Spray-painting Problems - Help Appreciated!

Dust is everyone's problem. Some of us even get to add cat hair to the mix! It seems like everything floating in the air automatically gets drawn to wet paint on a model.

First thing to do is make sure the model is dust free before you paint it. Many times what appears to settle on the surface during and after painting was in reality there before starting. I usually scuff mine with steel wool, then clean them with alcohol, and finally blast them with air from my compressor. After I spray a coat I put a big dust-free box over the model while it dries. Some people have a dust-free cabinet they sit them in while they are drying.

Something I've thought about doing, but have never tried yet, is to build a "Spray Frame" and hang an old clean, dry sheet or pillow case over it. Spray the model, then close up the front and let it dry.

Sometimes you can smooth out the dust by polishing lightly with very fine steel wool or the finest grit sandpaper you can find. Sometimes even very rough cloth (burlap, heavy wool, automotive polishing cloth, etc.) will help. These will, as you noticed, kill the shine because they do scratch the surface slightly, but the clear will probably put that back.

If you spray a clear coat over the top of the dust, it will still probably show up. Clear is clear, and it won't hide very much in the way of dust or color differences.

Cheers MusicCity,

I suppose it's just trial and error, and testing out a bunch of stuff other people do.
Might have to look closer at preparation and cleaning of the part before I spray.

Thanks,
M

You forgot to include messing up a bunch of finishes to!

One of the reasons I usually prime major sections before a finish coat is because the primer lets me see surface imperfections I wouldn't otherwise see. A seam can look perfect until you hit it with paint and then it looks like a canyon. Dust and dirt and cat hair are about the same, at least for me. I never see them until they have paint on them

Just keep telling yourself that this is supposed to be fun.