Question: best way to mask interiors for painting?

[customline]

A lot of interiors call for only one color but '50s cars and customs are often 2 or 3 colors. I have tried tape, foil (big mistake) and just brush painting but I want a better job and spraying offers the best finish. Masking a complicated color scheme has me pulling my limited hair out. I'm not happy with anything I have done so far.  I welcome all comments; please tell me what works for you.

[Tom Geiger]

I like the Tamiya yellow tape. I will cover items with it and cut it in place like you’d do with foil. 
 

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

There's really no silver bullet, and short of using photo reduced decals, there are no short cuts for painting a multi-color interior.

You just have to take your time, use good masking tape, (Tamiya) and do the masking under magnification so that you can see what you're doing in detail.

I spray the overall color first, (lighter color first works best) but then if the remaining colors cover small areas, you can use a brush.

Use flat paint and be sure that it's sufficiently thin to lay down flat to eliminate brush marks.

Don't over load the brush with paint, at least for the first coats to keep from getting any bleed under.

Use 2 or 3 light coats of color before removing the mask, and remove it before the last coat is thoroughly dry to prevent pulling up any paint and for a nice, clean line.

 

As far as masking goes, use Tamiya tape for the bulk of it and cut a fresh edge on it with a steel ruler before applying.

You can cut thin pieces of tape the same way if needed.

I do use foil occasionally for masking, but usually only for curved areas where tape would be difficult to cut to get a sharp line.

 

Work in small sections to avoid getting burned out on masking.

I might do one door panel, or a half of a seat cushion at a time.

 

If you understand that you might have to spend real some time on an interior with masking and painting, you can achieve some pretty spectacular results, even with the old one piece annual interior tubs.

 

 

 

 

1961 Buick Invicta

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Edsel Corsair

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Ford Galaxie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Plymouth Fury

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1962 Ford Sunliner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Pontiac Bonneville

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited December 9, 2021 by StevenGuthmiller

[vaughn]

It's a time consuming labor of love.

[MrMiles]

clear coat over the tape will help stop bleeds

[TransAmMike]

5 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

There's really no silver bullet, and short of using photo reduced decals, there are no short cuts for painting a multi-color interior.

You just have to take your time, use good masking tape, (Tamiya) and do the masking under magnification so that you can see what you're doing in detail.

I spray the overall color first, (lighter color first works best) but then if the remaining colors cover small areas, you can use a brush.

Use flat paint and be sure that it's sufficiently thin to lay down flat to eliminate brush marks.

Don't over load the brush with paint, at least for the first coats to keep from getting any bleed under.

Use 2 or 3 light coats of color before removing the mask, and remove it before the last coat is thoroughly dry to prevent pulling up any paint and for a nice, clean line.

 

As far as masking goes, use Tamiya tape for the bulk of it and cut a fresh edge on it with a steel ruler before applying.

You can cut thin pieces of tape the same way if needed.

I do use foil occasionally for masking, but usually only for curved areas where tape would be difficult to cut to get a sharp line.

 

Work in small sections to avoid getting burned out on masking.

I might do one door panel, or a half of a seat cushion at a time.

 

If you understand that you might have to spend real some time on an interior with masking and painting, you can achieve some pretty spectacular results, even with the old one piece annual interior tubs.

 

 

 

 

1961 Buick Invicta

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Edsel Corsair

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Ford Galaxie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Plymouth Fury

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1962 Ford Sunliner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Pontiac Bonneville

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

Steve, you are the master of  colorful interiors Buddy!!

[customline]

2 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

Steve, you are the master of  colorful interiors Buddy!!

I absolutely agree!  Those interiors are amazing! 

Thank you all for the advice ?

[Dpate]

Yeah tamiya tape cut and thinned however you need and the holy grail of liquid mask helps a ton. 

[Tom Geiger]

On 12/9/2021 at 2:51 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

if you understand that you might have to spend real some time on an interior with masking and painting, you can achieve some pretty spectacular results, even with the old one piece annual interior tubs.

then there are the guys who spray the entire interior flat black and are done with it!   ?

[Dpate]

8 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

then there are the guys who spray the entire interior flat black and are done with it!   ?

?

[StevenGuthmiller]

34 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

then there are the guys who spray the entire interior flat black and are done with it!   ?

I guess, if that’s your thing...... ?

 

 

 

Steve

[Tom Geiger]

20 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I guess, if that’s your thing......

 

Here ya go Steve!  Chevy pickup interior I got as part of an old parts kit.

 

 

[SSNJim]

1 hour ago, Tom Geiger said:

then there are the guys who spray the entire interior flat black and are done with it!   ?

Guilty as charged.

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

Here ya go Steve!  Chevy pickup interior I got as part of an old parts kit.

 

 

Looks great! ?

 

 

 

Steve

[JollySipper]

On 12/9/2021 at 1:52 PM, Tom Geiger said:

I like the Tamiya yellow tape. I will cover items with it and cut it in place like you’d do with foil. 
 

 

I've been doing just this on a '62 Thunderbird interior. It's working excellent!

[TarheelRick]

Interior masking is one of the primary reasons my '62 Catalina is still in the box.  I really need to get it back out, if I can ever get my basement heaters wired.

[58 Impala]

On 12/13/2021 at 12:01 PM, TarheelRick said:

Interior masking is one of the primary reasons my '62 Catalina is still in the box.  I really need to get it back out, if I can ever get my basement heaters wired.

I did a 62 Pontiac a while back. Good tape and a lot of patience.

[dmthamade]

Never going to do masking like the above interiors(fantastic work btw) but for other masking tasks, i've used these tapes bu Aizu and Jammy Dog,

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/list/2413/0/1

http://www.jammydog.com/

Don

[charlie8575]

On 12/9/2021 at 2:51 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

There's really no silver bullet, and short of using photo reduced decals, there are no short cuts for painting a multi-color interior.

You just have to take your time, use good masking tape, (Tamiya) and do the masking under magnification so that you can see what you're doing in detail.

I spray the overall color first, (lighter color first works best) but then if the remaining colors cover small areas, you can use a brush.

Use flat paint and be sure that it's sufficiently thin to lay down flat to eliminate brush marks.

Don't over load the brush with paint, at least for the first coats to keep from getting any bleed under.

Use 2 or 3 light coats of color before removing the mask, and remove it before the last coat is thoroughly dry to prevent pulling up any paint and for a nice, clean line.

 

As far as masking goes, use Tamiya tape for the bulk of it and cut a fresh edge on it with a steel ruler before applying.

You can cut thin pieces of tape the same way if needed.

I do use foil occasionally for masking, but usually only for curved areas where tape would be difficult to cut to get a sharp line.

 

Work in small sections to avoid getting burned out on masking.

I might do one door panel, or a half of a seat cushion at a time.

 

If you understand that you might have to spend real some time on an interior with masking and painting, you can achieve some pretty spectacular results, even with the old one piece annual interior tubs.

 

 

 

 

1961 Buick Invicta

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Edsel Corsair

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Ford Galaxie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Plymouth Fury

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1962 Ford Sunliner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959 Pontiac Bonneville

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

Is the checked pattern in the Edsel interior painted, or did you use some kind of marker for those?

Same question with the Plymouth. I'm planning on doing a '59, and was thinking Scale Motorsports blue plaid decals would be a decent start, if nothing else, it would give me a good grid to work with, and I can dot it in with a blue technical pen.

Charlie Larkin

[StevenGuthmiller]

21 hours ago, charlie8575 said:

Is the checked pattern in the Edsel interior painted, or did you use some kind of marker for those?

Same question with the Plymouth. I'm planning on doing a '59, and was thinking Scale Motorsports blue plaid decals would be a decent start, if nothing else, it would give me a good grid to work with, and I can dot it in with a blue technical pen.

Charlie Larkin

They are both paint. 
The Edsel was just masked vertically and horizontally for each color.

The Plymouth is just vertical stripes, bu due to the engraved seat pattern, it appears as a checkered pattern.

Scale Motorsports makes fantastic seat upholstery decals!

I’ve used them on several occasions.

If you can find decals that are close to the pattern that you want to achieve, by all means, use them!

A heck of a lot easier than painting them.

 

 

 

Steve

[bill-e-boy]

To make it easier with the tub interiors I have cut the side walls off to detail these

I did this with a 56 Dodge custom Royal Lance resin kit I did a little while ago

And Tamiya tape is the go to for this. Foil can pick up paint when you remove the foil - not a great moment when that happens

Steve G is the master and and seeing his interiors gives me hope

 

[BDSchindler]

On 12/9/2021 at 1:18 PM, customline said:

A lot of interiors call for only one color but '50s cars and customs are often 2 or 3 colors. I have tried tape, foil (big mistake) and just brush painting but I want a better job and spraying offers the best finish. Masking a complicated color scheme has me pulling my limited hair out. I'm not happy with anything I have done so far.  I welcome all comments; please tell me what works for you.

I painted the seat centers free-hand in these mustang seats I put in my custom 56 Crown Vic...

 

[Bills72sj]

Free hand works if you have a steady hand and significant lines to guide you. If I were to go all out I would use Parafilm bordered with fine line tape. Parafilm allows you to push the edges around a bit unlike tape. It also has zero bleed under if applied properly. The pick below was free hand.

[89AKurt]

"Best way" is subjective, this is what I'm comfortable with.  This WIP sat for years in the box, because I was daunted by the multiple colors on the seats.  If I recall correctly, there were 7 colors for the interior.  I prefer regular masking tape, you can draw with a pencil on it.  It cuts easily with a new #11 blade.  When I work it down into the crevasse of the cushions, use a toothpick.  Sometimes I use Scotch tape, if there are round shapes to go around.

I so don't like brush painting!  But I have to for touchup.

[customline]

I'm glad I started this thread. The comments and photos are both helpful and inspirational.  There is really great work being displayed here. I have thought that my hand painting is pretty fair but a sprayed finish looks much better if the masking is done well. I will take every bit of advice seriously and try the different methods expressed by all of you. Many thanks! If you wish, this is a good thread to further display interior work, I am enjoying it.