Liquid Mask Difficult to Remove

[Arise0185]

Hi all,

I'm wrapping up the new body for my 2wd buggy, and I am having the HARDEST time removing the liquid mask that I used for the windows. Unfortunately, this was a body that came with a used buggy I purchased, and it did not come with the window stickers. So I figured I'd get clever and use liquid mask to mask the windows, instead of trying to cut something out of painters tape.

Unfortunately now that I'm done with the paint job, the liquid mask seems to be stuck real well. I've been picking at it with a hobby knife for a while and it just refuses to peel off cleanly. A few thoughts:

• The last coat of paint is only an hour old (dry to the touch). Should I leave it longer?
• I applied the liquid mask maybe 4-5 days ago. Have I waited too long?
• I saw a suggestion to use a toothpick to help peel off the liquid mask, perhaps I'll try this.
• What can I do differently in the future to prevent this?

 

[332_RC]

Sometimes it's just a pain. Liquid mask can be left on a lexan body for months. You probably got it super clean- which is good! I've had some remove easy, some I had to work & work & it broke & took a while. Is it cold in the room?

 

[Littlemotor]

Lighter coats, and moooooooore of them.. It’s far too thin there. Toothpick will help ya with the rest of this job for sure.. Been there-it suuuuucks..

Also-I’ve left Bitty’s on a lid or two for over 6mos, and it was no problem at all.

 

[Arise0185]

Sometimes it's just a pain. Liquid mask can be left on a lexan body for months. You probably got it super clean- which is good! I've had some remove easy, some I had to work & work & it broke & took a while. Is it cold in the room?

It's approximately 65 degrees in the room. Do warmer temps help or hurt the removal process?

Lighter coats, and moooooooore of them.. It’s far too thin there. Toothpick will help ya with the rest of this job for sure.. Been there-it suuuuucks..

Also-I’ve left Bitty’s on a lid or two for over 6mos, and it was no problem at all.

Interesting you say that. I brushed it on extra thick around the windows (5 layers) whereas the rest of the body was only 3 layers. The initial peel went very smoothly, leaving only the window masks in place. I guess I'll keep picking at it..

 

[WickedFog]

Stick some masking tape on it and peel the tape.

 

[Arise0185]

Stick some masking tape on it and peel the tape.

I'll give this a try!

 

[332_RC]

Run a hair dryer lightly over it. Just warm it up a little. Might help it release

 

[Littlemotor]

It's approximately 65 degrees in the room. Do warmer temps help or hurt the removal process?



Interesting you say that. I brushed it on extra thick around the windows (5 layers) whereas the rest of the body was only 3 layers. The initial peel went very smoothly, leaving only the window masks in place. I guess I'll keep picking at it..

Very strange… What brand was it? I’ve only heard of those issues out of Pro-Line (thanks Horizon ), and a batch or two of the ol’ Bob Dively’s..

 

[RustyUs]

I need to know what brand is being used as well. That stuff you got on there looks opaque. I've only ever used Bob Dively's stuff, and it gets semitransparent.

 

[WickedFog]

I need to know what brand is being used as well. That stuff you got on there looks opaque. I've only ever used Bob Dively's stuff, and it gets semitransparent.

 

[Arise0185]

Very strange… What brand was it? I’ve only heard of those issues out of Pro-Line (thanks Horizon ), and a batch or two of the ol’ Bob Dively’s..

I need to know what brand is being used as well. That stuff you got on there looks opaque. I've only ever used Bob Dively's stuff, and it gets semitransparent.

I'm using Spaz Stix Liquid Mask. Re: looking opaque, to be clear, this is AFTER I've painted it (blue with a white backer). Not sure if that's what you were referring to or not.

I did clean the body very thoroughly (dawn dish soap and warm water with a paper towel, then wipe down with 70% isopropyl. I ended up getting the window masks off, but apparently I left some bits around the edges which were not visible to me at the time. So the edges are not very clean in some locations, which is rather disappointing. I sharped the border in black on the exterior of the body so it at least looks halfway decent for now, but that will rub off as soon as I hit the track.

Not sure what I'll do differently next time. Don't know that I want to risk using the same bottle of this stuff again, considering it seems like there were no glaring errors in my technique. I don't want to give up on liquid mask entirely as it seems like a useful tool...

 

[WickedFog]

I'm using Spaz Stix Liquid Mask. Re: looking opaque, to be clear, this is AFTER I've painted it (blue with a white backer). Not sure if that's what you were referring to or not.

I did clean the body very thoroughly (dawn dish soap and warm water with a paper towel, then wipe down with 70% isopropyl. I ended up getting the window masks off, but apparently I left some bits around the edges which were not visible to me at the time. So the edges are not very clean in some locations, which is rather disappointing. I sharped the border in black on the exterior of the body so it at least looks halfway decent for now, but that will rub off as soon as I hit the track.

Not sure what I'll do differently next time. Don't know that I want to risk using the same bottle of this stuff again, considering it seems like there were no glaring errors in my technique. I don't want to give up on liquid mask entirely as it seems like a useful tool...

You can take an exacto blade and scrape off any bleeding. It won't show once the next color goes on, as long as you don't gouge the body too much. But even then it tends to disappear.

 

[Littlemotor]

It sure sounds like you got a bad batch from where I’m sitting.. I’d say give the Bitty Design stuff a whirl on the next job..

 

[Arise0185]

I didn't see the leftover liquid mask until I sprayed the "smoke" for the windows. Then it became very apparent (see the top edge of the side window on the buggy). Maybe I'll try scraping it off and re-spraying the smoke to touch up.

 

[WickedFog]

I didn't see the leftover liquid mask until I sprayed the "smoke" for the windows. Then it became very apparent (see the top edge of the side window on the buggy). Maybe I'll try scraping it off and re-spraying the smoke to touch up.

View attachment 216003

Oh, no, it can't be fixed with a translucent paint. Scraping off those spots and respraying will still leave those lighter spots a bit lighter. Scrape it off and spray the windows opaque black. That will work great.

 

[Arise0185]

Oh, no, it can't be fixed with a translucent paint. Scraping off those spots and respraying will still leave those lighter spots a bit lighter. Scrape it off and spray the windows opaque black. That will work great.

It's not perfect, but it's a heck of an improvement! Appreciate the advice!

 

[WickedFog]

It's not perfect, but it's a heck of an improvement! Appreciate the advice!

View attachment 216020

Oh yeah, much better. Nicely done. Love the paint job too!

 

[CertifiedMike]

It looks great from here! Nice save!