Issues when airbrushing large surface

[Neo]

Hi LSP'ers

 

ive been running into this issue lately in gloss coats and while painting larger surfaces, I seem to be getting spray lines in my finish, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here, I read maybe something todo with painting at an angle vs 90degres

 

Any ideas ? 

 

here is a picture of yesterday using Iwata Eclipse with AK gunmetal lacquer Mr leveling thinner the time before I had this was with Alclad Klear coat satin(premix)

 

 

[tomprobert]

From your picture, it looks as if the paint is laying too thick in those areas - I’ve had the same issue before. It therefore dries more slowly than the paint around it, leaving a different hue. This is exacerbated by the fact it’s a metallic finish. 
 

I’ve found giving it a gentle polish with some polishing cloths and then reapplying the top coat effective - the way to remedy it is to ensure the paint is relatively thin and sprayed at a slightly lower pressure - along with fast, smooth passes from a distance in multiple thin coats. Easier said than done, I hasten to add, but the paint pooling slightly would be my guess - and that’s what’s causing the problem. 

[BiggTim]

To be honest, my first thought it that's an awfully big part to be using an airbrush on at all. Most standard airbrushes just aren't made for laying big stripes of metallic paint well. I have painted a lot of automotive projects before, many with metallic paint, but I'm not sure I could get it to lay out the way I want with a gun that isn't made to do that. Airbrushes spray a round spot, which is a ***** to get good even overlap with. When doing a large area, you want a spray pattern that is tall and narrow, so you can overlap the passes without getting too much paint build-up. Aside from using a small detail gun with an adjustable spray pattern, like this - https://www.michaels.com/product/paasche-gravity-feed-touchup-spray-gun-181316911313076226 - I'd say Tom's advice above is good. Keep it light and thin, and apply from a little further away.

 

Tim

[Neo]

Thanks guys so i think im definitely doing it from too close, from doing other reading i think i may be going too fast also. 

 

@BiggTim you just reminded me i have a older badger Vegas 2000 with a 1mm tip, gonna break that out and see if its any better

[BiggTim]

One more thought - make sure the space you're painting in is not too warm. Keep it between 60-70 F, especially with thin paint, low pressure, and holding away from the surface a bit more. If it's too warm, the mist will dry too quickly, and not lay down the way you want. It will also be way too dull, but sometimes that can be overcome with clearcoat, so maybe not so bad. Metallics are fussy that way. 

 

That larger airbrush is worth a shot. Good Luck.

 

Tim

[Neo]

2 hours ago, BiggTim said:

One more thought - make sure the space you're painting in is not too warm. Keep it between 60-70 F, especially with thin paint, low pressure, and holding away from the surface a bit more. If it's too warm, the mist will dry too quickly, and not lay down the way you want. It will also be way too dull, but sometimes that can be overcome with clearcoat, so maybe not so bad. Metallics are fussy that way. 

 

That larger airbrush is worth a shot. Good Luck.

 

Tim

good tips thanks. 

 

Im thinking the issue is more me than anything because ive been getting the same issue when I'm doing clear coats on my models, i have a feeling its a mix of angle, too close too wet

[BiggTim]

4 hours ago, Neo said:

 i have a feeling its a mix of angle, too close too wet

That's a tough one not to comment on...

[Neo]

5 hours ago, BiggTim said:

That's a tough one not to comment on...

Lmao

[themongoose]

On 8/28/2024 at 12:50 PM, BiggTim said:

To be honest, my first thought it that's an awfully big part to be using an airbrush on at all. Most standard airbrushes just aren't made for laying big stripes of metallic paint well. I have painted a lot of automotive projects before, many with metallic paint, but I'm not sure I could get it to lay out the way I want with a gun that isn't made to do that. Airbrushes spray a round spot, which is a ***** to get good even overlap with. When doing a large area, you want a spray pattern that is tall and narrow, so you can overlap the passes without getting too much paint build-up. Aside from using a small detail gun with an adjustable spray pattern, like this - https://www.michaels.com/product/paasche-gravity-feed-touchup-spray-gun-181316911313076226 - I'd say Tom's advice above is good. Keep it light and thin, and apply from a little further away.

 

Tim

i have similar experience to biggtim. I bought the exact same gun! I use that for really big stuff like aircraft carrier hulls and some of the bigger 1/32 and 1/24 scale aircraft like an F 15. for stuff like you’re working on, maybe an F5 in size as well, what I did was to buy the fan spray nozzle adapter for my airbrush. that made a very big difference because now you can adjust the pattern a bit and get more of the oval shaped that you use when spraying a one-to-one car. I see significant reduction in striping when I use that fan spray. So that’s a second option I think for you. 
edit: I forgot to add that I got the fan spray in a .5 needle and a .3 needle and I use them based on the size of the model. I’m painting.

Edited August 29 by themongoose

[Neo]

39 minutes ago, themongoose said:

i have similar experience to biggtim. I bought the exact same gun! I use that for really big stuff like aircraft carrier hulls and some of the bigger 1/32 and 1/24 scale aircraft like an F 15. for stuff like you’re working on, maybe an F5 in size as well, what I did was to buy the fan spray nozzle adapter for my airbrush. that made a very big difference because now you can adjust the pattern a bit and get more of the oval shaped that you use when spraying a one-to-one car. I see significant reduction in striping when I use that fan spray. So that’s a second option I think for you. 
edit: I forgot to add that I got the fan spray in a .5 needle and a .3 needle and I use them based on the size of the model. I’m painting.

interesting ill look into this

 

 

On a progression note, using my 1m needle and my vega i just did a gloss black batch of parts, the first 2 went well then i started getting the stripes again, so i moved back allot more and slowed down and VOILA gone, did a pass of pure thinner again i was too close and made a mess, moved back and bam glass like finish

[ScottsGT]

I have the Grex Tritium with the fan attachment.  It’s an awesome airbrush I use on my larger spray jobs. 

[Neo]

19 hours ago, ScottsGT said:

I have the Grex Tritium with the fan attachment.  It’s an awesome airbrush I use on my larger spray jobs. 

Ive been wanting a grex for a while but there so expensive 

[ScottsGT]

On 9/5/2024 at 4:23 PM, Neo said:

Ive been wanting a grex for a while but there so expensive 

If you’re spraying large areas, it’s worth the investment.  My so got into 1/10 RC rock crawlers and he got one as well. Turned him into a great painter overnight.  Of course he was already using a full size automotive paint gun at work.