I think I buggered it... ??

Sounds like it wasn't dry enough. Sometimes (especially with multiple coats) gloss paints have to sit for a long time. I usually let my gloss layers dry for at least a day between, and three days for the final.

You could TRY using Windex/favouriteglasscleaner and see what happens. I've had pretty good luck with Windex over the years and getting tape adhesives off of clear parts and painted areas. The worst case scenario is that the adhesive has bonded with the paint and you're going to have to sand it down and paint again. In that case, you're not too bad off just using something like goo-gone or Fast-Orange to get rid of the adhesive and do the painting over again.

Hope that this helps!

-ahill

Usually the Tamiya tape is pretty good. Maybe like someone else said the paint wasn't dry yet. In addition to Windex, isopropyl alcohol is fine over enamel. I don't do much acrylic, so am not sure if it will work on that, but you may try it. I have also gotten tape residue off with dishwater detergent and water.

Because of the price of the tamiya tape, I generally only use it on edges, and for large areas use regular masking tape. Getting the residue off from these areas is a common task for me. Worst case is some slight dulling that a bit of polish fixes fine.

Thanks for the advice folks. I tried a few cleaner sand no good. it stripped the paint from the tail section. I then tried the normal Tamiya X-20A thinner on a paper towel and couple quick straight strokes over the body. This seemed to work and even brought back the gloss shine. I did seem to remove a tiny bit of paint as residue was on the paper towel, but not enough to be noticeable. So I'd say it has removed the adhesive and melted the top gloss coat and then re-set it after drying? Pretty happy with the result and saves having to recoat, but for next time I will let the gloss coat dry at least a couple days first (I think I only had 24 hours dry time before I started sticking on the masking tape.

Shalom Dean.

*HUMIDITY* and/or cool temperatures can drastically prolong the *CURING* time of paint. Another trick you can try to restore a glos finish to cleaned gloss enamel is to coat it with a thin layer of Future or other clear acrylic floor finish.

Cheers from Peter

Dean wrote: Pretty happy with the result and

Also remove masking tape very soon after painting. I never let it set on there more than an hour or two unless it is masking a section that will be painted in several sessions (and realize I'll have to clean residue in that case).