Hello. I've just started doing scale models. Just began 2 months ago and now i have Around 7 tanks completed. My main problem is the texture after airbrushing. Seems like the model has accumulated tiny dusts. I tried hard to keep the dust into a minimum but regardless of how careful i was, i always tend to get Small particles. Im not even sure if its dusts, uneven coat or is it just my airbrush. I attached a picture. I clean my airbrush after each change of Colors. I tried priming with me surface 1200 first (primer coating is ok, no Small particles) but when the base coat is applied it produces a bad effect. I used tamiya thinned with their own thinned. Tried Vallejo Air out of the bottle too.



A closer look

Forgot to add. Im using tamiya Basic compressor with hg-3 airbrush

Your paint is already dry when it hits the surface of the model. This is what is known as the orange peel effect and is quite common when starting out with the airbrush.
You can remove this by;
1) Spraying closer to the model.
2) Thin your paint more (the paint should be wet when it touches the model surface).
3) Reduce your air pressure.
Any of the above, or a combination of the above should do the trick.

Thanks for the info. As for the compressor, i can not adjust the pressure because its a Basic compressor with no psi adjuster. Can i still fix this problem if its already painted onto the model?

yes you can still fix it - just get some very fine grain sanding paper 5000, 8000 and 10000. You will be able to polish that surface down and get rid of the gritty surface.

This method can also be used if you find small dust in the paint of your model that landed in the paint as it was drying.


After that give it a coat of satin varnish prior to starting your weathering.

best
Mark

Hi

Re the air pressure, you can get inline air valves that fit between the compressor and air hose, have a look on eBay, there are loads available.

Paul

Frank has you squared away Ansell, that would be my answer to you issues as well.

Gary

To the former, I've had to do that too in the past. Dilute the paint more and experiment on card until you find the sweet spot of distance for the airbrush (I think with me it was ~4'). Several light coats of heavily thinned paint is always better than a thick coat that orange peels.

Matt

It's worth noting that you are not alone in this problem, as almost every modeler has encountered it. In addition to the tips posted above, adding gloss clear to your paint mix will reduce the orange peel about (10-20% clear gloss is a good place to start). Airbrushing straight Tamiya Lacquer thinner carefully on the surface of the paint after it is dry will also remove some of the orange peel. Make sure that if you are using Tamiya Acrylic paints that you are thinning them with Tamiya LACQUER thinner at about 50%-50%. This will give you a much smoother and finer pattern.

Good advice, but sometimes using regular thinner won't even work well. Use paint retarder.

Use can also fix the finish by using toothpaste - rub it on with a soft cloth.

I get this all time use a soft tooth brush just brush the paint particles of, it will leave microscopic scratches. just airbrush over a final coat and alls good.
when you do air brush another model only airbrush a panel once dont overcoat the same panel during the spray session.

Thanks for the tips guys. Now im thinking of getting a better compressor to have flexibility on my paint thinning and airbrushing distance. I think its better to adjust the spray distance and psi on the fly coz i mix everything on the airbrush cup.