I ran into some trouble while spraying enamel with airbrush.

[BringHomeTheBacon]

I was shooting my truck hood and some bits of contamination blew out onto the hood like chunks of solid paint pigment. I have a habit of keeping my paint/lacquer thinner mix stored in an airtight jar. Crusty paint tends to build up under the lid and on the cork seal. I haven't been using any water separator of filter with my air compressor lately. 

1. Will I need to wet sand my enameled hood when full cured and shoot again or should the hood be stripped completely down to plastic again as with brake fluid?

2. Should I invest in a power paint stirrer for my little jars instead of just shaking the jar for a minute before a shoot? 

3. Should my airbrush, jars, siphon spouts, lids, gaskets and accessories be cleaned thoroughly in solvent each and every spray session? I have dedicated an extra mason jar for soaking painting tools in for cleaning. 

4. Should I always use my water separator in the air line? Is there an inline filter for compressors to keep dust and other contaminates out of the air stream? 

5. Should I always transfer unused paint/thinner solution to a clean jar, led and gasket after each and every painting session? 

 

 

[BringHomeTheBacon]

PS- I was an American army soldier, once younger and thinner. I am beginning to realize a model builder must take good care of his painting equipment like a soldier takes care of his rifle. I know I get lazy, cheap, impatient or complacent sometimes and that can be costly during a paint shoot. 

Edited April 9, 2022 by BringHomeTheBacon

[Mark]

I wouldn't premix the paint/thinner if at all possible.  Sometimes you absolutely have to, when you do that it should definitely be stored in a bottle with a previously unused cap.  Even then, I'd strain it before spraying it.

Cleaning the airbrush is a must too.  Disassemble if at all possible, otherwise spray thinner or cleaner through it until it sprays clean, with no color in the spray.  

Cleanliness is the main thing.  Shoot for "perfect", most of the time you come up a bit short but still very good.

[Miatatom]

Strain you paint through a disposable filter too.

[Miatatom]

Also, I'm not sure what equipment you are using, but I always take my spray gun apart after every use. I use a Procon PS-290 which is an internal mix gun, so I have to. One other thing I do is cover the bottle opening with Press and Seal and put the cap on without the factory seal. I use a power stirrer too. I mix paint and thinners in small plastic cups.

[BringHomeTheBacon]

46 minutes ago, Miatatom said:

Also, I'm not sure what equipment you are using, but I always take my spray gun apart after every use. I use a Procon PS-290 which is an internal mix gun, so I have to. One other thing I do is cover the bottle opening with Press and Seal and put the cap on without the factory seal. I use a power stirrer too. I mix paint and thinners in small plastic cups.

Paache H airbrush, single action, came as kit

Paasche 1 oz jars, lids, cork gaskets, siphon lids

Kleen-Strip lacquer thinner

Testors 1/4 oz. jar enamels

Dewalt 1 gallon air compressor without any filtration in air line

Paasche airbrush cleaning kit

mason jars for clean-up with thinner

paint booth station

 

[BringHomeTheBacon]

1 hour ago, Miatatom said:

Strain you paint through a disposable filter too.

1. do you use cheese cloth to strain paints? is there better filters for paints than that?  will a clean gun cleaning patch work over the bottle for straining? 

2. can I get away with just wet sanding that botched hood smoothly and thoroughly before the re-shoot?  most of the hood came out smoothly the first time, except for a few pieces of contamination, I have heard of wet sanding and reshooting in case of dust particles on wet paint

Edited April 10, 2022 by BringHomeTheBacon

[Sandboarder]

48 minutes ago, BringHomeTheBacon said:

1. do you use cheese cloth to strain paints? is there better filters for paints than that?  will a clean gun cleaning patch work over the bottle for straining? 

2. can I get away with just wet sanding that botched hood smoothly and thoroughly before the re-shoot?  most of the hood came out smoothly the first time, except for a few pieces of contamination, I have heard of wet sanding and reshooting in case of dust particles on wet paint

Your local hobby shop should sell something like this designed for Hobby use.  https://www.bnamodelworld.com/zero-paints-zp-2002-125-fast-mover-tools-fmt5125-paper-paint-strainer-125-micron-ultra-fine
 

Without a picture only you can see the finish. So only you can decide if a wet sand will remove all of the “issues”

[BringHomeTheBacon]

I have just ordered:

 

* VCT MINI INLINE AIR HOSE COMPRESSOR WATER OIL FILTER DRYER (filters dust, oil and moisture)

* Badger Air-Brush Co. 121 Paint Mixer, White, battery-operated paint stirrer

* Ram-Pro 50 Pack of Paint Strainers with 190 Micron Paint Filter, Fine Nylon Mesh Paint Filter Strainer - Premium Grade Paint Strainers Paper Cone Painting Projects

 

I'm so sick of these botched paint shoots. I need to get serious now!!!  Amazon.com had everything I needed. 

Edited April 10, 2022 by BringHomeTheBacon

[Dave G.]

Add some pipettes to your order, then you won't pour the paint over the crusty edge of the bottle. I buy them by the 100 count from Amazon, last I knew they were around$6- $8 per 100. Then transfer your paint to a mixing jar or your H jar when ready to paint. Thin,stir, spray. If your paint bottle is new you can dump it right into your spray jar. I tend not to store pre thinned paint for more than the length of the project I'm working on. If you do that though, mark the bottle in some way so you know it's pre thinned later on or has some thinner in it so you can more carefully inspect it and treat accordingly. On model cars/trucks for instance there is nothing quite like freshly mixed paint from a known clean source .

Or decanted enamel. The H sprays decanted enamels imo, better than from the can. Especially if it's non hobby paint. I decant Rustoleum 2X if I find the color I want you get 12oz for $5ish. Decant, add a touch more lacquer thinner and it comes out every bit as nice as Testors bottle paints. Paasche H #3 needle set @ 35 psi. Beautiful.

[Miatatom]

4 hours ago, Dave G. said:

Add some pipettes to your order.

Paasche H #3 needle set @ 35 psi. Beautiful.

Yeah, get some 3 ml pipettes.

Lots of folks spray at different pressures. I shoot everything at 20 psi, adjusted with the airbrush valve opened. That's usually about 22 psi closed. I get too much orange peel at higher pressures. But, that's just my preference. I've got a Paasche H that I use on non-body parts and for primer on bodies. #1 tips for touch up work and #3 for everything else. I scribe a mark on each of the tips as a reference point to open the valve/tip the same amount each time. Usually 1 1/2 to 2 rotations. I use my PS-290 for the color coats on the bodies.

Edited April 10, 2022 by Miatatom

[bobthehobbyguy]

Two thoughts. One you want to clear everything. You also want to use a pattern to get consistent coverage. 

Also you want to be consistent with color coats. Depending how thranslucent the paint is you want to make sure all the surfaces have been painted with even coverage or your panels will be slightly different colors otherwise.