What to do about dust specks

[Miatatom]

I'm beginning to believe that unless you have some sort of hermetically sealed down draft spray booth, there is no way to eliminate ALL dust from a paint job. I've used a full sized spray gun and sprayed the entire spray area with water to try to trap dust. Doesn't seem to be 100% fool proof. Am I being unrealistic about the paint jobs?

When I was painting full size race cars, I always had a few blemishes but I got rid of them by color sanding and buffing them out. Is that everyone's method? Just deal with the small specks by sanding and buffing them out? I can't imagine some of the paint jobs I see on this forum are the result of just shooting the paint and polishing it. If they are, I've got a ton to learn and spend. 8^)

[bryan_m]

yea there is no way to escape the dust Tom.....all ya can do is sand them out and buff it. its what i have always done with them.

i got really lucky today when i shot the paint on my charger, only one tiny dirt nib, and as i was making the very last pass across the body with clear, i got a super tiny rain drop on it. besides that, i got really lucky. once sanded and buffed it will be cool tho.

talk at ya later

bryan

[Mike Kucaba]

You can paint model cars and use techniques that are used 1:1 cars such as tack rags to mitigate dust problems. Also the trick of wetting down the area where you will be spraying helps too. I've also tried grounding in the area to attract dust. In the end, though sanding & polishing is the way you get the super smooth paint you see here whether there is a dust speck or not.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Yup.

[Mike Kucaba]

A few tips about using a tack rag. Cut the thing into a size that suits the scale of the model your working on,and kind of work the thing into a ball then unfold it and refold it to a small pad like thing and wipe the model down gently. Also there are tack rags specifically made for paint refinishing, and a different kind for wood working. Usually the one to get is blue.