Self Masking System Makes Airbrushing Wicked Easy!

The WhistleSmith shop has been very busy this summer and this newsletter is way overdue. I have been making steady improvements in the shop that directly affect the flow of instruments and the amount of time spent on producing finished parts.

A self masking setup to mask whistles and flutes for airbrushing the vinyl color is finally complete. The masking system is a slide on tube masking system that I made from spare parts and cutoffs that would have otherwise gone into the waste bin. No paper or tape is required to mask off the areas that remain uncoated. Instead, the instrument is masked by sliding close fitting tubing pieces over the areas to be covered. Bores on the tone bodies are filled with a special tube of plastic coated sheet material rolled and inserted into the tone body. Air is introduced into the tone body and the material seals off the fingerholes, keeping the bore clean and preventing vinyl overspray from entering; The vinyl over spray in the finger holes is used instead of dying the hole so that reaming and undercutting is easily seen when tuning the instrument. When the finger holes are completely clean, you know that the hole has been reamed satisfactorily and no holes have been missed. It is a simple but extremely fast and sure method to make sure all finger holes have been addressed and none have been missed.

The pieces of tubing used in the masking process can be used over and over and still produce sharp, accurate masking lines. By making the masking pieces the precise length needed to do their job, accurate masking is accomplished without having to measure with a rule or pencil mark on the tonebodies.

When the airbrushed parts are dry, the tube masking pieces can be quickly pulled off and placed in a container for future use. The plastic roll masking is easily pushed out of the tonebody with a piece of dowel and can be used again and again. By using this simple masking system, many hours a month can be saved and the finished airbrushing is easier, better in quality and much more cost effective.

I am offering a paint package that can be added for the all white whistles in the line. The paint package will be an option for your whistle and will be offered in our standard colors: jet black, bright red, cornflower blue, deep maroon, dark brown and racing green. Silver striping and a special decals will also be included as part of the package. Cost will be $8. a whistle for the paint package. The Low A, Low G, and Low F are the model whistles that this package will apply to.