A pro painter will use low tack masking tape and work fast You can get away with low tack tape within hours provided you also peel it off within hours
The real trick is to remove the tape as soon as the wet paint has just tacked off sufficiently and then to wipe down the furry edge with a soft cloth slightly dampened with white spirit. This gives a really clean edge But if you do it ever so slightly too soon you start removing the paint you don't want to remove However, if you remove even low tack tape too late you get horrible sticky residue *and* a furry edge you can't get rid of And if you apply the tape before the base coat is dry enough you'll damage the finish! Environmental conditions have a major effect on drying time which means you can't say it takes x or y hours between stages If you haven't got the experience, I'd recommend taking your time Wait two to three days (two if the ambient temp is in the 20's, three if it's less. And don't even think about painting if the temp is below 10 degrees day *or* night ... in other words now is not the time to paint the boat!). Then use low tack tape. When the paint is touch dry on the tape, very gently check it on the finished surface (you can cut out a slight fingerprint if needs be). If it's touch dry, very slowly and carefully peel off the tape etc. I gave up painting boats because I couldn't get access to a covered dock at a commercially viable cost and painting in the open air is for masochists :-) Bru > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > On Behalf Of Captain Beeky > Sent: 22 October 2009 20:51 > To: [email protected] > Subject: [canals-list] Drying time > > How long would one be be advised to leave a couple of coats of Mason's > paint to dry before applying masking tape in prep for the adjacent > colour ? > > Two days . . . a week . . . . longer . . . . . > > Beeky > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > >
