BAN008 imbus socket bolt 0,7mm

0.7 mm and the question of the order of work

This step often ends up in places where a painted surface meets a technical detail: the mounting of the seat, the underside of the tank, the clips on the frame. The question that decides the quality of the result is therefore not how to paint the head, but when to fit it at all. Anyone who sets it in too early then has masking to deal with; anyone who waits can spray freely and add the detail at the very end.

When masking is unavoidable

Sometimes the fitting cannot be put off, for instance when the head is glued from the inside of a part. Then masking fluid applied with a needle exactly into the recess, and drawn off with tweezers once the paint has dried, will help; paper tape bends at a diameter under a millimeter and the mist gets under it. The second way leads through a rubbery mass, from which a piece the size of a pinhead is cut off.

Removing overspray afterward

If the spray does get onto the head after all, the gentlest way is the mechanical one: go through the recess with the tip of a wooden toothpick dipped in the matching thinner and draw the paint off while it is fresh. A metal tip would scratch the surface and a groove can no longer be covered, because you have no support for how hard that surface is. Dried spray can be softened with thinner, but there is a risk of disturbing the base around it as well.

A check against the light

Before you put the model aside, tilt it toward a lamp and look over the row of joints from a sharp angle. A clogged recess shows at once in such lighting, because it stops casting a shadow and merges with the surface around it. Putting one head right is a matter of a minute; sanding a whole part down again is no fun.