Mr Bowcat
SMF Supporter
Hi guys,
I recently used vinyl masks on my F-16 obtained from Jim at Advanced Modelling Products in the US. Jim is a lovely guy and very helpful.
The model was painted with Hataka orange line (lacquer) paints, and the masks applied after a 24 hour drying period. As this was a 3 colour scheme the base layer of masks were left on for around 48 hours.
Upon removal I was dismayed to find a thick, sticky residue had been left all over the model where the masks had been applied. I managed to clean it off with cotton buds and odourless thinner, but this took many, many hours.
I contacted Jim about this and he advised he had only had this issue once before, and that was also with Hataka lacquers. Jim asked me if I would mind running an experiment for him and sent me some uncut vinyl sheets.
For the purpose of the test and to mimic what I did on the F-16, I used a clean piece of styrene sheet that was degreased with IPA. Two panels were primed with Mr Surfacer 1500, then top coated after 24 hours, one with Hataka lacquer and the other with Tamiya lacquer.
These were allowed to dry for 12 hours before the first vinyl strip was applied. Strips were then applied at 12 hour intervals.
These were then left on for a further 48 hours before removal. The results speak for themselves.
As can be seen, significant residue was left on the Hataka paint, and the masks were difficult to remove. By comparison the vinyl came away cleanly and easily with zero residue from the Tamiya lacquer.
I've emailed Jim with my findings and suggested he adds a disclaimer to his website regarding Hataka lacquers.
I'm also posting the results here so if anyone does use Jim's masks (which I would highly recommend, they are a great product) just don't use Hataka lacquer, or do a test on scrap plasticard before committing to a model.
I recently used vinyl masks on my F-16 obtained from Jim at Advanced Modelling Products in the US. Jim is a lovely guy and very helpful.
The model was painted with Hataka orange line (lacquer) paints, and the masks applied after a 24 hour drying period. As this was a 3 colour scheme the base layer of masks were left on for around 48 hours.
Upon removal I was dismayed to find a thick, sticky residue had been left all over the model where the masks had been applied. I managed to clean it off with cotton buds and odourless thinner, but this took many, many hours.
I contacted Jim about this and he advised he had only had this issue once before, and that was also with Hataka lacquers. Jim asked me if I would mind running an experiment for him and sent me some uncut vinyl sheets.
For the purpose of the test and to mimic what I did on the F-16, I used a clean piece of styrene sheet that was degreased with IPA. Two panels were primed with Mr Surfacer 1500, then top coated after 24 hours, one with Hataka lacquer and the other with Tamiya lacquer.
These were allowed to dry for 12 hours before the first vinyl strip was applied. Strips were then applied at 12 hour intervals.
These were then left on for a further 48 hours before removal. The results speak for themselves.
As can be seen, significant residue was left on the Hataka paint, and the masks were difficult to remove. By comparison the vinyl came away cleanly and easily with zero residue from the Tamiya lacquer.
I've emailed Jim with my findings and suggested he adds a disclaimer to his website regarding Hataka lacquers.
I'm also posting the results here so if anyone does use Jim's masks (which I would highly recommend, they are a great product) just don't use Hataka lacquer, or do a test on scrap plasticard before committing to a model.
.