debris on painted parts

John,

Thanks for the kind words on my artwork. I appreciate the compliments.
Actually I would like to build a spray booth for modelling, it is just hard figuring out how to go about doing that since we rent this house from my wife's uncle.
The T-shirt airbrush work I did is easier to filter as I just mount a boxfan above my easel and put a furnace filter on the front of it to catch the overspray.
I do use water-based acrylics for that so they are not near as toxic.
I am experimenting with acrylics for modelling also and did try out a little Model Master Acrylic Gunship Gray this evening which didn't spray too bad straight out of the bottle at about 18 psi with my Omni 4000.

No, I haven't spent any time around the F-15's as I never did go into the military. I always wanted to be a pilot and go to the academy at Colorado Springs but I fooled around in High School and received grades that would laugh me out of any pilot school.

I have just been a fighter plane nut since I was about 10 and the Eagle became my favorite modern fighter out of sheer respect for it's beauty and capability. I have seen a few at airshows at Travis AFB in Fairfield, CA which is about 90 minutes away from me. Travis is a C-5 and C-141 base by the way.
That sounds exciting being around them as you were. I am envious.

Mike

MikeV, with the stuff I spray I have to have a booth. Not only do I have the blower on but also wear a respirator. From looking at your work, probably not feasable for you. BTW, you do some incredible work man! I couldn't do that to save my life. Awesome stuff!

Lastly, I note your interest in the F15. Have you spent time around them? I spent many hours working on those while stationed in Keflavik Iceland assigned to the 57th Fighter Intercepter Squadron. That was a good time for me.

I use a spray-booth with a fan in the back , i.e. the airflow is away from me.

After the Kits are painted (hand or airbrush) I put them into a drying booth.

I envy you guys with a spray booth. It must be nice.

I have to open the side garage door and paint that direction for the overspray to go out the door and it is cold, raining and windy today.

Mike

Mike, if that blower is on the top of your cabinet, that is the problem. I'd almost bet that you used the same plans that I did. Since I've relocated mine, I have almost no problems at all with this issue. Good luck!

John

Guys,
Thanks very much for your ideas. Before I reconfigure my spray booth to move the blower from the top to the back, I think I'll try covering the freshly painted part.
It seems that some debris gathers on the part during painting. Is that possible and if it is any ideas?
Again thanks for your suggestions. Its great that there are so many experienced modelers out there willing to help. I hope someday I can help someone.
Best Regards and happy modelling,
Mike

Welcome to the Forum Mike
My paint booth is of a little different design, with the fan and filter in the rear of the booth, so (in theory at least), nothing should fall off the filter when the fan is shut off. However to be on the safe side, I found a large boot box and lined the bottom with foam rubber.

When the model is ready to paint, I place it in the box and put the top on it (to protect it until I'm ready for it) Then I turn on my paint booth and start mixing/thinning my paints (keeps the chemical smells down - doesn't bother me but you ought to hear my wife). I then take a paint hulk (on old model I've screwed up) and make sure the airbrush is set up like I want it and is operating properly. When every thing is working right, I get the model out of the box and paint it. When I get done the model goes back into the box to dry. If I'm going to paint another model in a different color, I then flush out the brush and shoot the second model. When I'm finished, I clean the airbrush, put up my paints and finally shut down the paint booth. May sound complex but it really isn't. and I don't worry too much about foreign thingies on newly painted surfaces.

Oh yea, I always wear a respirater and latex/neoprene gloves when I'm painting

Sounds like you might have a home built paint booth. I built my paint booth utilizing a Dayton blower as well and it's a great little setup that I believe is far better then anything I could have bought. Anyway, the plans I used called for mounting of the blower on the top of the booth, which is what I originally did. Problem with that is gravity! Once the blower was turned off, those things had a tendency to depart from the filter and land on my freshly painted parts. After a few issues with that nonsense, I relocated the blower to the back of the booth which helped out tremendously. Other things I've done is to turn the blower off when I'm done painting. Also, I suspend my painted parts so that the visible surfaces are down. However, as was previously mentioned, a cover would be best. My stuff is just too big for that.

BTW, welcome to the forum! As a relatively new member myself, I can say that you'll find a great bunch of people here.

John

Welcome to FSM Mike. A container to keep your model clean when the paint is drying is a good tip. Thanks Robert.
mark956

Some people around here have mentioned having the same problem. One solution was to cover the model immediately after painting with a clear tuperware type container. Elevate the edges by setting the container so that there is still circulation for drying the paint.

P.S. Welcome to FSM Mr Moose. Good to have you join us here.

Enjoy !!!!