Dan Langhout
Well Known Member
There is another thread going on VAF where the subject of paint masks came up. I made extensive use of paint masks when I painted my RV-7 - and it occurred to me that I had a fair number of photos showing their application and use.
So . . . . here is a sequence of photos showing the process of how I applied one of the paint masks to my horizontal stabilizer and elevator.
Applying paint masks isn’t fundamentally different from applying vinyl graphics except that you can’t use soapy water to help slide them into final position. The positioning has to be accurate as you lay the mask down. My paint scheme had features that spanned the horizontal stabilizer and elevators. To make sure everything lined up, I attached the elevators to the horizontal stab, applied the masks, and then cut through the mask at the elevator/horizontal stab joint line to get the elevators back off. All the items are then painted separately.
In this photo, you can see the mask has been trimmed down to leave just a small border of transfer paper / release paper around the outside of the mask. It has been positioned carefully and the inboard half of the mask has been securely taped down. Small pieces of tape are applied close to the edge of the mask with match marks drawn between the tape and the transfer paper to act as a guide when the mask is being applied.
The outboard half is pulled back over the inboard half.
The release paper is peeled off of the “sticky” side of the mask and is cut off from the remaining release paper under the inboard half of the mask.
The outboard end of the mask is carefully applied to the stab/elevator. This takes 2 hands to keep the mask taut with no wrinkles. Line up the match marks made earlier. A squeegee or body filler spreader is used to work out the air bubbles as you go.
So now the inboard end of the mask is un-taped and pulled back over the just applied outboard end, You can see the cut end of the release paper on the bottom of the mask.
Release paper removed.
Now the inboard half of the mask is applied the same way as the outboard half.
And finally the applied mask after removing the transfer paper. If you look closely, you can see the internal striping details cut into the mask. This mask is un-weeded which means the material inside the stripe areas hasn’t been removed yet. The forward edge of the mask establishes the edge of the red paint on the leading edge. This mask is on the top right of the stab/elevator. There are 3 more masks to be applied to the top left side and to the right and left sides on the bottom. Some hand taping has to be done to “connect” the top and bottom masks.
Final product - horizontal stabilizer . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . and elevators.
So . . . . here is a sequence of photos showing the process of how I applied one of the paint masks to my horizontal stabilizer and elevator.
Applying paint masks isn’t fundamentally different from applying vinyl graphics except that you can’t use soapy water to help slide them into final position. The positioning has to be accurate as you lay the mask down. My paint scheme had features that spanned the horizontal stabilizer and elevators. To make sure everything lined up, I attached the elevators to the horizontal stab, applied the masks, and then cut through the mask at the elevator/horizontal stab joint line to get the elevators back off. All the items are then painted separately.
In this photo, you can see the mask has been trimmed down to leave just a small border of transfer paper / release paper around the outside of the mask. It has been positioned carefully and the inboard half of the mask has been securely taped down. Small pieces of tape are applied close to the edge of the mask with match marks drawn between the tape and the transfer paper to act as a guide when the mask is being applied.
The outboard half is pulled back over the inboard half.
The release paper is peeled off of the “sticky” side of the mask and is cut off from the remaining release paper under the inboard half of the mask.
The outboard end of the mask is carefully applied to the stab/elevator. This takes 2 hands to keep the mask taut with no wrinkles. Line up the match marks made earlier. A squeegee or body filler spreader is used to work out the air bubbles as you go.
So now the inboard end of the mask is un-taped and pulled back over the just applied outboard end, You can see the cut end of the release paper on the bottom of the mask.
Release paper removed.
Now the inboard half of the mask is applied the same way as the outboard half.
And finally the applied mask after removing the transfer paper. If you look closely, you can see the internal striping details cut into the mask. This mask is un-weeded which means the material inside the stripe areas hasn’t been removed yet. The forward edge of the mask establishes the edge of the red paint on the leading edge. This mask is on the top right of the stab/elevator. There are 3 more masks to be applied to the top left side and to the right and left sides on the bottom. Some hand taping has to be done to “connect” the top and bottom masks.
Final product - horizontal stabilizer . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . and elevators.
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