Masking The Vac-U-Tug

Enlargements of those tiny painting photos in the back of the instruction manual.

While the parts could be painted separately, before joining the hull to the deck, I recommend against that because spilled model cement or CA adhesive will soften or dissolve the paint. 

Click thumbnails to enlarge.

Remember step 63 where I said to trace the Deck & Cabin onto paper for painting? If you are painting the Deck one color and the Hull another, you can mask between them on the flange that the Rub Rail slips onto. Cut out the traced line. 

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 Set the boat onto the cutout. Remove the rub rail. The antenna may get in the way. Consider attaching it after painting.

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Put a drinking straw over the antenna to mask it.

Put masking tape around the flange. Just tape the outer half of the flange. Keep the tape off of the bulwark.

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Lift the paper to the masking tape aligning the edge of the paper to the edge of the flange.

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Make sure it is sealed tightly to the tape and flange. Otherwise, spray paint may leak through. Put clear packing tape over the two openings. After painting, leave the rear hatch taped to help prevent leakage.

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To paint the hull, invert the boat. Cut a thin piece of masking tape and mask the end of the stern tube bearing in front of the prop drive dog, to keep the paint away. If you glued the antenna mast like I did, hang the antenna over the edge of the table. To keep from falling off, you may need to tape the battery into the bow, making it heavier than the stern.

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This will result in a paint job like this. (The rear hatch cover is a prototype. The kit hatch cover has a finer texture.)

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If you want your bulwark (that raised railing around the deck) to be the same color as the Hull, you can mask at the inside of the bulwark. After painting the Deck & Cabin let the paint dry 3 days. (Read the can. The tape will stick without damaging the paint in about a day but painting over uncured Hobby Enamel will cause the paint to wrinkle.)

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Put a length of masking tape along the inside of the bulwark as shown above. Put masking tape along the edge of pieces of paper to make "masking paper". Attach the masking paper to the tape. Do this all around the bulwark.

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Holding the boat upside-down in one hand, or on a cleverly constructed support, you can spray the Hull and Upper Bulwark at the same time. Stand the Hull upside down on it’s cabin to dry. The hull is Stern heavy. You may have to secure the battery in the Hull or put in a temporary weight to keep the inverted Hull from falling over.

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TM