Spraying spider webs with lacquer paint

[daveculp]

I'm trying to spray MCW acrylic lacquer, straight out of the bottle.  This is the result.  Any ideas on what causes the spider webs?

 

 

-- Dave

[LSP_Kevin]

This happens to me when I use Mr. Surfacer, and either haven't thinned it enough, or use low-grade generic hardware store thinner.

 

Kev

[MikeMaben]

Yep, it's the thinner . Years ago in the custom car paint world there was a technique

called cobwebbing. It was achieved by blowing unthinned acrylic at high pressure.

[Woody V]

4 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

Yep, it's the thinner .

 

That would be my guess too, but he's spraying direct from the bottle.

[MikeMaben]

Ah, well part of that process is that the paint dries as it  leaves the nozzle.

Try some Mr. Color Leveling thinner, it has a retarder in it.

[daveculp]

Thanks, all.  Yes, this paint is supposedly thinned already, and it looks thin, but not enough it seems.  I'll try the leveling thinner. 

 

Maybe living in a very dry climate is making it worse? 

[themongoose]

8 hours ago, daveculp said:

Thanks, all.  Yes, this paint is supposedly thinned already, and it looks thin, but not enough it seems.  I'll try the leveling thinner. 

 

Maybe living in a very dry climate is making it worse? 

Yep it absolutely does! Too little moisture in the air and the paint dries quicker in the air, too much moisture and it gets pulled into the paint stream and fogs your clear coat(that’s where you really see the effect of moisture). You can mess with pressure and distance from the model to clear that up but the Mr Color Leveling Thinner is the ultimate “cheat code” in my book! Takes all the guesswork out of things. I thin my MCW acrylic lacquer with it 25-50%. It changes some with color as well. Dark blues and reds that are a bit translucent like something close to 25% and they will stop spider webbing but still cover well. Any more and they don’t cover. Grays i can dilute up to 50% with no illmeffects.