A paint mask is a self-adhesive stencil that protects clear parts and already painted surfaces while you spray. Most often it is used to paint window frames, a job that otherwise means a long evening of cutting masking tape with no guarantee of a clean result. Pre-cut sets follow the shapes of specific kits exactly, and the range also includes stencils for tyre lettering and double-sided masks for glazing that has to be painted inside and out. The right mask saves hours.
1:35 Velorex double-sided express fit mask for Art Scale Kit
6.76 €
1:12 Masks - Ford GT40 Mk II Team Shelby American
7.16 €
1:24 Window Frame Paint Masks - Audi Quattro Sport S1
4.36 €
1:24 Window frames masks - Citroen DS3 WRC
4.36 €
1:12 Masks - Bugatti Type 35B
4.36 €
1:24 Window Frame Paint Masks - Peugeot 306 Maxi
4.36 €
A window frame is unremarkable on a real car and one of the hardest painting jobs on a model. The clear part must not be scratched and the paint edge has to be perfectly crisp. A thin self-adhesive film is simply laid on, burnished down and peeled off after spraying, leaving a sharp line with no bleed. The same principle helps with lamps, wire wheels and white lettering on tyre sidewalls. The one condition is a clean, degreased surface: on a dusty part the film will not key and paint creeps under the edge.
Pre-cut masks are made for specific kits, whose designation appears in the name of the set, and the shapes then fit to within a fraction of a millimetre. The choice is widest for 1:24 and 1:25 car model kits, with some sets available for smaller commercial-vehicle scales as well.
Basic sets cover the glazing; richer ones add lamps, mirrors or wheels. Double-sided masks earn their keep on glazing painted from both faces, and tyre stencils on racing subjects with prominent sidewall markings.
Masks work with a spray gun and with aerosols. The cleanest edges come from a light pass through an airbrush, because lower pressure does not drive paint under the film. Build the colour up in several mist coats rather than one wet pass, and peel the film while the paint is dry to the touch but not fully hardened, which gives the crispest edge.
Pre-cut sets handle the awkward shapes, but a build usually needs a little tape as well: door shuts, the underside of a bonnet, the join between two colours on a bumper. Keep a roll of low-tack modelling tape beside the masks and burnish every edge down with a cocktail stick. Where a curve defeats both, liquid masking fluid fills the gap.
Masks are one part of the kit bag; the complete range is in accessories for car and formula models.
