Orange peel issue

[Builder04]

So I sprayed a body a few days ago using the Testors One Coat rattle can and it has a little bit of an orange peel effect going on in a few areas. Its nothing major, to be honest its not very noticable at all, but I try to be as much as a perfectionist as I can be with the material/tools Im working with. The color is Blazing Black which has metalic in the paint, so would wet sanding be an issue even if I used a finer grit sand paper? The color came out nice and even, so I dont want to disrupt the base coat before I clear. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[Pete J.]

FYI - The orange peel happened because you were holding the can too far from the model and the paint lost too much of its solvent enroute to the model(simply put it arrived too dry). You could sand it lightly with a sanding stick if the paint is thick enough. The problem with metalics is that the metal flakes sink to the bottom of the layer of paint and sanding may cause them to be more exposed and ruin the evenness of the paint. You could clear coat over it, thick enought to sand the clear flat, without sanding through to the metalic coat, you could polish it out and this may solve the issue. Either way you may wind up in the purple pond starting over which may be the best solution anyway.

Good Luck!

Pete

[Cato]

You could:

-Get a polishing cloth kit and starting about 4000 grit on the peel, work your way up to 12,000 on the whole finish. Avoid all edges. Starting fine is better than rubbing the metallic-even if you leave peel, it's less than you started with.

-Next time, heat the can with hot tap water before spraying and mind your distance. Practice on scrap to get the feel.

[Builder04]

Thanks for the help. I actually end up wet sanding the entire body with 4000 and shot some De Ja Blue over it, that was the original plan but I really like that Blazin Black. The 4000 was more than enough to get rid of the little peel effect there was. Like I said, it wasnt much at all, barely noticable. And I did set the can in warm water before hand, but I think the issue was I was too far away while spraying. I was trying something different someone said had worked for them in the past, but it didnt work for me to well lol. Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated. Definetly going to start trying out different things on scrap trees and bodies, see what techniques work and which dont.

[Pete J.]

Just a suggestion but plastic spoons are really great for practice. Having a curved surface you get a good impression of what is going on with your technique. That and they are cheap!

[Jdurg]

Whenever I wind up with some minor orange peel in the base color coat, if it's not too severe I just go and apply my clear coats to it and then sand the clear coat down, use rubbing compound, then use a polishing compound to bring out the shine. If you use multiple clear coats, like I always do, you'll be able to sand the orange peel out of the clear coat without biting into the base color coat. Just always check your sandpaper and white cloth used to rub away the sanding debris to make sure that you haven't sanded through to the color.

For minor orange peel, this always seems to work out the best. For major orange peel, I wet sand the color and apply another color coat on top but hold the can a little bit closer to the surface so as to avoid the peel issue. It's always nerve-wracking doing that, however, as I'm always paranoid that the color coat will run or sag.

[Builder04]

Great advise guys, so helpful

[MitchP]

This great info! Shows what the search function is for! I'm new to modern modeling after 45 years and never painted before. My Jungle Jim was a body in white and I shot it blue 'flake without any body prep. I tried to be as light on the coats but it still ran in a few spots below the rear bumper.

My current AMT '66 Nova (with help from Marcos Cruz) was a much more times taking event and I still screwed up the 1st body due to trying to get too fancy with under coats/over coats. I ended up with a

2nd body and had it perfect (well, except for the peel) when I attempted an hand-taped striping job. Purple Powered the body and tried again. I'd have had a great result except for I didn't know about being too far away on my wet coats. I'm going to let it dry after 5 coats of color, then apply the top clear coat and invest in a polishing kit to at least make it really shiny. Thanks for the advice and this page is bookmarked in my browser as a #1!

[Ace-Garageguy]

For practicing painting, it's really hard to beat painting a model car body. Spoons have a use for checking whether materials are compatible and what colors will look like, etc, but you just don't learn to paint a car body by painting spoons.

Learning how you overlap coats as you rotate the body, and keeping your paint the same distance from the body at the same time, can only be learned by actually doing it.

You don't have to have a lot of bodies, either. I have one Mustang body that was short-shotted in the mold, and I painted it over and over for a couple of years before I committed to doing a model I really cared about. If it's a long time between paint jobs, I'll still occasionally paint the thing just to keep in practice...timing and distance are all-important.

If you are using enamels, it's no problem to strip it with oven cleaner, and if you're using lacquers, you can just sand it when it's dry, primer over it, and practice shooting your color to your heart's content.

This was the first model I painted for real after getting back in the hobby after an almost 40 year lapse. The practice paid off. 5 coats of Testors "One Coat" Flaming Orange, and 3 coats of Testors "Wet Look" clear, not yet sanded or polished in this photo.

Edited August 18, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy

[Skip]

Bill, couldn't agree with you more on spoons Vs. body, not only will it help you with the finishing and polishing process what works and what doesn't. My Revell '57 Nomad has spent nearly as much time in the purple pond as it has in the paint booth. It was a garage sale find that came with the doors and tailgate glued tightly shut, whatever glue it was has stood up to the pond for some time!

[MitchP]

For practicing painting, it's really hard to beat painting a model car body. Spoons have a use for checking whether materials are compatible and what colors will look like, etc, but you just don't learn to paint a car body by painting spoons.

Learning how you overlap coats as you rotate the body, and keeping your paint the same distance from the body at the same time, can only be learned by actually doing it.

You don't have to have a lot of bodies, either. I have one Mustang body that was short-shotted in the mold, and I painted it over and over for a couple of years before I committed to doing a model I really cared about. If it's a long time between paint jobs, I'll still occasionally paint the thing just to keep in practice...timing and distance are all-important.

If you are using enamels, it's no problem to strip it with oven cleaner, and if you're using lacquers, you can just sand it when it's dry, primer over it, and practice shooting your color to your heart's content.

This was the first model I painted for real after getting back in the hobby after an almost 40 year lapse. The practice paid off. 5 coats of Testors "One Coat" Flaming Orange, and 3 coats of Testors "Wet Look" clear, not yet sanded or polished in this photo.

Bill: I think your finish looks great. I'm so close, I'm making excuses, dull coating the finished flat black hood, even fashioning several NOS selonoids for the engine to pipe into the manifold so I can avoid attempting the 1st shiny clear coat on the finished color. Nervous isn't a strong enough word. This is the 2nd body and the 2nd attempt on it to get a good finish with the One Coat. I too have shot 5 coats with a slight orange peel (due to being too far away from the model me thinks) and one small v-shaped run on the trunk lid rear of this Nova. I have a double 'chute pack that covers the run perfectly though.

What's your opinion on these questions? I used Testors decal treatment for the Pactra gold tape I'm using as trim. I'm going to shoot my clear coats over this. What about the resin 'chute packs paint semi-gloss black? should I glue them on with CA 1st before starting clear coats? I'm also assuming any chrome parts such as front/rear bumpers/flat black pro mod wing should stay off until all clear coats are done also. Should I sand or file any of the coats off where the adhesive will be applied for the finishing parts and the clear windows? Since you say enamels can be sanded, I'll be practicing on my old body with them.

What about the less expensive acrylic kits with multiple spray pattern tops and aerosol cans? I've found one for $30 which contains some small paint samples 4 spray heads and the aerosol can. It seems like a good way to get into a water based paint system which would be much easier to remove in case of mistakes. Just wondering why everyone seems to chose enamel/lacquers. Sorry for the novel, but your use of the same paint as me with such good results really gives me a lot to ask. Thanks!

[Ace-Garageguy]

Bill: I think your finish looks great. I'm so close, I'm making excuses, dull coating the finished flat black hood, even fashioning several NOS selonoids for the engine to pipe into the manifold so I can avoid attempting the 1st shiny clear coat on the finished color. Nervous isn't a strong enough word. This is the 2nd body and the 2nd attempt on it to get a good finish with the One Coat. I too have shot 5 coats with a slight orange peel (due to being too far away from the model me thinks) and one small v-shaped run on the trunk lid rear of this Nova. I have a double 'chute pack that covers the run perfectly though.

What's your opinion on these questions? I used Testors decal treatment for the Pactra gold tape I'm using as trim. I'm going to shoot my clear coats over this. What about the resin 'chute packs paint semi-gloss black? should I glue them on with CA 1st before starting clear coats? I'm also assuming any chrome parts such as front/rear bumpers/flat black pro mod wing should stay off until all clear coats are done also. Should I sand or file any of the coats off where the adhesive will be applied for the finishing parts and the clear windows? Since you say enamels can be sanded, I'll be practicing on my old body with them.

What about the less expensive acrylic kits with multiple spray pattern tops and aerosol cans? I've found one for $30 which contains some small paint samples 4 spray heads and the aerosol can. It seems like a good way to get into a water based paint system which would be much easier to remove in case of mistakes. Just wondering why everyone seems to chose enamel/lacquers. Sorry for the novel, but your use of the same paint as me with such good results really gives me a lot to ask. Thanks!

1) You don't want to assemble anything to the body until you're finished painting and polishing. You don't want to remove paint where you're going to glue parts, either. That's just begging for a mess. I prefer to pin larger parts that will be attached externally, so they'll go in the exact right place. And a dab of PVA (polyvinyl acetate white glue, like Elmers or Microscale Kristal Klear) is terrific for windows and other small parts that will be added. It's not very tough, but it dries completely clear and cleans up with water. It won't damage paint like solvent glues will.

2) Enamels can be sanded and polished only AFTER they're completely cured, which can take a while. They strip off easily, though, so if you're practicing your spray techniques, that's a consideration.

3) I honestly know nothing about the water-soluble acrylics, but there are plenty of guys here who do.

4) I think a lot of folks use lacquers because they're relatively easy to handle, dry fast and hard, and polish up well. People shoot enamels for a variety of reasons, and the Donn Yost technique of cutting them with cheap lacquer thinner to airbrush has a lot of adherents, and the results can be outstanding. Another reason for using enamels is that many colors are available pre-packed in aerosols specifically for hobby use, and a lot of hardware-store enamel colors can be made to work well with some care and effort.

[MitchP]

Thanks! I guess I'll have to deal with the parachute packs somehow. The gold striping tape was used on the back where the 'chutes will go, so I have no problem figuring out where I'd planned to attach them.

I was doing well with the clear coating this afternoon until the last coat. Folks have blamed peel on being too far away from the model, so I got 6-8" away; unfortunately on the driver's side I also slightly slowed down the speed of the pass. A bubbling type of foam developed as had happened before with previous clear coats, but this time it didn't resolve. I pulled off the striping (Clear Coat dries within 30 mins.), but there are still places on the front 1/4 panel and the 1st half of the door that have the effect on them. How long should I wait until the clear coat is cured before trying a polishing kit on it? I've heard 5-6 days. Will this kind of kit help polish/remove the imperfections on a clear coat that's had 3 coats on it? Man, I was so dang close on this one. And the rest of the clear is looking pretty good too. Not as good as yours but nice for not having been polished.

Any advice would be welcome...

[Speedfreak]

No advice but was just wondering if you made any progress?