humbrol gloss cote + airbrush = matt finish

It sounds as if

1. you may be spraying from too far a distance to the subject or at too high a pressure and it's drying in the air before it reaches the subject or;
2. you're not applying a sufficiently "wet" coat and you're not attaining sufficient coverage for the gloss coat to form a uniform film of paint.

Grab a test subject (can be anything from an old kit to an empty drink bottle or other scrap) and apply a slightly heavier coat and see if  it makes a difference.

Phil_H

It sounds as if

1. you may be spraying from too far a distance to the subject or at too high a pressure and it's drying in the air before it reaches the subject or;
2. you're not applying a sufficiently "wet" coat and you're not attaining sufficient coverage for the gloss coat to form a uniform film of paint.

Grab a test subject (can be anything from an old kit to an empty drink bottle or other scrap) and apply a slightly heavier coat and see if  it makes a difference.

it isnt number 2 but could be number 1 as i have the pressure high il try dropping the psi.

thanks for the advice

Something else you can do is hold the subject at an angle to your light source and watch the reflection from the paint/clear as it hits the surface. That can often help tell you how much paint is actually "arriving" on the model's surface.

I do this all the time with difficult to judge colours like whites and clears. 

PS: What are you thinning it with? Humbrol recommends lacquer thinner for Gloss Cote. If you're using something else, it may not be compatible and giving you an undesired result.

i worked the angle it toward the light trick out myself for that very reason lol

er i havnt thinned it at all i thought it would dull it if i did

There is a tendency when airbrushing to put on too thin a coat.  A gloss finish must go down wet (thcker coat). The wetter the coat, the glossier it will look when dry.

For a really glossy finish, as on an automobile, it is a game of brinkmanship. You put it down thicker and thicker until about two seconds before it runs :-)  How do you know just before it runs?  Experience.  Practice gloss coatings on scrap plastic to get the hang of it, and see how it looks just before it runs.