Title
How to Paint Window Frames and Rubbers

Author
PMan

Published
Monday, October 7, 2002

This is how I do the window frames and rubbers on my models.

Most of you probably know this already, or have different ways, but this is the way I've always done them to get nice clean lines.

Tools Needed:



Use Tamiya masking tape, as it won't bleed, lay it all over the frames etc.



When all the tape is on the car, push it down nice and smooth with a soft cloth, and then use a toothpick to lightly trace around where you are going to cut.



Next, very lightly use the knife (make sure to use a new blade, an Xacto #11 works great) to trace around all the windows and frames. The tape is very easy to cut, so don't push hard as it will cut deeply into the model.



Peel off the extra tape that you have just trimmed.



Smooth the tape back down again after cutting. The car is now ready for painting.



This part you can either spray if you want (but you will need a lot more masking) or you can just paint it by brush. I think the brush works just fine if you use enamels that are longer to dry and leaves a good smooth finish.



Also at this stage, remember to do the inside of the car so it's black on the inside of the frames.



Once the first coat is on everything, I do the second coat straight away on everything. If you allow the paint to dry too long on the tape it will give a jagged edge when pulled off.

As soon as the second coat is done, I start taking the tape off.

Leave the paint to dry for 2-3 hours.

If you have to do any touch up stuff, I use my marker pen (Gundammarker) to get it looking 100%.

All going well, it should look like this.





Once this is done, you should also do your panel lines if you want to, then you can give the car another light rub with the rubbing compound and then a final wax.