# liquid mask



## Sorin (Jun 15, 2015)

A tip for those who've used masking liquid but found it nearly impossible to remove from a brush: Try xylene. Available in hardware stores. The ammonia/latex mask will fall right off & the brush will be useable next time. :vs_smirk:


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

Is there a liquid mask that can be used with oil paints? I use masking tape sometimes and sometimes doing that is very tedious.


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## Asancta (Jul 28, 2015)

Wow great idea @Sorin


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## Sorin (Jun 15, 2015)

T, oils don't really benefit from such. They're so opaque. You can draw yer image & paint up to & past the edges & then jus go over. With WCs the big thing is preserving the paper so it acts as yer white.


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## Liz (Jan 10, 2015)

Cool tip. I've been wanting to try masking liquid but never got around to it. I didn't know it was difficult to get off the brush, I assumed if it came off the paper there wouldn't be any problem cleaning the brush.


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## Sorin (Jun 15, 2015)

The mask works well if kept thin & used on well sized papers. test before you leap on a big project. Loose papers do tend to tear a bit, especially if the mask is applied too heavily.


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

Sorin said:


> T, oils don't really benefit from such. They're so opaque. You can draw yer image & paint up to & past the edges & then jus go over. With WCs the big thing is preserving the paper so it acts as yer white.


I find there are occasions that I like to mask out a subject. For example right now I'm doing swans on a lake. I have masked out the swans by the shore line because I am going to put reflections of the trees in the water and when doing a tree reflection in the water it is so much easier to just mask out the swan and do the reflection. I use masking tape but it would be easier if there were masking fluid I could use with oil paints.


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## Bushcraftonfire (Apr 22, 2015)

One warning about masking fluid... Test it on a sheet beside your good drawing (or at least on the edge)

I used some on one of my latest projects.. and it left a dull grey/brown color stain on the paper once it was removed. It was cheaper mask.. but if I NEEDED the edges to be white.. I would have lost my painting. Fortunately I was able to fix the problem.


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## Sorin (Jun 15, 2015)

Some makers of the stuff discolor it a bit to supposedly help. The idea is to make it easier to see but yeh, if it screws up yer white... Bad idea. I have two varieties now - testing - & they're both ok.


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