Painted waterline too thick

[Dave_E]

Hi All,

 

Masking for the Lady went well, painting went well. De-masking went well. However... I have some spots around the top that say "look how thick the bottom paint is". What's the best way to feather acrlic? Or should I even bother? From 2' away, you cant see it. Up close... 😯

[Bob Cleek]

Acrylic is often more difficult to sand than oil based paint, but it can be done if it's fully dry. Very fine sandpaper, followed by a hand rubbing with rottenstone and pummice should work, but extreme care would be required to avoid taking too much of the paint off and ensure that the rubbed finish is uniform on the entire hull. That's how the old school pros used to do it. It's time consuming and tedious. Nobody'd fault you if you left it as is. Many's the model that's been messed up by trying to get one little thing just absolutely perfect. You could easily end up re-painting the whole hull by the time you were through with it. The thinner masking tapes, like 3M "fine line" or Tamiya tend to minimize this problem. 

[amateur]

It also helps , but perhaps that is what you alteady did, removing the tape quite soon when the paint is no longer runny, but not dry. 
And two layers of thinned down gives a better result than one layer of non-thinned down paint.

 

Jan

[kurtvd19]

 

When masking and using acrylic paints remove the tape ASAP to allow the paint to self level.  When I say ASAP I mean within just a few minutes after you conclude the painting is done.  I usually have the tape off well within 5 minutes after the airbrush is hung up.   Also, if there is a slight ridge and the paint is dry to the touch you can drag the back side of a fingernail along the line where the two colors meet - sort of like burnishing but using a very light touch - it doesn't take much but the ridge will be be compressed a bit and the self leveling properties of acrylic paints will do the rest.

 

Like Jan said above multiple thin coats will work better than a heavy coat.

 

Kurt

[Dave_E]

Thanks Guys,

 

My mistake for sure... left the tape on for 2 days. 😯 I put on a coat and then let it dry, added another, etc. This went on for 2 days as I tried to find the correct thinning of the white so it would brush on smooth and not set up too quick, but also not be like water. 

 

So on the next one... continue to add coats as the previous coat tacked off? I certainly cannot see retaping with every coat. Am I incorrect assuming that?

[kurtvd19]

No need to retape.  Using acrylics the port side should be OK to apply another coat when you finish the starboard side.  Keep going from side to side until you have adequate coverage - do not brush towards the tape - go along the length - avoid a build up at the tape edge.

 

[Reggiemon]

Hey Dave,

Your Lady Nelson is looking very good. 

You may experiment with a light touching of the waterline edge with very fine, good quality sand paper to see if that removes the sharp edge that you see.

As others have stated, it has to be a very careful touch to not alter anything but the sharp point.

I have the same condition on a larger model with the sprayed on waterline stripe. 

All I can hope for on mine is to reduce the sharp edge to a duller thick edge.

On custom auto paint jobs we would sand the edges as fine as possible and put multiple clear coats on for a smooth finish. Different times, different media, different paint.....LOL