I like the masking job you do Glenn. I still struggle with this most basic of tasks, with regular bleeds and masking lines not where they should be. Your attention to the detail pays off with the quality of your work.
The trick is using Tamiya yellow tape and making sure the paint edge is burnished down. I use my fingernail or a tooth pick for smaller areas. I use the Tamiya tape for only the paint edge (for the most part) and cheaper blue painter tape out side it, then paper for large areas.
I did the major decals yesterday but still have most of the stencils to do. No problem at all with the old Hobbycraft decals, they went on with no problem. I also started painting the prop/spinner assembly. I have never done the hairspray chipping method and thought the prop would be a good place to test it out. Like I said, I've never done it before, I assume you just spray hairspray on the silver painted area, then the paint and chip it off after it dries. If this isn't the right way to do it please let me know.
Looks good Glenn. You are half right on the hairspray. The "chipping" is done with a paint brush soaked in water. You can expect varying success rates, depending on the dry time of the hairspray and the thickness of top coat. It only works with acrylic topcoats, which I'm sure you know. I've not perfected the technique myself, still experimenting.
What Andy said re. the hairspray chipping method Glenn. Although I've said elsewhere on the forum, I'm not a big fan of the method on props and certainly not at 1/48. I prefer sponge chipping which gives the more subtle wear you see on props rather than large chips. You might be able to achieve this with the hairspray method over a flat base and using a thin layer of hairspray, but would require a bit of experience with the method.
I did some Google searching and decided not to do the hairspray chipping for a couple of reasons. First it looks like an awful lot of work for just a prop, and second, I use enamals and don't have any acrylics on hand. Maybe I'll try it later but for now I think I'll try the salt method.