Cobwebs after airbrushing

[chato de shamrock]

Hey guys i just finished airbrushing clear voat on a body. This model is my first model ive airbrushed and so far things have been pleasant. My problem, however, is somehwere between finishing the 2nd medium coat and starting the 3rd medium coat i began to notice cobwebs gloating around and on my model sticking like static fibers on your clothes. I realized it was mu airbrush. I cleaned it and noticed it happening again. I raised the PSI from 20 to 24 and it seemed to work... I guess. But after throwing on more coats of clear i noticed the webs would go away then reappear once the paint dried. Im using scalefinishes paint. What did i do wrong guys? How can i avoid this. This is my first time seeing this happen.

[MPWR]

You need more thinner/reducer in your paint. Lowering your spray pressure should help a bit also, but thinner is the key.

Kind of warm/dry where you're painting?

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Sometimes even thinner won't help; your paint is drying too quickly out of the gun. Having some universal retarder would help, it only takes a few drops to make the "silly string" and fuzzy stuff stop. Adding more thinner could actually make it worse (ask me how I know...). So if that doesn't help, get some retarder.

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by ZoomZoomMX-5

Adding more thinner could actually make it worse (ask me how I know...). So if that doesn't help, get some retarder.

That is certainly true. I should have specified to add more slow or medium thinner. Quick drying thinner can make the webs worse.

[chato de shamrock]

Originally Posted by MPWR

You need more thinner/reducer in your paint. Lowering your spray pressure should help a bit also, but thinner is the key.

Kind of warm/dry where you're painting?

It's been in the 90s and dry here in Texas but i've kept my apartment cool in the mid 70s.

Can you guys give out some brand names for retardant? I've never heard of this product before, much less used it.

[nugundam93]

mr hobby retarder is one, and so is tamiya's acrylic retarder.

oh wait, scalefinishes - is it acrylic?

[chato de shamrock]

According to the application instructions i printed from their website the primer is a laquer base, colors i used are acrylics and their 2013 clearcoat is an automotive grade acrylic enamel.

[Hemi Killer]

I have had this issue plague me for years, I live in the desert where it is hot and dry. I found lowering the air pressure helps a lot. I also use Scale Finishes, but I use Duplicolor Paint Shop Lacquer Clear, it's ready right out of the can.

Whenever I tried to monitor air pressure at the gauge, i always had issues. I bought a thumb screw air valve to adjust pressure at the airbrush. I go by sound/visual now and I immediately started getting better results. I haven't look at the gauge in nearly a year. I adjust it as I need to based on the results I get and never consider the pressure. I only have checked with Alclad because I was curious what it was at when I started getting better results.

[chato de shamrock]

I'm going to go ahead and spend a few bucks on a Tamiya retarder but aside from this thread I have never heard about this product and have some questions about how to properly use it. I've done a google search for videos on Mr Hobby or Tamiya's products but came up short. I did find articles but wasn't sure of a few things relating to retarder and the scale modeling. My question is what ratio (paint to retarder) do you folks use? If you have to prepare bottled paint to be suitable for airbrushing is there some kind of paint:thinner:retarder ratio to follow or just prep your paint to the consistency of milk and then ad the retarder? How much longer does it take for paint to dry when you use this product, or how much time should you wait until you can apply another coat? Is there any information on whether or not decals become affected when you apply clear coat with retarder mixed into it?