (with decent results), but last time I used them for fairly small nomenclature (maybe 1/4 inch high letters) I had a lot of paint peeling when removed the masks (the new color, not the base color).

I normally let stuff dry pretty well before I remove the stencils (especially this little stuff) but now I am thinking that might not be the way to go.

Anyone have comments?

BTW, I normally use PPG Deltron 200 DBC basecoat.

Thanks in advance,

I'm certainly not an expert painter ... but I always peel the masks off when the paint is only partly dry. I've always assumed that dry paint may crack or may pull off the other dry paint that it is attached to, instead of 'shearing' like semi-hardened paint does . That has worked well for me so far.

get them off as soon as possible.Wet paint will not peel.

I did some 1/8" tall stencils on the hog. I airbrushed them pretty light and waited till they dried completely and had no issues. It might depend on how heavy the paint is put on. You can imagine if you build up that "step" at the edge of the tape with paint, that it won't break off at that point. I think it is best to pull them wet or dry but there is a point where the paint gets gummy, you don't want to mess with them then.

Mist two or three very light coats and pull wet.

Best regards

Greg Anixter

Thats the problem, if the paint is "stringy" (not dry but not totally wet) you can end up with a mess. And I got so many letters to do I can't get the stencils off before the thing dries anyway.

I also spray "blender" (basically Deltron base color with no pigment) around the edges of all of the stencils so I don't get any bleed under. Maybe that is making the paint to thick. I will experiment I guess.

Oh I forgot, I also tried wet sanding the paint (over the stencils and all) using windex and it cut the edge down before I lifted the stencil, seems to help a bit.

I hate painting, but I hate having my plane look like everyone else's even more!

Thanks for the feedback

I use PPG deltron for all my planes Matt and if your getting bleed through then you're most likely having 2 problems

1. the vinyl your using is no good or your not applying it well
2. your spraying on the paint too thick

I usually spray and then remove the mask right away if it is small or about 5 minutes afterwards. I never let i dry fully.