Blew out all of the dust and wiped all the areas I tape to with a damp cloth first to ensure the tape adheres.
Half way done, lots of holes still to plug!
Ok, got time to add.
I can't tell you how important it is to blow the dust out of every nook and cranny before you mask. If you don't do this prior to masking, it'll blow out during your paint job and that sucks really, really bad.
Using a damp, clean cloth to wipe the areas that you will be attaching tape to is important since if your tape releases during you paint job, you'll have overspray that you'll have to deal with plus have an opening that will allow dirt and contaminants to leap upon your pretty paint work.
BTW. I actually use a water based wax and grease remover to clean these areas. It helps to remove contaminants that could lead to fish eyes in your paint job.
A point, there are two types of wax and grease remover, water and solvent based. I use the water based primarily at work for cleaning plastic parts since it doesn't add to a static build up on the part. If you use a solvent based cleaner on a plastic, it will build up a static charge, big deal you say? A static build up will attract dirt floating in the air like in the powder coating process. More dirt, more time buffing or in a bad case, repainting.
When you are masking, understand what you want masked off in the area you're going to paint. If it is a more challenging mask job, just start with what seems logical to build on to. In this case, the obvious first choice is to plog all of those little holes. Even though I took out a bazillion of them in the smoothing, there were still bunches to mask off.
I then went to sitting in the engine bay masking what needed to be covered. I obviously wouldn't want to mask something that would require me to remove part of that masking so I could properly mask another. I know this sounds obvious, but after years of teaching helpers to paint, it just isn't.
Many times when I'm painting a vehicle at work, it will take me longer to mask a vehicle than it does to paint it. Don't hatchet out your masking job. You want your paint job to appear seamless. Just take your time and make sure all tape is pressed down, and all areas that you don't want paint on are completely covered.
If you have to hardline an edge, try to do that in an area that will be hidden by mouldings, seals or other attaching things that can cover the line up.
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