When to unmask a 2 tone paintjob.??

[neilw]

I'm painting my 59 FLH tanks with the same tank design as was original (red with white teardrop blaze). I'm not sure when to pull the masking tape off .Iv'e seen where it was left on over night and the paint along the edges lifted like little flakes .Someone said after 20 minutes is when to pull it off cause the paint is still wet enough to flatten out. Are there any expert painters out there that have advise on this??
Neil

[Robert Luland]

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. About fifteen to twenty minutes. It has nothing to do with the paint laying down rather you want the paint to be cured enough so it lets go of the tape rather than you want the paint to string to the tape. I hate to say this but if you do this enough you can almost tell by the smell in the room. The way I time it is the amount of time it takes me to clean out the gun and roll up the hose and down a beer. Bob and Katie the super beagle (Duh! Got food!)

[neilw]

Thanks Robert, I asked a few paint suppliers and got similar answers (they didn't mention downing a beer) .I had them done last night and they came out good .I'm just going to get them cleared and should have no problem with that. I'm using Endura paint ,it seems to be tougher to scratch.

[Robert Luland]

That spray gun weighs! You build up one hell of a thirst

[bmh]

Takes a lot of twelve oz. curls to bulk up enough for an hours work with a 30 oz. spray gun don't it?