Dealing with overspray

What kind of overspray are we talking about here?

I would try dialing back the air pressure for sure. You may also want to consider thinning the paint a bit more to compensate for the drop in pressure.

With my Iwata, I usually end up spraying between 8-15 PSI...

Not sure if this'll help any but in times past, whenever I've had slight overspray, I've simply erased it with a good, new pencil eraser!  Seriously, if the overspray is slight in nature, the pencil eraser will take it right off.  Just remember that is has to be a good, soft eraser.  Those grey maliable (sp?) erasers work like magic, too.

Eric

What kind of airbrush and paints are you using?  I shoot with  Badger 100LG, medium needle and tip.  I use Tamiya paints typically, very thin (50-50 or more), and shoot at about 10 psi, 3 inches from my subject.  I get good coverage, and have very little overspray. 

Moving closer and reducing pressure is usually a good first step.  Test/practice on an old milk jug or similar plastic container until you get the right ratios.  Don't want to foul up a real model while trying a new technique!

Chris

I never thought of that.  I will give it a shot.  Does it matter what type of paint?

I am using a Grex airbrush with a 0.2 nozzle.  I was using decanted Model Master enamel paint which was pretty thin straight from the can.  I was just preshading so its not the end of the world.  Plus it's a cheap Revell kit so if I goof it up its not the end of the world.  Its the first model I have built in 20 years.

Ok, good airbrush.  You didn't specify a model, but mainly I was interested in gravity feed or siphon.  You can use less pressure with gravity feed, and that helps a bit.

Decanted paint is pretty thin, but if it thickens up any, add a dash of laquer thinner.  The reason I was asking about paint is some paints can be thinned more than others without sacrificing coverage.  Others tend to get too transparent.  I find that Tamiya acrylics, thinned with 91% iso alcohol shoot very cleanly and have less overspray. 

Recently I have been adding a bit of Future to the acrylics before thinning.  Gives them a bit more toughness, more self-leveling, and they have a satin sheen that is perfect for decals.

Hope this helps!

Chris

Its a Gravity fed airbrush.  I think less pressure is a good start.  I'm experimenting trying to paint a pencil thin line which gets my airbrush very close to the model.  I want to be able to paint some simple camo without masking or Silly Putty.  I want to get rid of the over spray before I do that though.

Yes, try lower pressure and thin the paint. You can thin decanted paint quite a bit usually. Try to get down to 10-12psi.  If you're using a .2mm nozzle/tip you should be able to eliminate most of the overspray. There's still going to be some. Being careful of how you aim the brush will help too. Generally you want the brush square to what you're spraying but if you're doing camo freehand then try doing the outside edges first with the brush aimed slightly towards the center of the section you're painting. That will direct more of the overspray into that section. Work your way in and build up an edge then fill in the rest. Stay close to your work.

Getting the pattern laid out and filled in is the hardest part. You may end up with some streaks or light and dark spots. Don't fret over that. You can go back over it later to fill in and it's much easier to stay within the lines you've already done than it is to do the first time. The first time you're trying to follow the edge that you've penciled in or whatever. The second time around it's easier to follow the cone of paint as you shoot it. At least it is for me. I'm still learning too and each one gets a little easier. Normal or standard progression of painting camo will have you working from light colors to dark. And that's how I do it the first time. But when I go back for a second coat I work in reverse order, dark to light. Maybe it's just me but the overspray doesn't seem as noticeable then.  It's still there, you can't eliminate it completely without masking, but light colored overspray over darker paint seems to give a more defined edge than the opposite. Could just be me though.

Tony

PS...And don't worry too much if you color outside the lines, you can fix it.