Question for the pinline masters out there who don’t free hand the pinlines: What is the best way to avoid ink or resin bleed under the tape edges when suing Posca pen or tinted resin?
I have been using 233+ tape; maybe something like Frogtape would be a better option for masking off the edges? I’m at the point of laying down a thin bead of clear resin prior to putting down the ink/resin.
Thanks
After laying down the tape, use the technique of ‘‘burnishing’’ the edges of the tape, with a smooth hard object. Some glossers used a ‘‘cupped’’ tongue depresser. One glosser I worked with, used the smooth back of a hard rubber comb. The whole exercise is to get a good seal to the edges of the tape. Also, after pulling the tape, there is often a need to clean up the edges with a razor blade scraper, and some folded fine grit sandpaper. It is rare to get a ‘‘perfect’’ pull, but it can happed. Just get as close as you can, every time out.
Disclimer: I am no master. But I have done decent pin lines IMO. I always sand my whole hotcoat to 120 then I sand the area where the pin line will go with 220 grit in the direction that the pin line will be going. You want the 220 grit scratches to be going in the same direction as how you pull your tape, no scratches going perpindicular to the tape. Then make sure you press your tape down really well with tongue depressor or the back of a razor. Kick your pinlines pretty hot and pull the tape right when the resin shows its first sign of gelling. I get good results using this method but there are many ways to skin a cat. Dont use Frog tape! I have done that before and it was unusually tough to pull it up off the board. It was a pain.
Bills got some good advice especially it’s rare for a perfect pull.
You almost always gotta come back and dial it in a bit.
i usually sand my hotcoat with about 80grit and then come back to all the areas that get lines and sand up to 220. Heavy grit makes for quick bleed.
This works for all kinds of lines.
I stick to all resin lines and the a occasional acrylic lines which are pretty easy to get great pulls but can be a pain if you accidentally sand em.
Frog tape works great with posca lines.
Ive found that hen it comes to resin lines tape doesn’t make too much a difference. Surface prep, a quick kick and I pull my tape when it’s still wet.
Also, I’m no master just found what works for me.
It’s been a while but we always used a plastic pin line tape, it was like a very fine, thin insulation tape. Never had bleeding and you could bend/flex it into some pretty tight curves. It came in 1/2", 1/4" and 1/8". Edit: I used these tapes to mask for resin pin lines.
After laying down the tape, wipe a thin layer of clear over the tape. On my epoxies to be sprayed (I know you are doing P.E.) I will first spray clear over the taped area. Hope this helps.
All the best
pro tip for posca pinlines. dominant hand posca…non dominant hand hair dryer. AS you lay down the posca follow close behind with the hair dryer on low heat. this dries the posca super quick and does not allow time for it to bleed. you want to stay about 6-10inches behind the posca the whole time.
When it comes to low viscosity paints & inks used in posca pens, rapideographs, dip pens for pinlining against tape edges, the less scratchier the surface, the less chance of the ink bleeding under the tape. Pre-sand the surface with 360 or 400 grit.
For me production wise spraying taped pinlines with Nova Color Acrylics straight out of the jar is way faster and has rarely very little if any clean up hassles.
The thicker edge of a yellow plastic squeggee makes a tape good bunrisher.
My preference is Liquitex Artist Acrilics that come in the toothpaste style tube. I squeeze it right out of the tube and then use a pink pearl rubber eraser as a squeegie. I pull the tape as soon as I queegie it out and then let it dry. Once it is dry I sand the paint ever so lightly with 400 just to remove any shine or glossiness. I forget where I saw this technique for the first time but it works like a charm. Yields a nice even pin line that doesn’t bleed under the tape because the tube paint is a little thicker than posca and doesn’t have solvent in it like a resin pin line. Really makes nice pin lines. As mentioned you can use a razor blade to clean things up if needed.
Edit: Found where I first saw it. This Youtube video from a decade ago.
Good to hear from you Mr. Atomized. Your advice is always top drawer.
All the best
Wow, awesome help! So I did two pinlines last night and thanks to everyone’s help, they turned out great. Only had to razor blade three very small bleed unders. Now I’m looking forward to doing more pinlines.
Thanks!!
Everytime I see this thread I think it says Pipeline Masters. So where is the Pinline Masters held, haha??
Atomize with the gold!
3M makes a tape called Fineline…look it up. Its a plastic tape that bends around curves nicely. it comes in straight line tape and free hand. 1/16 - 3/4 inch.
Like mentioned sand to 320 or 400…lay down Fineline tape…burnish…do your business, pull tape
…if you sand finer like Atomized is saying, would be ok for posca and rapidograph pinlines but not so good for gloss coat over.
You can get a good gloss coat BUT after several rides (mostly on longboards) due to scratches and rushes when you seat on those longboards then standing up an reapeating these over and over, the gloss coat will peel off in some of these areas over the pinlines. ALWAYS
Just my 2 cents but after going through tons of different tapes I found the same as others have said here, PVC insulation type is now my only tape for pin lines. It bends beautifully around a full round tail without stopping and pulling it up at 45 degrees when resin still wet works perfectly. Any paper tape has a less than true edge. Here is one I just finished and I used cheap PVC electrical tape from Amazon - https://snag.gy/oXGRV3.jpg (ignore my slight mistake, fixed with a razor!), https://snag.gy/vr7QaJ.jpg
When the usual PVC tape (around 3/4 to inch wide) is a bit too wide, I found some “fine line” tape on ebay from China which was cheap as chips and worked a treat for delicate super fine lines or tight turns. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mix-Size-Fine-Washi-Masking-Tape-For-Nail-Art-DIY-2mm-3mm-4mm-5mm-6mm-x-25m/123209944728?hash=item1cafe28e98:m:mUPS6FTXWzxe1guxMf0bOSw
As I said, just my 2cents to add to what has already been said, anything with a paper edge will (in my view) need a razor blade sand along the edge which gets a bit tiresome
I cheat. I buy 1/8" auto pinline tape from the auto parts store and lay it under my glassing. Epoxy won’t melt the plastic, and if it’s under the glass it won’t get sanded off or wear off.
Excellent!
Yep that’s an old tip from Greg Loehr. Trick is to get the tape to stick to the foam. Helps if you’ve sealed the foam with a skim coat of resin.
All the best
