[TrickyCNC]

Just a quick post to show a technique for masking and painting a carve path.

I pre painted the board.

Apply 2" packing tape

CARVE

Paint

Pick off the tape.

This one I did immediately after painting. I'll try letting the paint dry next time.

Just thought it might be of interest to somebody

[PaulRowntree]

So I'm guessing the carving is between the taping and the second painting ...

[TrickyCNC]

So I'm guessing the carving is between the taping and the second painting ...

Yes it is.

I've edited the post to make it clearer

Thanks

[DonFrambach]

Very nice! What kind of wood did you use? Was it a tight grained wood to limit bleeding or did the initial coat of white paint prevent bleeding?

[TrickyCNC]

This was MDF

The pre painted surface along with a good contact of the packing tape prevented bleeding.

I would guess for other more fluid paints or dyes , or unfinished woods , care should be taken not to 'flood' the area. Dab or Stipple the finish quite dryly

[harryn]

Thanks for posting this.

I have played with tape masking (manual painting) and so far had the best luck with the green tape - I think it is called frog tape or something like that. It was dramatically better than the normal blue painter tape.

[TrickyCNC]

You're welcome

I only tried packing tape, as it was to hand.

I rubbed it down with the back of my thumb nail on the area to be carved, to get a good contact.
The white was sprayed on, so was smooth . a rougher surface might bleed.

I've also tried larger areas, with overlapping tape, with good success too.

[DeadTom]

It is always good to hear of others triumphs, this method is very similar to using self-adhesive cupboard paper. The only things I would be afraid of using packing tape is that packing tape could peel off your paint or the finish of the wood and the other thing is that the packing tape is only 2" wide, anything wider and you would have to overlap the tape. And overlapping tape never has worked out for me in the fact that the paint will bleed under the overlapping seam, my experience even with using a putty knife to ensure adhesion. Again mileage may vary....
I have also heard of people using a "liquid mask", I did some research on liquid mask and all I found was material to cover glass on a multi-paned door where you cover the entire door with the liquid mask which also acts as a primer for the wood or metal and then when you are done painting the door you can just peel off the mask on the glass and be done. At the cost of the liquid mask I don't think I will experiment with it.
Thanks for sharing,
Tom