tubestripes nightmare

[LittleOne]

I was using mike stencils to paint the tube stripes and did everything according to his vids, even painted the same way but darn be, they all leaked out and are all ugly when i pulled off the stencils.

 

I have had nothing but beginners bad luck with this helmet.

 

Now i have to find a way to salvage this....

 

I could repaint over completely white and restart the process again with the stencils but i ll likely end up with same results.

 

My idea in the end was trying to cover the blue parts of the stripes and then spray some white gloss over until the spills are gone after removing the mask revealing just the blue stripes...

 

Kind of a cheat way to do it but it seems i have no real alternative. What i would like is to have an airbrush so i could airbrush the tubes with the stencils but that would set me back another chunk of money.

 

i was thinking about using liquid mask to mask those parts but again the stuff stick too much and it kinda hard to get on since it is gooey after a while.

 

i tried a toothpaste test tonight wherein i masked an area with toothpaste and painted krylon over it...the results were not too bad but still not precise enough for me.

 

 

i need to find a way to mask those tiny little tube stripes properly...

 

i cant do any scratching or thinner thing because it attacks the paint below...

 

any suggestions is welcomed. I think after this part i will be able to handle the rest without too much aggravations...

 

cheers!

Edited May 3, 2011 by LittleOne

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

best way is to sand them off, and repaint and then use a masking technique to correct the bleed through.

 

the real key when using stencils is to hand paint them carefully and remove them before the paint fully cures.

 

then to tick off any mistakes with an exacto razor knife.

[john danter]

I hand painted mine with 2 strips of masking tape

 

I messed up often so just used white spirits to wipe them off

 

As for the tears, same again 2 strips but with a ruler to do the vertical lines. I used a uni posca pen for those

 

Just use white spirits and try again

 

Or have you sprayed your lid white anyway?

[LittleOne]

i think i ll try this on a piece of scrap plastic...

 

i ll wet the undercoat of the stencil with soapy water then apply to some plastic surface,,i believe the soap should create an even stronger seal than the tack of the stencil when it is dried and also seal the edges of the stencil design...i ll carefully wipe out the excess soap within the stripes before it is dried up and try to paint.. i ll go buy some cheap for sale plastic signs to try different things on them... it is not the stripes per say, it is the tackiness that is not strong enough...

 

i did paint from edge to insides of stencils just like mike but somehow the paint still got under even though i had made sure the stencils were well pressed against the surface...

 

boy, i ll be able to write a book on helmet making when i am done for sure...

Edited May 3, 2011 by LittleOne

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

he painted the bucket, so he can't use thinner to remove them.

[LittleOne]

he painted the bucket, so he can't use thinner to remove them.

 

yep you are right, i cant use thinner i am gonna have a worse mess than what i have right now.

 

I ll have to find another way...

 

sand off

 

mask the blue stripes and repaint the blue bleeds with white over it...

 

i ll have to find a way

[john danter]

Mine bled too. You just let it dry for a dry and flick it off with a scalpel

 

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

have you tried tk 4510's stencils?

 

just hand paint em!

Edited May 3, 2011 by TK Bondservnt 2392

[TK6237[501st]]

I've done both; using a stencil and painting by hand. Result was lots better just painting by hand. I masked off the top and bottom part, used a measuring tape to space out the stripes sorta evenly, and used a pencil and a large coin to sketch up the individual stripes. I then used a square, flat brush, and painted each stripe in a single stroke, using very little paint. As I was using Humbrol enamels for this, I let the first coat dry over night, and then did two-three more coats, letting the paint dry for a couple of hours between each coat.

 

I felt really nervous about doing the stripes without a stencil to begin with, but it actually turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. Also, the result I got looked very much like what you see on screen, with slight variations of the width and spacing of the stripes.

 

Good luck!

[dashrazor]

you could try tracing the stencils on to masking tape, then mask off the blue stripes only and paint over them with white.

 

also for getting a good masking seal, apply the stencil then coat with a thin coat of matte clear acrylic sealer. let the sealer dry before painting. i have done this when airbrushing with really thin paints to prevent bleeding.

[john danter]

Hand painted for the win

Here's my GF all done by hand

[TK-4510[501st]]

If you have small leaks around the stripes you can take a toothpick and lightly scratch off the leaks to make the edges of the stripes cleaner.

 

If you use a q-tip and dip it in thinner then shake off the excess you can clean up the entire mess and it shouldnt mess with the cured Krylon. I have cleaned off alot of lids before with paint thinner used very sparingly. Just be careful. If you arent sure test it on the bottom side of the chin to see if it weill damage the paint.

Edited May 3, 2011 by TK-4510

[LittleOne]

i have spare ears, i am testing on...

 

i am running a test:

 

I put a coat of liquid mask on the piece of plastic, then i pressed on the stencil over the liquid mask and made sure the stencil is very tightly applied to the surface, i cleaned up the space where the tube should be painted then i applied some paint lightly.

 

in my opinion the masking fluid should seal the edges of the stencil and prevent bleeding under ( i hope )...

 

i have done this morning and i have to wait to get home from work to see the results.

 

 

i ll let you know how it turned out...

Edited May 3, 2011 by LittleOne

[LittleOne]

you could try tracing the stencils on to masking tape, then mask off the blue stripes only and paint over them with white.

 

also for getting a good masking seal, apply the stencil then coat with a thin coat of matte clear acrylic sealer. let the sealer dry before painting. i have done this when airbrushing with really thin paints to prevent bleeding.

 

 

If my tests fail i might end up doing that....i ll sand off the stripes and do your trick with the sealer.

[TK-4510[501st]]

If you need new masking templates let me know and I will send you more.

[TK-2126_MD[TK]]

The only thing i might add is if this is all happaning in a very short time period, take a break. forget about it a coulpe days. then with a clear head come back to it. frustracion leads to anger,anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.......

Take a break.

 

my tubestripe nightmare was wiring my hovi mics and only having one mic work once it was all self contained........... got fed up and left it 3 days and got it in the first try the second time.

[LittleOne]

got fed up and sanded the stripes off..not the end of the world...i put a new hope on and within no time they were gone! good motivating movie ...i should do a mister no stripes helmet ahahahhaha.

 

on to my tests, well as you can see it did not work out and i got fed up..i ll have to find a way to use the stencils without bleeds...but i sure as hell won't test anymore on my bucket until i get it right.

 

on the plus side i got this in the mail today...

 

 

 

 

 

 

anyone else collecting the vintage redos?

 

cheers!

[LittleOne]

On 5/3/2011 at 9:05 PM, john danter said:

Hand painted for the win

Here's my GF all done by hand

 

 

 

awesome painting skills John!

[john danter]

Took me about 4 goes but thanks

 

It's easier than you think.

If you mess up, catch it when it's still wet and wipe off with the white spirits

 

Easy for the tube stripes. Not so easy on the traps.

I painted over my mistakes twice I think lol, but easy to do

[LittleOne]

On 5/3/2011 at 8:36 PM, dashrazor said:

you could try tracing the stencils on to masking tape, then mask off the blue stripes only and paint over them with white.

 

also for getting a good masking seal, apply the stencil then coat with a thin coat of matte clear acrylic sealer. let the sealer dry before painting. i have done this when airbrushing with really thin paints to prevent bleeding.

 

 

would you recommend this as a sealer?

 

 

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Edited December 4, 2020 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

[dashrazor]

good advice. i mostly use masking tape or paper stencils myself . it will not warp the tape like that , is that stencil vinyl ?

 

i have had my vinyl stencil material warp before and i put them in a old book to make them flat for re-use. but that materiel looks really thin compared to what i am used to.

[LittleOne]

good advice. i mostly use masking tape or paper stencils myself . it will not warp the tape like that , is that stencil vinyl ?

 

i have had my vinyl stencil material warp before and i put them in a old book to make them flat for re-use. but that materiel looks really thin compared to what i am used to.

 

 

they look like vinyl to me, maybe Mike could confirm that...

[TK-4510[501st]]

Its a masking vinyl. I actually have changed to an even thinner masking material that conforms to almost anything. You will see it when you get the new masking templates I am sending you.

[ABS80]

I used vinyl stencil from Mike and not a single bleed, it's ideal to use a a airbrush or a spraycan, I only use spray method with stencil never a brush, you need to apply light coats and remove masking before paint cures. Here's what I did using Mikes vinyl stencils he custom made for me, it worked like a charm, it was time consuming and tricky to conform to the complex helmet shape, not for the beginner.

 

 

 

 

 

Mark

[LittleOne]

Ok guys,

 

i ran another test and the shrinking and deformation of the stencil happens when you apply too much of that matte finish...so if you are gonna do this..go very very easy on the spraying of the stuff. it needs a very thin coat to make the seal..

 

 

Unfortunately airbush is not an option for me at this time, i tought about it but the cost and inexperience with the tool with probably go against me again.

 

Humbrol does not offer any enamel in spray which is a bummer cause it would have made my life super easy.

 

but there is way around the problem, i just lack of experience i am sure of that. But i am learning on the go...