How to mask off without a tape line

nanoryan

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Hey resto gurus,

Question about masking. I have a Dig Dug cab that is absolutely beautiful except for some minor water damage swelling around the left side of the cabinet. It's about 2" in from the edge and goes all the way around from front bottom to top back.

Haven't decided if i am going to fix it yet, but if I do I was thinking about using a belt sander to smooth the raised area and then repainting the white with an HVLP touch up gun.

My question is how do I mask off the side art without having a tape line around the art? I was thinking about using a rolled up cloth towel around the art to diffuse the spray but there must be a better way.

Any advice would be great. Thanks!
 
relatively straightforward answer:

1. prep and prime properly (very important)
2. Use a good quality painters tape
3. Don't lay down too much paint. Multiple thin layers, don't try to color it all in one shot.
 
relatively straightforward answer:

1. prep and prime properly (very important)
2. Use a good quality painters tape
3. Don't lay down too much paint. Multiple thin layers, don't try to color it all in one shot.

Thanks! But wouldnt there still be paint buildup at the tape, even if I do very thin coats?
 
take masking tape and roll it back onto itself or buy a tape the paint store will have, maybe even one of the home improvement stores.. its made to give a soft edge when painting
 
take masking tape and roll it back onto itself or buy a tape the paint store will have, maybe even one of the home improvement stores.. its made to give a soft edge when painting

Awesome, thanks. I will have to give it a try. So what is best practice for this process? This is what I have in mind ..

1. Sand level /w 150 grit (probably belt sander)
2. Prep bare wood with Metal Glaze
3. Sand smooth with 220 grit (using a 4x10" rigid block)
4. Prime
5. Finish sand with 400 grit (using a 4x10" rigid block)
6. Spray the top coat
 
you want a sharp line if you're masking against existing screened art so a soft edge is not ideal. The key is to use as little paint as possible, there's just no getting around some kind of paint edge lip really unless you allow a certain amount of overspray or use lacquer rather than paint. Usually in the case of Atari games (I think you said it's an atari game you're working on) you can mask and paint with some nice matte white because there's a definite finish difference between the inked and non inked areas. Just practice your technique before going at the real game to do what you can to minimize the ridge but don't expect a sharp line and no ridge at all.

Also, don't go near your games with a belt sander, WAY too aggressive and will leave an uneven surface.. use a nice orbital sander instead.
 
you want a sharp line if you're masking against existing screened art so a soft edge is not ideal. The key is to use as little paint as possible, there's just no getting around some kind of paint edge lip really unless you allow a certain amount of overspray or use lacquer rather than paint. Usually in the case of Atari games (I think you said it's an atari game you're working on) you can mask and paint with some nice matte white because there's a definite finish difference between the inked and non inked areas. Just practice your technique before going at the real game to do what you can to minimize the ridge but don't expect a sharp line and no ridge at all.

Also, don't go near your games with a belt sander, WAY too aggressive and will leave an uneven surface.. use a nice orbital sander instead.

Thanks! I will go the orbital sander route. Would you sand between light coats or just leave as is?
 
The different materials wond expand and contract the same.. you will eventually see your reapirs..

Take an razor and cut off all of the white then mask the artwork and repaint all of the white..

Never tried that, but I think its doable
 
The different materials wond expand and contract the same.. you will eventually see your reapirs..

Take an razor and cut off all of the white then mask the artwork and repaint all of the white..

Never tried that, but I think its doable

If this is true wouldnt there eventually be expansion and contraction between the paint and the side art even if it is trimmed all the way around? I dont imagine the vinyl will expand and contract all that much .. has anybody experienced this?
 
i am just repainting my star castle cab,it has the signs of contaction around the side art,cos there is none available as yet i masked the side art off and i masked off to the glue that was exposed all the way round the art work,this is due to the vinyl expanding and shrinking over the years,warm and cold.it leaves a scum mark off gluey residue.

i only filled,sanded and primed the sides,i am just waiting for the white spray paint to arrive.

so regardles of where you mask of to the artwork will eventualy shrink depending on where its put.you will get the gluey residue mark all way round art work.
:)
 
i am just repainting my star castle cab,it has the signs of contaction around the side art,cos there is none available as yet i masked the side art off and i masked off to the glue that was exposed all the way round the art work,this is due to the vinyl expanding and shrinking over the years,warm and cold.it leaves a scum mark off gluey residue.

i only filled,sanded and primed the sides,i am just waiting for the white spray paint to arrive.

so regardles of where you mask of to the artwork will eventualy shrink depending on where its put.you will get the gluey residue mark all way round art work.
:)

Hmm interesting. Star Castle has a side art decal over laminate right? That might be a little different than Dig Dug, the whole side is covered with a single piece of screen printed vinyl.
 
if it is one whole sheet of vinyl just buy repeo side art.

star castle has vinyl side art but,the cabinet is actualy painted.
:)
 
if it is one whole sheet of vinyl just buy repeo side art.

star castle has vinyl side art but,the cabinet is actualy painted.
:)

Good repro sideart isn't available for dig dug and star castle isn't painted :)
 
Didn't see this mentioned (or I missed it), but use an oil-based primer and/or paint. Dig Dug was made from MDF, and a water base may cause the sides to puff or get "goosebumps"...
 
Didn't see this mentioned (or I missed it), but use an oil-based primer and/or paint. Dig Dug was made from MDF, and a water base may cause the sides to puff or get "goosebumps"...

Ooo, good call. Maybe I will roll an oil based primer and spray an acrylic latex top coat.
 
the sides of star castle are a woodgrained white vinyl, if you have one that's painted someone else did it. Star castle is no different than any other cinematronics or vectorbeam cab from that era, they were all made of the same material. Only paint is the black fronts.
 
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