Gloss varnish problem, any tips

One of the problems with airbrushing is an urge to go too fast.  Sometimes this creates excessive distance from brush nozzle to surface being painted.  This leads to very dry coats, which as Texgunner says, leads to rough areas.  Do not think of an airbrush as a spray gun.  Think of it as a brush that does not leave brush marks, and paint the same way you would paint with a regular brush.

A very real problem when airbrushing clear coats is the difficulty in seeing the depth of coverage.

Work with a bright light slightly behind the subject so that you can see the reflection of the light on the clear coat as it's being applied. This will help you judge the coverage.

Tex is right. You can't mist on any light gloss coats. They need to be airbrushed on heavy and wet, just before they start to pool up. Use a larger nozzle airbrush, and hold it farther away from the model's surface than you normally would, and spray it on heavy, with large, overlapping passes. If it starts to pool, then move the airbrush faster or hold it even farther away. The key is to open it up and spray it on heavy.

Are you airbrushing it Rob?   Maybe the pressure is too high, or the distance from the model's surface too far?  Either conditions can result in the "paint's" particles "bouncing" off the surface and then resettling, giving a rough, grainy surface.   I've had trouble with Future doing this same thing.  I've found that wet coats seem to work better than misting on several more "dry" coats too.  That does require a delicate touch though as the "wet" coat will run or pool if you're not careful.  I practice on a couple old paint hulks and I'll admit that I usually approach this stage of a model project with a lot of trepidation too.   These are just some early morning ruminations on my part.  Maybe they'll help.   Good luck!

Gary

Rather than start a new thread, I'll piggyback on this one.  I've had the exact same issue with future and now Alclad II Aqua Gloss.  I tried about 6 coats of future on a model and still had rough patches.  With the Alclad I I've tried 3-4 coats on a current build and I still have a lot of rough space.  It looks better than the future ever did, but I'm still a good way from what I think would be a good surface for decaling.  Any help would be much appreciated!  Thank you!

Groot