Spatter?

Hmmm, not really.

Normally, if you've thinned something too much, you get runs rather than spatter.  I've never used Vallejo Primer, but anything over-thinned should act similar.

It sounds like:

1. either not thin enough (but eliminate this as you feel it was too thin);

2. dry tip - where some of the primer has dried on the tip of the airbrush, causing large amounts to build up on the tip before shooting off.  If so, mix some retarder into the paint prior to filling up your a/b; or

3. cracked tip of the airbrush - new tip assembly may be required (fingers crossed this is not it).

You can also get spatter if you get moisture in your airline, but i'll eliminate this as it would be very noticeable - you would see water spitting out at random intervals.

hope this helps.

Griffin

I was airbrushing tonight and I kept getting spatter all over the place. I'm shooting Vallejo Primer (it was thinned with Vallejo thinner) through an Aztek at about 15-20 PSI.

I think I figured out that my primer was thinned too much. Does this sound about right?

I'm waiting until tomorrow to see what kind of damage was done but it looked like I may have a little bit of light sanding to do tomorrow night. No big deal, just a little frustrating.

I may have to bring out some cardboard and practice a bit more with the paint/thinner/pressure.

Any thoughts?

Not sure on what you mean by "spatter"? If it is what we usually call a "spider pattern", it is too much paint or too close a spray or poor atomization or all of the above. Thinning ratio, air pressure & distance are the possible issues. It is hard to learn from the airbrush you currently have. (I presume still the Aztek Basic.) But you can try with water. Added some food color for you to see. Use it to adjust the nozzle setting which can be touchy for simple design airbrush. So be patient. When switching to paint, you may try raising your compressor pressure gradually. It may be difficult to know the actual pressure with your current setup. So experiment with different setting to get good atomization. 

I understand that you do not want to invest too much in tools before you decide whether to stick with modeling. But it is a shame if you give it up due to poor tools. Good luck. Post a picture of your spatter if you want more specific help from other forum members. There are many expert modelers on this site.

I've been using Vallejo primer and you can get a bit of what I htink you mean by spatter. I've found that it can dry very fast and is quite thick (I dont thin it at all) so it will dry at the airbbrush tip every now and then. If I have to stop spraying for any time I just give it a quick brush wit a Qtip wet with thinner, just make sure the needle is pulled back out of the way if you use a duel action airbrush

Hope that helps

Phil

Griffin: Which nozzle color were you using?

Thank you for all your suggestions.

I was using the grey, general purpose, nozzle. I've only ever used this one, though I do have the black one as well (general purpose acrylic).

By spatter, I mean there's relatively "large" droplets of paint hitting the model.

I could see it maybe being paint build-up on the tip but it did seem to get better once I stopped thinning the primer. I'll set up again tonight and see if I do any better. (I need a "fingers crossed" emoticon.)

I only use the gray nozzle for post shading free hand with Alclad. The white or black nozzle are the ones for the primer. Happy modeling!

If you are getting specks and bumps (sort of like dust, but obviously coming from airbrush), the two things I always check first are being too far away from the surface, or the brush needing better cleaning, especially tip and needle.

Thanks again.

This is the Aztek I have: http://www.testors.com/product/137119/A4305/_/7-Piece_Resin_Airbrush_Set

I don't think I was too far away. I was only an inch or two from the surface.

I will use the acrylic tip (black) and try to keep the tip clean too. I may also add a drop of Vallejo "Slow Dry" to help with accumulation at the tip.