Hi there,

I seem to be having some trouble with my airbrushing.

The pattern always comes out spotty/dotted. Here are two pictures to show you what I mean. I use Tamiya Acrylics, thinned to about a 50:50 mix. These guys I sprayed at around 15psi, but I get the same effect at 25psi as well. I use a Badger Patriot with a .50 needle. I have no idea how to counter this issue, as spraying this way nothing looks very controlled... Thank you!

If thinning it down more doesnt help,then yoo probably have a split nozzle which will need replacing

im assuming you took it apart and cleaned it and there is nothing blocking the nozzle...

Having a split nozzle is my nightmare... I've ordered it from the UK and live in Bulgaria and sending it back for replacement will be difficult. Is there some way to be sure its a split nozzle?

It looks like your paint is too thick. Try adding more thinner. If that doesn't work, inspect your needle and nozzle under a magnifying glass for any damage. What toe of thinner are you using?

I'm using Tamiya's own thinner. I'll try even more thinning tonight.

You might also try a drop of Airbrush Medium.

Here's another thread on the topic which may prove helpful: Weird Airbrush Problem

Hey Mike, thanks for your input, but the topic you posted looks like a problem different to mine, from what I gather.

Yes, if you compare that image with yours. However, on my separate issue, mentioned within the thread, my problem was very similar to what you are experiencing.

—mike

I own a Patriot also, One thing you can do is look up on youtube Thinning ______ paint for Badger Patriot. I used the video recommendations for Vallejo and haven't had any problems. 5 parts paint 3 parts thinner 1 drop liquitex flow aid and 1 drop liquitex slow dri blending medium I'm painting an old Italeri Hetzer that I bought to build with my daughter and the thinning formula works so well I've been airbrushing the dots in the ambush scheme.

looks indeed your paint is not being delivered fast enough to the surface, looks like 3 potential issues

1) paint too thick. Thin the paint or try with pure water as comparison
2) tip clogged, sometimes hard to detected. Disassemble and clean with something tiny (I actually use an AB needle for it)
3) the air flow around the tip is blocked by dried paint. Your compressor might be pumping enough PSI, it is not coming out of the tip. Same solution as (2)

The lower the PSI, the cleaner your AB needs to be and the thinner the paint

I agree, with mat. I use the ab needle and a toothpick to clean the tip. I had an invisible paint clog, in my Renegade's tip. I soaked it in lacquer thinner(for Tamiya, and solvent based paint) for 30 minutes. Then, I reamed it, with the needle. Finally, I inserted a toothpick and gently twisted it to remove the clog.