Advice on using Parafilm-M

CaptainHawk1 · Post by **CaptainHawk1** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:26 pm

Just got a roll of it from Micromark and I haven't used in several years and I had mixed results in the past.

Any suggestions?

-Shawn

Mr. Badwrench · Post by **Mr. Badwrench** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:13 am

We CoMMiES had a big discussion about this several months ago, and I was surprised that we couldn't agree on anything! One guy thought that Parafilm was only sticky on one side- Not so, it'll stick on both sides. Another felt that it had a grain to it, that you should only stretch it in one direction. Again, not so. A third guy said that you should let it sit for several minutes after stretching it, before placing it on the part to be masked. But I only let it rest a few seconds before placement, and have never had any trouble. About the only thing we could agree on was to use a sharp knife when cutting it. But it turns out that you don't need to cut it all that often. Place it on the model so that it overlaps the area to be masked, burnish it down real good, then push the edges into finished position with a toothpick. It's magic tape!

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 11:22 am

I said it was stickier on one side, works better on gloss coats, and perfers to be stretched on direction (lengthwise).

But... a sharp knife is a must.

Post by **TER-OR** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:59 pm

I saw Mark Grossman actually make sense of it at Wfest last year. Don't follow the directions they give - use it kind of like Silly Putty, but very thin. Don't cut it, but push it into place. It's not so good for straight lines, but great for odd shapes and internal areas etc.

Yes, it will stick to gloss better than matte. But it will work OK for both.
Stretch to activate, then wad it on and move where needed. Fold back, etc.