Scraping paint or scraping frisket - which is easier?

[kathrynloch]

Okay, the search function and I are not getting along. I must be using the wrong terminology. In the past, (before the hand tremors) the figures I painted were small gaming miniatures so i always assembled before painting.

Now with the larger figures, before assembly, I spotted areas that would be difficult to get at if I assembled before I painted. So brilliant me decided to mask off those areas, especially since using pigments, I apply layers with sealer.

I got the frisket that supposedly was for all surfaces, not just paper. But now that it's time to take it off, it's driving me crazy! Even with my scraper, this stuff doesn't want to come off. I've tried an xacto - still doesn't want to budge. I've tried taking a cotton swab and lightly applying rubbing alcohol, nope - nada - zip - zilch.

For the most part, I test fit and look for areas that need filling with apoxie. Those are the parts that get assembled but with a recent figure I started putting together, Pegaso's Templar Sergeant 90mm, I basically put the entire thing together except for the shield because there are so many places that need apoxie. Like the top of the hood had a huge gap despite my best efforts. But the face inside the hood is going to be tough to paint.

How do others go about this?

On the sergeant, I'm not using any frisket but has anyone had success with the stuff? Is it just easier to scrape off the paint rather than deal with masking?

I apologize, know there have to be threads on the subject, but I could not find them.

Thanks!!!

Cheers,
Karrie

 

[Tommi]

I use Humbrol Maskol, its great and pulls off in one piece using an old tooth pick. It dries quicly and forms a rubber skin.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HUMBROL-28ml-MASKOL-BOTTLE-/330566454389?pt=UK_ToysGames_ModelKits_ModelKits_JN&hash=item4cf74bcc75

Cheers
Tommi

 

[housecarl]

I'm with Tommi, or I use Blutac and plumbers PTFE tape.
Carl.

 

[skeeterbuck]

Wow Kerrie. you've had your trobles as of late. First with the horse head and now this.
If your in the States it might be easier for you to find Walthers Magic Mask. It works the same as the Humbrol Maskol... Paint on, let dry, peel off when finished. Just remember to use a cheep brush. Here's a link to what it looks like.

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/904-106

Also, if your spray painting you can try silly putty. The stuff that comes in a plastic egg container that kids still play with. You can find it in just about any toy store. The good thing about silly putty is that it will conform better if left on for awile and it doesn'tl leave any residue behind. Good Luck!

Chuck

 

[gordy]

Hi Karrie,

There seems to be only a few references to frisket so it may not be in our toolset here at planetFigure

 

[Einion]

I got the frisket that supposedly was for all surfaces, not just paper. But now that it's time to take it off, it's driving me crazy! Even with my scraper, this stuff doesn't want to come off.

Just to check, is this after spraying a coat or two of sealer Kathryn? I've never heard of a frisket being this difficult to remove (scratch that, difficult to remove period; mostly they're very low-tack, sometimes a little too low!)

I mostly use latex masking fluid; because most surfaces are compound curves frisket always seemed like it wasn't an option anyway (even before considerations of cost, it's really expensive here).

Blu-Tack and Silly Putty are both well worth trying too and can be reused nearly indefinitely.

If you do need a sheet-like material though I can highly recommend Parafilm-M.

Some related stuff in these threads:
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16230
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14040
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31988
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14579

Einion

 

[kathrynloch]

I use Humbrol Maskol, its great and pulls off in one piece using an old tooth pick. It dries quicly and forms a rubber skin.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HUMBROL-28ml-MASKOL-BOTTLE-/330566454389?pt=UK_ToysGames_ModelKits_ModelKits_JN&hash=item4cf74bcc75

Cheers
Tommi

I'm with Tommi, or I use Blutac and plumbers PTFE tape.
Carl.

Thank you Tommi and Carl! Getting Humbrol here is a bit of a trick. Squadron is in Texas so I always try there first because they have a lot of UK vendors. Unfortunately, the one item I want is the one thing they don't have most of the time. But the Bluetac I can do.

Wow Kerrie. you've had your trobles as of late. First with the horse head and now this.
If your in the States it might be easier for you to find Walthers Magic Mask. It works the same as the Humbrol Maskol... Paint on, let dry, peel off when finished. Just remember to use a cheep brush. Here's a link to what it looks like.

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/904-106

Also, if your spray painting you can try silly putty. The stuff that comes in a plastic egg container that kids still play with. You can find it in just about any toy store. The good thing about silly putty is that it will conform better if left on for awile and it doesn'tl leave any residue behind. Good Luck!

Chuck

lol! I might just have to get the silly putty for old times sake. As long as I keep it away from the Sunday Funnies, I'm good. We used to do transfers from the comic strips with that stuff.

Thanks for the info Chuck, I'll probably try the Bluetac or Silly Putty first.

Hi Karrie,

There seems to be only a few references to frisket so it may not be in our toolset here at planetFigure

Oh leave it to me to find the obtuse. Thanks Gordy!

Just to check, is this after spraying a coat or two of sealer Kathryn? I've never heard of a frisket being this difficult to remove (scratch that, difficult to remove period; mostly they're very low-tack, sometimes a little too low!)

Hi Einion, yes, this can be after several layers of sealer because I'm constantly sealing when using pigments. BUT to shoot that one in the foot, this stuff was also difficult to remove with just a single coat of primer on it. When I get home later this eve, I'll post the brand because this stuff does not want to come off at all. I've heard to use a gum eraser on it but I haven't gotten one yet.

I mostly use latex masking fluid; because most surfaces are compound curves frisket always seemed like it wasn't an option anyway (even before considerations of cost, it's really expensive here).

Blu-Tack and Silly Putty are both well worth trying too and can be reused nearly indefinitely.

If you do need a sheet-like material though I can highly recommend Parafilm-M.

Some related stuff in these threads:
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16230
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14040
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31988
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14579

Einion

Thanks for the links! On the bottle of the stuff I have it calls itself both frisket and latex masking fluid. One thing is certain, it covers well and nothing gets through it.

Okay, off to read a little. Thanks for all the info guys! I'll definitely try the blue tack and/or silly putty first.

Cheers,
Karrie

 

[kathrynloch]

Okay, just to document, the stuff I have is Incredible White Mask: Liquid Frisket. For use with all water based mediums. Use on paper, glass, wood, leather, metal and ceramics. Basically it contains ammonia and latex.

This is the regular plain ole stuff that's absolute murder to get off. lol! Anyways, thanks again for all of the info. I'll let y'all know how to blue tack and silly putty work.

Cheers,
Karrie

 

[marius'mules]

When I do the occasional armor or airplane model I always use Silly Putty for masking; I know it sounds low tech and not as glamorous as other methods, but Silly Putty, believe it or not is the best stuff I have found for masking and it conforms to any odd shape and angle also, and no clean up.

Also it's cheap to buy; a lot of times you can find the Silly Putty in the Dollar Clearance bend at the toy store.

 

[kagemusha]

Hi Karrie, you could try a product called 'Goo Gone'. It is widely available on your side of the pond as I got mine from USA. It will remove just about any kind of glue etc. but not the paint or sealer so no worries there.
Cheers, Ron.

 

[skeeterbuck]

Hi Karrie, you could try a product called 'Goo Gone'. It is widely available on your side of the pond as I got mine from USA. It will remove just about any kind of glue etc. but not the paint or sealer so no worries there.
Cheers, Ron.

I would recommend that you test a small area first before using "Goo Gone". IIRC I used this once and it did damage the paint. Better to be safe than sorry.

Chuck

 

[kathrynloch]

When I do the occasional armor or airplane model I always use Silly Putty for masking; I know it sounds low tech and not as glamorous as other methods, but Silly Putty, believe it or not is the best stuff I have found for masking and it conforms to any odd shape and angle also, and no clean up.

Also it's cheap to buy; a lot of times you can find the Silly Putty in the Dollar Clearance bend at the toy store.

Good idea! I didn't even think about that - was dreading the trip to Walmart that I'm going to have to make soon UGH! But I can stop at the dollar store on the way home. Of course, now that I'm actively looking for it....well, you know how that goes.

Hi Karrie, you could try a product called 'Goo Gone'. It is widely available on your side of the pond as I got mine from USA. It will remove just about any kind of glue etc. but not the paint or sealer so no worries there.
Cheers, Ron.

I would recommend that you test a small area first before using "Goo Gone". IIRC I used this once and it did damage the paint. Better to be safe than sorry.

Chuck

I do have Goo Gone here - that stuff is like a must have at my place along with Lestoil (we use this cleaner to tell if the finish on a Breyer horse is original, especially if we want to make sure a glossy is really a glossy). I'll give it a shot and see if it helps get this stuff off. I'll use a cotton swab so hopefully I won't muck up anything.

Thanks again!

Cheers,
Karrie

 

[Einion]

Thanks for the links! On the bottle of the stuff I have it calls itself both frisket and latex masking fluid.

Welcome! Okay well I was thinking of entirely the wrong stuff (frisket film).

Dried masking fluid can be hard to get off, particularly in a thin layer. I presume that's the problem here as liquid masks should all be pretty similar at the end of the day since they're basically just solutions of latex in ammonia, with or without something to tint or colour them.

I learned early on to apply this stuff fairly thickly to make it easier to remove. I sometimes really slather it on if I know I'll be spraying heavily, making sure there are little peaks here and there that can be grabbed with tweezers or pinched between two fingernails; then I try to pull the mask off in one go if possible. Edges are always a problem and can often need some scraping back.

I don't know if you know the trick of making a 'rubber', a little ball of dried latex? Dried latex sticks to dried latex; if you've sprayed a lot you won't be able to just stick it to the middle of a mask and start pulling, but you can roll it over or rub at the edges of already-lifted areas and it'll stick to any exposed mask, giving you a start on peeling more of it off. I also use these to dab at pesky bits of mask hiding in recessed areas, which can be spotted as little shiny spots if they're still uncovered by paint.

Einion

 

[kathrynloch]

Ah now that makes more sense. Here I was trying to be all neat and tidy and apply a nice little thin layer - or two. So that is what shot me in the foot.

Thank you, Einon!

For the little ball, I did read something about that when I did a general internet search trying to get this stuff off. Unfortunately, with my thin layers and the added primer, it wouldn't roll up or ball or nothing (I also heard a gum eraser works - but of course I only have kneadable). So you can imagine what the stuff did that I actually had layers of sealer on - it wouldn't budge.

But I got the silly putty now - look out! She's armed and dangerous!

Thanks again for the info. If I do use it again, I'll make sure I get it on there thick and leave areas where I can grab it.

Cheers,
Karrie