This has me stumped. I've used luster coat many many times and havent had this happen. The paint is pulling up with the tape. I used the blue tape, the very light tack purple tape, and it still pulls up. I'm painting the abs plastic parts that are the radiator cheeks on a P-38. The abs that is the turbos didnt have any problem. I preped the abs by sanding the surface with 220 grit sand paper. After the first time the paint pulled up I sanded it all down smooth again and did several light coats until covered and set in the sun between each coat. This helped but didnt solve it. Any suggestions. Dont really want to change brands yet since the rest of the plane is painted, not sure if the olive drab shades will be the same.
Edwin

Why don't you try a plastic primer - it is available in aerosol.

I also had this problem. I ruined a plastic cowling and replaced it with a glass one. You need to use a primer. I suggest testing it on a small scrap first. It should dry hard and resist scratching. The LustreKote primer seems to stick well to glass and ABS. I tried a popular brand hardware store primer and it did not pass my scratch test. I actually like the LustreKote fairly well for it's color and durability. However, it sprays worse than any other paint I have ever used. It simply does not atomize properly. I tried warming the can in very hot tap water and it helped a little.

BTW, the ambient air temperature and humidity needs to be warm and dry for best results. I may have to wait till spring to paint my current project.

Do a search on this forum for an endless list of suggestions.

I'm trying rustoleum primer at the moment. Tried Pactra FormulaU last night. Did alright with the tape test (didnt pull up) but seemed to scratch easily. You sure are right about the atomization. I use 2 clip on 60w shop lamps and place the cans between them to keep them warm. Helps a lot, but doesnt solve the problem. You just gotta be patient and put the coats on light. Even doing that, for some reason, cant get it to stick to these plastic parts. It always worked before on other abs parts on other kits.
Edwin

I used Rustoleum white on a glass cowl. I let it sit for 5 days and then tried to paint Lusterkote yellow over the top.

I only did this because all the LHS's here are out of Lusterkote white/primer and a LHS owner told me they would do fine together.

After 4 hours of resanding the cowl, I was pissed. The Lusterkote pulled the Rustoleum right off.

Be carefull when mixing the two. I am waiting for the Lusterkote white/primer to be back in stock myself.

Cheers

Try pulling the tape back over itself. If you pull it straight up you will have the problem that you describe. Also, pull the tape off before the paint dries completly, it will leave a cleaner edge. Greg

Done all kinds of different ways of pulling the tape off. Even went with the purple light tack tape. Still pulled it off. This isnt the first time I've done this. I did the olive drab over the rustoleum grey primer tonight. Primer held great, luster coat olive drab pulled right off. Resanded and put formulaU olive drab on. Got to say I like the way formulaU sprays. The pigment seems finer.
Edwin

Edwin

Try 3M Fine Line tape thats available at your local automotive paint store. Use this tape to define your lines and use Scotch #33 masking tape to tape off the outer surfaces. Some of the tapes that you get at the home centers are for water based paints. When used with a solvent based paint, the solvent reacts with the adhesive on the tape. Also let the bottom coat set for at least 24-48 hours before taping (this is really important when masking top coats), plus wet sand the primer before taping and make sure the surface is clean, complete cured and dry before applying the tape.
These are some of the things we do in the refinishing business, so give them a try.Good Luck, Greg