Orange Peel effect when airbrushing

Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Orange Peel effect when airbrushing

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 29, 2003 6:20 PM

Hi folks; I have a question. I am new to airbrushing and had an unusual experience when priming my p-51d with a gloss black enamel (alclad II polished aluminum is going on over it). When I airbrushed the gloss black enamel, I got that old bumpy, orange peel effect and I am not sure why that is happening. I now have to sand it down and start again. Before I do this, though, I would like to know what I may have done wrong, and what I can do to avoid it. I am using a Badger 150 dual action internal mix airbrush. I was using approx. 10-12psi and was about a medium length away from the model (about six inches). I believe I was being pretty uniform with my spraying, but maybe not?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks in advance,
Jamie. Big Smile [:D]

Reply
Edit

berny13

Member since
February 2003
From: Panama City, Florida, Hurricane Alley

Posted by berny13 on Saturday, March 29, 2003 7:27 PM

Are you puting it on too wet? Don't try to cover it all at once. Spray light coats and after dry go back and spray on more light coats. Give each a time to dry prior to applying another coat. One heavy coat will cause runs and orange peeling.

Berny

Phormer Phantom Phixer

On the bench

TF-102A Delta Dagger, 32nd FIS, 54-1370, 1/48 scale. Monogram Pro Modeler with C&H conversion.

Revell F-4E Phantom II 33rd TFW, 58th TFS, 69-260, 1/32 scale.

Tamiya F-4D Phantom II, 13th TFS, 66-8711, 1/32 scale. F-4 Phantom Group Build.

Reply

midnightprowler

Member since
February 2003
From: East Bethel, MN

Posted by midnightprowler on Saturday, March 29, 2003 9:02 PM

It's also possible your paint is not thin enough. It should be thinned to the apx. consistency of skim milk. Good luck.
Lee

Hi, I am Lee, I am a plastiholic.

Co. A, 682 Engineers, Ltchfield, MN, 1980-1986

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 1 Corinthians 15:51-54

Ask me about Speedway Decals

Reply

Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 29, 2003 9:17 PM

Thanks guys, I am pretty sure that I thinned the paint enough, probably not letting it dry enough between coats. I will take your suggestions, Berny, thanks again.

Reply
Edit

jcarlberg

Member since
December 2002
From: USA

Posted by jcarlberg on Wednesday, April 2, 2003 10:27 AM

Sometimes the paint may orange peel because it is partially drying on the way to the model. It doesn't sound like the pressure you're using is too high, so you may want to experiment with a little less thinner, a wetter coat (higher paint flow if using a d.a. airbrush), or working a little closer. I've often heard it said that for a gloss finish it is best to begin with light "dust" coats, and finish with "wet" coats.

Reply

Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, April 2, 2003 7:07 PM

QUOTE: Originally posted by jcarlberg

I've often heard it said that for a gloss finish it is best to begin with light "dust" coats, and finish with "wet" coats.

The light coats are needed to give the gloss finish something to bite or attach to because of the smooth finish. When I spray gloss I do just that and it works very well.

Reply
Edit

Richard_Craig

Member since
February 2003

Posted by Richard_Craig on Saturday, April 5, 2003 4:11 PM

What I do when I paint is I thin my paint to almost 70% thinner and 30%paint ..I then keep my nozzel almost closed and slowly go over and ovwer the same spot maybe 6 or 7 times before I can even see a change in color ...it can take me hours to paint a kit but the effects you can creat are awesome ...try it you'll like it !!

Rick

Reply

Wingman_kz

Member since
March 2003
From: Virginia

Posted by Wingman_kz on Saturday, April 5, 2003 11:54 PM

Here is a link to an article on the Tamiya site that someone posted on another board. From the title you may not think it applies but as the author said, there are some good tips that would apply to any spray painting situation.

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/plastic/tips/syntheticlacquers.html

Reply

markuz226

Member since
January 2003
From: Everett

Posted by markuz226 on Tuesday, April 8, 2003 10:32 AM

After getting orange peel, how can you fix it? can you just spray over it with a wet coat? or f you have to strip it off completely?

Reply

Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, April 8, 2003 11:03 AM

After nearly 17 yrs. as an industrial painter orange peel is no stranger. We may be working in a much smaller scale but the effects are still the same. As stated previously many thinner tack coats works the best. Don't try to cover your project with one or two heavy caots. As for fixing the problem it is best to remove it from the effected area as another coat put on to hide the orange peel may not hide all of those nasty little dimples, and could take out some of your detail.

Reply
Edit

THE MAGAZINE

CONTACT US

RECENT ARTICLES

POPULAR TOPICS

RECENT REVIEWS

POPULAR TOPICS

RECENT REVIEWS

POPULAR TOPICS

RECENT VIDEOS

POPULAR TOPICS

RECENT THREADS

CATEGORIES

NEW PRODUCTS

OUR STORE

CURRENT ISSUE

SEARCH FINESCALE.COM