black moulding before or after paint

i usually do this after paint but everynow and then it bleeds into the paint and its quite annoying

After.
What kind of paint are you using to do the molding?
How well are you masking it?

im using what the how to had tamiya semi gloss black and tamiya masking tape

well... One possibility is that you're just using a bit too much paint and it's running where you don't want it to run. In this case you want to do several very thin passes.

Or, like many of us do, use a marker instead. I use a black Sharpie, others use Gundam paint markers--very very easy to control.

So are you all saying that if you use paint to spray it and not use brush then? Does that lesson the chance of bleeding?

So are you all saying that if you use paint to spray it and not use brush then? Does that lesson the chance of bleeding?

Oh absolutely, if you're masking them with a template, you definitely want to spray... a few thin coats of semi-gloss spraypaint will rarely seep or run, whereas paint applied with a brush has a greater chance of that.

To avoid any sort of bleeding, once you have the mask set up with tape, spray a coat of clear on top first. This will "seal" whatever gaps there will be between the tape and the body. Spray your semi gloss black after this clear coat is dried.

This is the best way to prevent bleeding IMO.

Preperation is also key. You should burnish the edge of the tape with a toothpick before you start to spray. This way you minimize the chances of having gaps.

I use brush painting sometimes in certain builds. However, the finish is not always perfect. The brush marks left by brush painting is what keeps me away from brush painting the black moulding. Tamiya semi gloss black makes it even worse because it is a difficult paint to control...It sometimes caused the shine to look uneven if you brush paint it.

Winston

I always do it after the paint has been sprayed on the body. I use Tamiya masking tape and paint the body in a lacquer (usually Tamiya TS line) and Tamiya acrylic through an airbrush for the window surrounds and mouldings. That way if I have any problems I can easily remove the acrylic and not harm the lacquer underneath.

hth,
Bill

I've wrestled with this same problem myself. I don't have an airbrush, but I've tried doing window surrounds by spraycan (after masking), by brush and by sharpie marker. I have varying results with each method, but I've never been too successful spraying. I think surrounds are a lot easier when you have an airbrush, where you can control the amount of paint applied. I find masking the area off and painting a light coat of Tamiya acrylic over a Tamiya lacquer body color seems to work best. I've also tried painting clear over the edges of the masking and then painting with acrylics. This also seems to work OK. I find this to be the most fustrating part of my building right now. I have a great looking model and then I have to face painting the window surrounds and the window trim. The quality of this work ultimately determines the final look of the model for me. Any suggestions are appreciated.

JB