This may be an old trick but I've never seen it mentioned before. I'm in the process of painting 2 engines and 2 cabooses. One of the cabooses is a brass model of a NH NE-5 class and has the handrails soldered in place. To separate the rails to be painted from the car body with masking tape is at best a tedious and frustrating job. In the past I have been able to slip a business card under the handrails of some engines or cars and paint them but not this time as some were too close to the body ends or sides and a few others needed more flexibility than a business card can give. Paper strips slid under the rails might have worked but had the possibility of paint bleeding through onto the car body. Then it hit me as I was mailing some letters; the backing paper that address labels are on is thin, smooth and very flexible and is not porous.
Another bonus is the smooth glossy backing paper does not create any drag on the paint brush as it slides along it. As long as you don't get paint on the very edge of the paper that could leave a drag mark as you slide it back out the stuff works great. I cut several long strips into different widths for different handrails and insert the ends under the rail to allow safe painting. After pulling the strip back out I cut off the part with paint on it and now have a clean mask that is used on the other end or side of the car thereby eliminating any smudges from excess paint on the paper.
Another bonus is the smooth glossy backing paper does not create any drag on the paint brush as it slides along it. As long as you don't get paint on the very edge of the paper that could leave a drag mark as you slide it back out the stuff works great. I cut several long strips into different widths for different handrails and insert the ends under the rail to allow safe painting. After pulling the strip back out I cut off the part with paint on it and now have a clean mask that is used on the other end or side of the car thereby eliminating any smudges from excess paint on the paper.
