How do I avoid an orange peel finish?

Orange Peel finish is usually caused by the paint drying too quickly and not having enough time to level out properly. Acrylics are notorious for this because they already dry so fast.

The trick is usually to keep the paint from drying in the air between the airbrush and model and to give it ample time to level out before the carrier evaporates. You can do this in several methods:

1) Thin your paint a little more (although 60/40 sounds fine to me)
2) Spray a little closer to the surface
3) Spray slightly heavier coats
4) Lower your pressure (although the pressure you are using sounds fine to me)
5) Try a different thinner (although with Tamiya gloss paint their thinner is the way to go)
6) Add a couple of drops of acrylic retarder to the mix (although I think Tamiya thinner already has some retarder in it)
7) Keep drafts such as fans from blowing on the paint while it's drying.

Temperature and humidity also have a big effect on paint drying time, but there is usually very little we can do about that.

try spraying about an inch closer, i find it helps a lot. and use lots of thin coats instead of 1 massive thick coat, that way you can avoid drips too

QUOTE: Spray a little closer to the surface

Thinking about it now, I was a little too far. The instructions for my airbrush say about 6", and I was probably closer to 10"

QUOTE: Spray slightly heavier coats

Do you mean moving the brush a little more slowly so that more paint builds up? I was going pretty quickly because when I practiced on some sheet styrene I ended up with some drips, so I figured I was going too slowly. Maybe I was going too quickly this time.

QUOTE: Thinking about it now, I was a little too far. The instructions for my airbrush say about 6", and I was probably closer to 10"

6" would be better. I seldom spray any further than 6" and normally probably more like 4".

QUOTE: Do you mean moving the brush a little more slowly so that more paint builds up? I was going pretty quickly because when I practiced on some sheet styrene I ended up with some drips, so I figured I was going too slowly. Maybe I was going too quickly this time.

It's a fine line between too little paint, enough paint and too much paint. I wish I could hit it from time to time. I guess I meant just get more paint at any given spot since a "Wet" coat is less likely to develop orange peel than a thin coat. You could do that by opening the paint flow on your airbrush a little, or just slow your hand down a little. If it's already going on pretty "Wet" you might want to keep going like you are.

QUOTE: You could do that by opening the paint flow on your airbrush a little, or just slow your hand down a little

Well, I've got the trigger all the way back as it is, so I'll try going a little more slowly.

QUOTE: It's a fine line between too little paint, enough paint and too much paint.

That it is, and I don't seem to be able to walk it consistently yet. More practice, I guess. Wait! That means building more models!! That's a good thing.
Should I wash off the base green or can I paint over the goofs. I'm afraid that if I keep putting more coats on the tank, I'll lose the effect of the preshading.

QUOTE: Originally posted by buff QUOTE: You could do that by opening the paint flow on your airbrush a little, or just slow your hand down a little Well, I've got the trigger all the way back as it is, so I'll try going a little more slowly.

If you have the trigger all the way back then you should be blasting the surface with paint and should have runs all over.

Mike

Thanks for the tips guys. I definitely have some stuff to work on.