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I covered this topic a bit in my thread about the Tamiya 1/25 Tiger I am building, and monica asked for more info, so I decided to do a thread detailing my procedure a little more.
Here are the items you will need:
A roll of your favorite masking tape
A ruler/scale, or a dial/digital caliper
A compass type cutter
A cutting mat (or other suitable flat area to cut on... NOT you wife's dining room table!)
View attachment 247232
The cutter I use is available from Flex-I-File, model number 6116. It is adjustable and has a titanium blade, so it should last a long time.
The first thing to do is determine the size you need. You can use a ruler and get it pretty close, but I have found a dial caliper is a little more accurate. It doesn't really matter though, because you can adjust the size after making some test cuts. Measure the portion of the wheel you want to mask. In this case the measurement is 20mm.
View attachment 247233
View attachment 247234
Next, divide your measurement in half. For example: 20mm/2 = 10mm. once you have determined your measurement, set the cutter accordingly.
View attachment 247235
Then, take the cutter, and using it like a regular compass, twist it clockwise, maintaining even pressure all the way around.
View attachment 247236
View attachment 247237
After your cut has been made, carefully peel the tape off the mat, leaving the circle.
View attachment 247238
Use a hobby knife, or whatever, to lift the edge of your circle to avoid stretching the mask, and peel it up.
View attachment 247239
Then, stick it on the portion of the wheel you want to cover. If it is too large, or too small, simply adjust your cutter until it is the size you want. Once the size is set, you can make a whole set, so you can paint all of your wheels at once.
View attachment 247240
Using the circle as illustrated above, you would paint the rim portion of your wheel before masking. Then, once it is dry, stick your circle mask on the inner portion of the wheel and paint the rubber part.
You can also use the outside part of the mask to paint as well. Just leave or toss the circle and take the outside and stick it on the wheel. If it is a bit large due to mis-measuring, or stretching (common depending on the tape) you will end up with something like this:
View attachment 247241
No problem. Just line it up most of the way around, then make a cut and overlap it. Ta-da! Perfect fit.
View attachment 247242
In this case, you would paint the rubber part of the wheel first, then after it dries, apply the mask and paint the inner part.
So far, this method has worked like a champ for me. I don't have to use a circle template wheel by wheel, and I don't have to buy kit specific templates for painting. I can make any size, any time, any quantity.
Here are the items you will need:
A roll of your favorite masking tape
A ruler/scale, or a dial/digital caliper
A compass type cutter
A cutting mat (or other suitable flat area to cut on... NOT you wife's dining room table!)
View attachment 247232
The cutter I use is available from Flex-I-File, model number 6116. It is adjustable and has a titanium blade, so it should last a long time.
The first thing to do is determine the size you need. You can use a ruler and get it pretty close, but I have found a dial caliper is a little more accurate. It doesn't really matter though, because you can adjust the size after making some test cuts. Measure the portion of the wheel you want to mask. In this case the measurement is 20mm.
View attachment 247233
View attachment 247234
Next, divide your measurement in half. For example: 20mm/2 = 10mm. once you have determined your measurement, set the cutter accordingly.
View attachment 247235
Then, take the cutter, and using it like a regular compass, twist it clockwise, maintaining even pressure all the way around.
View attachment 247236
View attachment 247237
After your cut has been made, carefully peel the tape off the mat, leaving the circle.
View attachment 247238
Use a hobby knife, or whatever, to lift the edge of your circle to avoid stretching the mask, and peel it up.
View attachment 247239
Then, stick it on the portion of the wheel you want to cover. If it is too large, or too small, simply adjust your cutter until it is the size you want. Once the size is set, you can make a whole set, so you can paint all of your wheels at once.
View attachment 247240
Using the circle as illustrated above, you would paint the rim portion of your wheel before masking. Then, once it is dry, stick your circle mask on the inner portion of the wheel and paint the rubber part.
You can also use the outside part of the mask to paint as well. Just leave or toss the circle and take the outside and stick it on the wheel. If it is a bit large due to mis-measuring, or stretching (common depending on the tape) you will end up with something like this:
View attachment 247241
No problem. Just line it up most of the way around, then make a cut and overlap it. Ta-da! Perfect fit.
View attachment 247242
In this case, you would paint the rubber part of the wheel first, then after it dries, apply the mask and paint the inner part.
So far, this method has worked like a champ for me. I don't have to use a circle template wheel by wheel, and I don't have to buy kit specific templates for painting. I can make any size, any time, any quantity.