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[BORIS]

Is there any good tips when using this..i have tried to get the waterline covered with white trim tape on the maggie m ..but it keeps slipping down, even after i have varnished over it..i am wondering if it is better to cut the tape into shorter lengths and join the lengths together on the hull instead of trying to do it in one length.

[BORIS]

just realised there is a similar post by guy bagley..waterline piping..im not the only one finding this tape awkward. :-\

[tigertiger]

Even after varnish????
Weird.


One thought. Are you stretching it when you apply it?

If you are then it is possible as it revoers its original shape it is shriking and thus slipping/being pulled down the hull.

If not then I dunno.

[Bunkerbarge]

It is probably worth remembering as well here that most, if not all, boot toppings are not of an equal width as it goes along the hull.  The line is designed to be of an equal distance in a vertical plane, as in two horizontal slices through the hull, which is usually parallel along the vertical sides but actually increases in real width as the hull form changes, particularly at the aft end. 

With some models you can get away with tape but the best job will always be achieved by marking out, masking and painting the line. 

It may seem a bit daunting at first but getting the model set up at the correct attitude on your workbench and drawing a line around at the correct two heights is a lot easier than you may think and ultimately considerably more satisfying.

[Colin Bishop]

Bunkerbarge is quite right but it always gives me trouble as I never seem to be able to mask it without getting some paint bleed and when I try to correct that it bleeds the other way until I find I've created a waterline rubbing strake out of paint! On some ships, I think the visual width of the boot topping is sometimes increased at the ends, particularly the bow, to give a slight upswept effect. On models, which are frequently seen out of the water with the full hull on display, this can be useful to counteract the optical illusion that the boot topping is not straight and curves down at the ends of the hull.

For some hulls, using tape can give an acceptable result and looks very neat but Tiger Tiger is quite right about the stretching when you apply it. It's very easy to do and the tape creeps back afterwards, I've been caught by that in the past.

[madrob]

I work with a guy who does custom murals on cars, he uses something called fine line tape, gives you a much sharper edge than masking tape its also supposed to stop bleeding.
the brand he uses is TEX, comes in 3,6,9,12,and 19 mm widths, bends round corners too.
I  have used it and its great stuff

[boatmadman]

I have used the tamiya masking tape with good effect.
Ian

[Bunkerbarge]

I think one of the most important things I have learned is to deal with one line only at a time.  A lot of people seem to paint the upper hull then the lower hull and finally the boot topping.  Done this way you have to mask the top and the bottom at the same time and you have to mess around remasking to correct any defects.

The hull I did below I did slightly differrently.  I sprayed the upper hull first with the grey, then I marked out and masked the top of the top of the boot topping.  I then sprayed the black.  When that had dried I removed the masking tape and marked out and masked the lower edge of the boot topping and then sprayed the red primer.

This made the process that bit easier for me as I was dealing with one line only each time and I could concentrate on getting the tape down properly.  From what I remember I used B&Q best masking tape and applied it, sprayed with a number of light coats and removed it immediately. 

This particular model was actually sprayed with gloss grey and a gloss maroon with a stuck on black vinyl stripe and looked awfull!!  The biggest concern was how out of shape the topping looked at the back end where it should widen quite noticeably.

I really would try to persevere with a painted boot topping as it is such a better result.

[Stan]

Hi There

I have used Tamiya  Masking tape  for masking off the boot topping on my Deans liberty ship and Fletcher Class  Destroyer.Any bleed under the tape I have removed when the paint is hard using a very fine wet and dry paper with a small drop of washing up liquid on the paper.Any small  white marks that appear in the paint normally go when the varnish coat is applied  :)

[Sub driver]

 :) Stan is quite right, I use Tamiya masking tape with no probs, a little tip to try is to mask off as normal but then spay the gap with the same colour as the bottom colour you want to stripe over then if you get bleed under it will be the same colour and no problem it will seal the bleed gap then you can spray the line colour as reqd.

Bunkerbarge is quite right a painted line is far superior to a sticky tape one and will stand out on any model, well worth the effort to perfect the technique

Also do not Pull the masking tape when placing it on the hull as it will stretch and then try and pull back just place it on the hull and press down, works for me anyway ever time.  :)