Stripes of yellow paper 2mm

Two millimeters as a universal width

A two-millimeter strip tends to be what you reach for first when deciding what to bound an area with. It is narrow enough to pass around a cockpit frame and at the same time wide enough to hold its shape by itself and not curl while being laid. On large scales it is used to cover the frames of glazing, on wheels to outline the rims of the discs, and on a fuselage to define the outlines of panels that are to stay in the original shade after spraying.

Building up a much wider mask

Narrower strips have one advantage that is not talked about much: they can be laid side by side. Two runs laid closely in parallel give four millimeters, three give six, and each one separately copes with a curve better than a single wide tape of the same width. The paint will not get past the join between them, provided the strips lie flush and you cover them with an upper layer of paper or liquid mask.

The small things that decide it

Lift the strips off the sheet with flat-jawed tweezers and do not touch the adhesive side with your fingers: grease from the skin reduces the tack noticeably. Press down an edge that is to be sharp for the last time just before spraying, so that the adhesive does not have time to release. And count on the paper being matte: an inspection under sharp light will reveal every section that is not lying flush as a dark shadow.

Combining with other masks

A paper strip goes well with liquid mask as well as with vinyl stencils. The liquid can be drawn right up to its edge and once dry forms a single whole with it. Do not, on the other hand, combine it with ordinary adhesive tape from a stationery shop: that holds far more and during peeling will pull off even what was holding only lightly.