Airbrushing help

Might be able to give you better help if we know what brand of paint you are using and if they are enamel or acrylic or one of each. How long tdid you give it to cure between the flat and the gloss?

Sounds like a reaction between coats (not compatible / not dried...), or a contaminant on the base coat (dust, fingerprints...) or in the gloss coat. If you are working in a dusty environment, it likley that the gloss coat will attract far more dust / contaminant than the base coat.

I am using humbrol enamels and i left about 2 days between the matt and gloss I am spraying in my garage on a work bench it could be a dust problem i guess.

Hi Chris,

It would be helpful if you could post a photo of the effect you're describing, as it could be one (or a combination) of a multitude of things.eg.

paint spatter,
dust contamination,
insufficient thinning,
uneven coverage,
overly thick coverage, leading to a "dimpling" effect often known as "orange peel" 
insufficiently mixed paint,
moisture/water in your air line

As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words.

This is my first time ever airbrushing so constructive criticism is much appreciated

thanks

 What are you using for thinner? Are you mixing the paints well befor using? Were the paints lumpy or grainy in the tin? I've been using Humbrol enamels for as long that I can remember and have never had any problems.  

I just use whitspirit for thinner, the paints are well mixed in a 1:2 thinner to paint mix

I'm going to guess that the paint isn't atomizing very well.  I wonder if you're using enough air pressure.  Either that or the paint and thinner aren't compatible or the paint isn't thin enough.   Could you tell us what kind of airbrush and air source you're using?  You might want to experiment on some empty plastic bottles before you go back to the model.

Don

OK, airbrushing ain't easy to describe and there are lots of variables to take into account but let's try...

From what I see on the fotos there could be following problems:

-spraying gloss coat on a matt coat doesn't sound lika a good idea in the first place. If the color has a good coverage, I'd go with several light coats of gloss.

-from what we see the paint didn't atomize like it should. I'd point the thinner as main suspect. Try humbrol or testors thinner for your first attempts to get a feel how it should work. I guess lighter fluid could probably be used or certain kinds of turpentine, but I wouldn't guarantee. If you're sure your thinner is OK, try adding some more to the mix and be sure to stirr the paint throughly before mixing.

Hope it helps, happy airbrushing

Pawel

I'm just guessing from the photos.

But I wonder if he's spraying too far from the surface and the paint is drying before it hits the surface.

Whats the usual distance i do a few inches maybe 4-6 and the airbrush im using is an AB725 Expo airbrush nothing special only cost me 40 pounds and for air i use canned air atm cant really afford the compressor at this point im a penniless student.

Try this: take another Humbrol enamel color and thin with same thinner used with the black color. Spray on a plastic spare bottle for effect. If the same thing happens then your thinner may be the culprit.

There's no perfect distant.  It depends on a ton of things from type of airbrush to paint thinned to air pressure, etc.   You're going to have to try the spray on a surface and see if it pimples.  If yes, then you're too far out.

But I'm just guessing at the problem. I'm not even sure at what I'm seeing.

Are you spraying in a cold area?  If so, the canned air might not be supplying enough pressure.  Try setting it in a pan of warm water, about what you can stick your hand in comfortably.  Adjust the knob on the air can adapter all the way in to get as much air as possible.  I doubt that you are spraying too far back.  That usually causes a sandpaper look.  Your airbrush has a fairly small nozzle.  You may need to thin more.

Don

As a matter of fact yets its absolutely freezing here at the moment in the uk the warm pan of water idea is good as the can literally freezes as mositure touches it and the pressure drops off significantly when cold

It is a little difficult to tell from the photos whether certain artifacts are the resullt of the top coat or the undercoat.

In some areas it certainly appears that the coverage is uneven (wing root area on pic #2) This could simply be a matter of not spraying enough paint. 

It could also be a result of excessively low temperature increasing the viscosity of the paint and retarding the ability of the droplets on the surface to flow together to form a continuous film. This could be exacerbated by the "flat" undercoat.  Painting a gloss over a flat base coat, I'd suggest thinning the paint more and applying in multiple thin coats.

The other pic is interesting because it shows what might be "blooming", Condensation of moisture from the air on wet paint might have caused the mottled effect on the underside. If you painted this in very cold conditions and then took the model into a warm house while the paint was still wet/tacky, the chances of this happening will be quite high.

Just how cold is it in the garage where you're working?

Just another observation, it looks as if you're laying down the paint too thickly, as it appears that the panel lines on the upper surface of the wing have almost been obliterated.

christxuk

Whats the usual distance i do a few inches maybe 4-6 and the airbrush im using is an AB725 Expo airbrush nothing special only cost me 40 pounds and for air i use canned air atm cant really afford the compressor at this point im a penniless student.

Unfortunately, the canned air doesn't work all that great.  I'd say you have a bit too much pressure, but you can't fix that with the canned stuff very easily.  I always have an air pressure regulator handy to my bench because I spray different paints at different pressures.  I bought my latest compressor (a good portable unit with a one gallon tank) for fifty bucks.  That isn't too many cans of air.

By the looks of it it will be considerably cheaper in the long run for me to buy a compressor ive been looking around how does this one look

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/COMPLETE-AIRBRUSH-COMPRESSOR-KIT-CHRISTMAS-PRESENT-IDEA_W0QQitemZ350283829310QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Crafts_DrawingSupplies_EH?hash=item518e8b103e

im looking in the 50 pound bracket

Thanks for all your help everyone I have changed the mixing ratio of the paint , and have also started warming the paint and air can up before and it works a treat. The model paint job has turned out great my best ever!!!

Will post some pics soon

Thanks Everyone