Airbrushing tips - and troubleshooting

Hey all - I've got my jars all cleaned out now, and am back in business :)!

So, I've got me a Ford F150 Lightning painted in "Stop Light Red Metalic", and the truck is Striking :). But there's one problem with it. I did 4 light coats, but still I have some "Orange Peel" in the paint. It isn't perfectly smooth looking (although if I was to run my hands over the dry model it would feel smooth), as it has very tiny wave patterns on it...

So what causes this kind of effect, and how does one go about fixing it :)?

Kevin.

I can never airbrush perfectly smooth either. I'd do another coat maybe a little thicker and then lightly use some rubbing compound to bring out the luster and shine and smooth the paint a bit. To save from rubbing through the paint give it a couple coats of clear before.

Of course the other guys probably have better advice. I'm still learning. :D

Originally posted by G-Forces
I can never airbrush perfectly smooth either. I'd do another coat maybe a little thicker and then lightly use some rubbing compound to bring out the luster and shine and smooth the paint a bit. To save from rubbing through the paint give it a couple coats of clear before.

Of course the other guys probably have better advice. I'm still learning. :D No, that's pretty much it. :D Only thing I'll change for that is to always use thin coats, just more of them. Use plenty of clear the first few times you do it, so you'll be able to polish a while before the color starts to come off.

Keep checking your cloth too, and as soon as you see colour, move off that area!

Another little tip, start with all the crevices first, then the larger areas, as they take less work!

Not that I don't trust you guys ;) - but how does spraying clear coats on top of a 'orange peel' color and then polishing it remove the wavy look?

As for clear coat - what do you guys use? I have this stuff in a can (testors) that I've used before with nice results - but I wouldn't want to use more than one or two coats - it's kinda thick.

Also, I've never polished a model before :). Take me through the process - and, if anybody has pics handy of a kit before and after polishing, could you post them?

Thanks guys - Merc.

Check out this tips page:
http://www.interlog.com/~ask/scale/tips/tips.htm

In particular, look at: RUBBING OUT PAINT (http://www.interlog.com/~ask/scale/tips/rub/rub.htm). It's a very good explanation of everything you need to know. Then, you just need to practice. :p

There's a little tip to finishing off an automotive paint job I learned years ago - Thin the last coat way down. I've used two parts thinner to one part paint to finish the job. It tends to "melt down" any orange peel. You just have to learn to go a little easier on the paint and make sure you don't put so much of the thinned mixture on at once.