airbrush and acrilics question

I was painting my ACME Spitfire with some Badger Acrylic airbrush paint and had trouble with runs bad coverage. Some of this was this was due to it being my first time shooting acrylic through my airbrush, I'm used to thinned Testors Model Masters, which is a good bit more viscous so I had the pressure way to high. Is there anything I can do to clean it up or is it a sand and repaint sort of scenario? see the pics below

other info on this build
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?t=3316

I am new to this too, but I found when I sprayed to heavy and it was still wet it wiped off pretty cleanly. Its pretty thin so sanding cleans it off also without much effort. What brand of paint are you using? I have been using Createx.

mjennings said:

Is there anything I can do to clean it up or is it a sand and repaint sort of scenario? see the pics below

Click to expand...

This pretty much is a sand and repaint kinda thing..... From the looks of the picture of the fins, you were moving a lot of paint around with the high pressure. I never spray above 15 PSI. If the paint doesn't come out then it is generally too thick. The other problem many folks have is trying to cover too much with the paint. Red covers well but you still have to build in layers.

Thanks guys

as stated above I was using the Badger Paint, through a Paasche brush (that was probably half my problem :neener

Bravo52, yeah I got better coverage down near 12 psi I was shooting the Testors up near 18 psi, and being use to the way the enamels cover at 18 psi, like you said, I was expecting heavier coverage. I'll probably take some 500 - 1000 grit to it in the next few days and try to start over with out getting to deep in to the primer / base coat substrates.

I am not sure I would worry about it too much. The acme spitfire is supposed to look kind of beat up anyway!

yeah but I'm going for more of a in a cartoon effect so I want a fairly uniform coverage.

If you are using a tiny nozzle size you will be forced to thin the paint and spray at a low pressure....this works great for a camo job on a 1/48 scale airplane model.

however for a large area of color like on your spitfire you may want to change the thinking ..do not seek advice from the model building sites on painting rockets,, it "generall" does not pertain to rocket sized projects

what you will find to work best is the largest nozzle for the airbrush,, and the least amount of thinning as possible..(thinning robs the acrylic paints of binder so you get a thin runny paint that doesn't cover well).

you will also be able to crank up the airbrush to 25-40 psi and get closer to a paint can volume except with much finer control...and thats the object with most rocketry finishes.

If you use createx and this technique you will not need to thin the paint at all

somehow I posted twice ,, sorry

Your pressure was so high that it bent your rocket!

Dried acrylic paint can be sanded off pretty easily, but sands best with slightly coarser sandpaper. I'd start by trying around 180 grit. Finer grit, at first, will clog up too much.

Stymye,

I'm using the Paasche #3 tip and nozzle, I have a #1 and # 5, I may try the #5 next time, the Badger paint is prethined and ready to spray, but I'll keep that in mind with the Createx paint.

good info Pat, Thanks

hit it with some 400 grit wet sand and got mostly back down to the gloss white undercoat and am re spraying now, things are working better. Thanks for all the help

I am NO expert, but I have been learning to enjoy airbrushing. The fact that you've been using other paints prior to the acrylic makes me think you're already ahead of my learning curve, but I'll throw out a key point I've learned. If you're using the Createx airbrush paint from the craft store, its probably the same stuff as me. I'm using a different double action airbrush, but I think some of the application issues will be the same.

I usually use 3-5 coats. The first rocket I painted with the airbrush/Createx is 2+ years old and it still seems a bit tacky. I'm sure it isn't, but it is a dust magnet! I sprayed it like I was using a spray can and it was the wrong call. Now, the first coat just barely puts any paint down at all, just a light tint of color. I heat cure it with a heat gun. I spray the second coat a little heavier and heat cure it. The 3rd coat is usually enough for an opaque color, but transparent/fluorescent colors seem to take 4 or 5 coats. I heat cure between all coats. For me that has been the key. It also lets me paint 3+ colors per session, so I can finish a rocket quickly if masking is not an issue. I have begun to clear coat over the paint before masking a second coat and I think that is a good call too, but I haven't completely decided if it is 100% required.

I have yet to thin the paint and typically spray at 15 psi. I do get some 'spatter' with some colors over others, but I have not experimented to correct that. The clear coat usually hides it enough for my quality requirements.

I hope you get the results you're looking for. I'm planning on trying other craft paint thinner soon, but so far, the Createx has been pretty sweet.

Sandy.