Editing Taping and masking

==Material suppliers== ==Tips== *When painting up to a rubber gasket (like a windshield), place a length of rubber vacuum line, plastic tubing, clothesline, or weed trimming string under the gasket. When the paint is dry, pull the line out. It will look like the gasket was removed for painting. Even if it shrinks over time, it won't expose old color. If the gasket won't lay back down, use a heat gun (after the paint has fully cured). 3M makes a product called "trim masking tape" that can also be used for this purpose. *Before applying clearcoat, re-mask windows and other body parts with fresh paper (taping over the existing paper is fine). This will prevent dust from previous coats from contaminating the clearcoat. *Use aluminum foil for masking odd shapes. *Tape down loose masking paper. It can move around while painting, and dirt can hide in the creases. *When taping off a large opening (such as a door) first run several lines of tape across it (sticky side out). Now, when it's masked, the paper will stick to the tape and it won't be so floppy. *Use garbage bags to mask wheels. They can be cut or stretched to cover a wheel. When done painting, the masking material can be disposed of in the garbage bags. *When taping off a two-tone, use specific taping and and painting guidelines. For more information, see Brian Martin's article posted on the Hotrodders Bulletin Board: [http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/tip-day-15-a-71220.html Taping off a two tone paint job]. *Removing a part is often a better option than masking it. *When taping a curve, tape will stretch better one way than the other. *When removing tape from freshly painted sheetmetal, do it as soon as possible. *Remove tape in a slightly outward and downwards motion. This will allow the tape to roll back on itself, preventing jagged edges and lifting. *To get tape to stick to rubber, wipe the rubber clean with thinner. *To prevent tape marks when taping on fresh paint, try applying the tape to your pants first. It won't stick as much with a thin layer of lint. this allows air under the tape so you don't trap solvent evaporation which causes paint to show tape shadowing or marring. ==References==

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