Leaderboard

What Kevin said. Plus there's a fair chance that the markings under said masks - which of course will not benefit from the clear coat - will end up with a different sheen, and thus you'll negate one of the very reasons we paint markings in the first place.

Yup, I came to the same conclusion. For whatever reason I had the thought that it might help the edges not tearing. 🙄 The markings were first and it occurred to me that I would have to clear the markings after removing the masks if I cleared first. I had to do some touch-up on the underside color, so perhaps the masks will come off tomorrow. Thanks!

Have to agree 100% with the Two Wise Men…..does that make us three? I can’t think of a single reason why this might be a good idea but several reasons why not. Max

I wouldn't do it, Dave. You risk binding the masks to the paint layers, and potentially increasing the size of any paint ridges that might form against the edge of the masks. I'd recommend removing masks (of any kind) as soon as you can after you've finished laying down any paint. This not only minimises the opportunity for the adhesive on the masks to do any damage to the underlying paint, but also allows any paint build-up against the masks (ridges) to self-level, depending on the paint you've used. Once the masks are off and the paint is completely cured, you can reduce or even eliminate and ridges by gently rubbing or polishing the painted markings. At that point, you can start doing your clear coats. Of course, some or all of these things are not always possible - especially if, like me, you tend to paint markings first, mask them out, and then paint the camouflage colours later. It always pays to experiment on a mule if you can! But in short, don't add a clear coat before removing masks. Kev

Thanks for that insight, worth a try I think for smaller lettering. There’s some useful background and setting recommendations here. Max

I saw a post on the internet some time ago where a guy was cutting 1/32 data stencils with a Cameo 3 and his approach made sense. He claims that it's not the cutter, but the material that makes the difference. I've tried cutting small things and the problem I had was the blade lifting the 810 and kabuki off the sheet. What this guy used was Oracal 641 which is not designed for stencil making but because it's thinner than 810 and has a more aggressive adhesive the blade doesn't pull it up. Made sense to me.