MASKING FLUID:  BEST PRACTICES

PEBEO is the best brand of masking fluid I have found. You can find that here

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE Pebeo Drawing gum (masking fluid)

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RULING PEN to apply Masking Fluid

TO APPLY Masking Fluid, you can use an old nylon brush. Don't use a good brush! To make very fine lines, use a ruling pen. Ruling pens can be purchased at Utrecht.  CLICK HERE to purchase

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TIPS FOR USING MASKING FLUID

A. Masking Fluid will coagulate. Do not shake the bottle! This will cause it to coagulate.
a. One solution to this is to place a marble in the bottle, and gently roll
the bottle from side to side.
b. Just don’t shake the bottle. Instead, gently stir with a wood stick
(toothpick, chopstick).
c. Do not leave the lid off the bottle for long periods of time. Open
quickly. Close quickly.
ii. Put a little into a small lid or bowl. Work with this small amount instead of dipping
into the bottle.
B. Masking Fluid will dry quickly.
i. Work quickly
ii. Work on small areas of your painting at a time.
C. Masking Fluid can ruin good brushes......maybe, maybe not :)
i. Use old brushes. Nylon works best. For much better control, use the best brushes you have to create the mask you want, large or very small. If you are using your best brushes, Anne Abgott, award winning watercolorist, depends upon GOO GONE to remove Pebeo masking fluid from good brushes.
ii. First dip brush into water before using fluid. Sometimes, it is good to dip into liquid soap
first, then into water, then into the fluid.
iii. Rinse brush in water between each use of brush.
iv. When finished, rinse and wash brush with liquid soap and water.
v. To clean a ruling pen, simply let the masking fluid dry on the pen and then peel off. So
easy! The lines you can make with this pen are controlled by the opening you allow by
turning that little screw. Easy Peasy!