Rubber cement as a mask?

siefertma · Post by **siefertma** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 11:28 pm

Hey all:

I'm working on a Ma. K Fireball kit and I'm in the process of painting the camo patter (light gray on dark gray) and I had heard that you can use rubber cement as a making fulid. Can anyone reccomend this, or would this be a mistake?

Shinnentai · Post by **Shinnentai** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:18 am

A lot of people (myself included) use liquid latex for masking detailed edges. You can get it at craft stores, they sell it as a moldmaking compound.

Don't know personally about rubber cement. It might work, although my experiences using it as a paper glue make me think it'd be a little more fussy to work with than latex. I'd also worry about the chemistry: the rubber cement I've worked with before had some solvent-ish fumes associated with it.

Like I say though, I've never tried it personally, so it might be okay. Try testing it on a piece of painted scrap.

seam-filler · Post by **seam-filler** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:27 am

Before I switched to latex I used rubber cement. It works OK but be warned that the longer you leave it on the less likely it is to come off!

Latex works out cheaper and there is never a problem removing it.

Chacal · Post by **Chacal** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 6:15 pm

Latex is your best choice, because its water/ammonia base will not affect acrylics or enamels. Rubber cement, on the other hand, is based on organic solvents which may affect enamels (softening/removing them).

As a bonus, latex masking liquid can be used as a mold material for small parts (very small, flat parts, like instrument panels of WWII 1/72 fighters). You brush thin layers, allowing plenty of time to dry between them. Once done, it takes resin well, but you need to add some mold release to it and set the mold (with the original part set into it as "support") in a small "block" of plasticene, so the mold keeps its shape.

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 6:34 pm

Chacal wrote:Latex is your best choice, because its water/ammonia base will not affect acrylics or enamels.

Ammonia will do a fine job at dissolving Future (an Acrylic) and many of the firs generation acrylic paints like Tamiya's or Gunze, even if the acrylic is dried and cured.

That's why Future has ammonia in it; in its intended us (as a floor polish. What a waste!) the ammonia is used to soften/dissolve the previous layer of Future on the floor.

I don't know if the ammonia in most latex is enough to damage acrylics, but from the smell, I'd say yes. Try it on a scrap piece or coat the acrylic with an ammonia resistant clear coat.

nox4065 · Post by **nox4065** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 6:54 pm

I commonly mask my painted canopies by stuffing them with tissue paper and coating that with rubber cement. I haven't had any trouble with getting it back off, even after weeks of leaving the mask on. It provides excellent protection for the canopy while airbrushing, sanding, etc. . .

It would probably be a little messy to use generally as a mask.

Shinnentai · Post by **Shinnentai** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 8:37 am

Chacal wrote:As a bonus, latex masking liquid can be used as a mold material for small parts (very small, flat parts, like instrument panels of WWII 1/72 fighters). You brush thin layers, allowing plenty of time to dry between them. Once done, it takes resin well, but you need to add some mold release to it and set the mold (with the original part set into it as "support") in a small "block" of plasticene, so the mold keeps its shape.

I use latex all the time for duplicating parts in epoxy resin. It can handle large complex shapes easaly (actually has a better tolerance for undercuts than silicon), and needs *no* mold release.

Paint on about 2-3 coats, then imbed strips of gauze bandage in a forth coat. Trowel on a mother mold (Doesn't have to be pretty, I usually just glop on half an inch or so of water putty).

'Coure I don't use "masking liquid" (even for masking), I use the "mold builder" stuff the sell at Michael's (for both masking and casting).