Spray paint frustration

The spray paint is driving me mad!

I used TS-8 italian red to spray my ferrari, primed white, but the surface was less than satisfactory...I didnt get any shine when the paint has totally dried.
I followed all the necessary steps to get the body for the final paint coating, which includes priming, sanding off trapped dirt and spraying the paint in a well ventilated area 25-30cm apart.

The paint settled quite evenly on the plastic surface but the gloss is zero, the red paint looks very matt and even the primer gives a better shine! I suspected that it was the climate which caused the disaster so I simply took a body piece(paint red already) and sprayed it with pure white, to my anger, the shine was so beautiful! Still unconvinced, I took spray another piece yellow and it gives the same nice result...

Now I'm at my wits end, I've used up 1 bottle to paint all body parts with 2 coatings already but I still couldnt get any shine or gloss, doesnt get this with other paint, only TS-8, I'm now on my 2nd bottle which is still giving me the same crap. Can someone tell what I should do and what's happening???

maybe what you are getting is orange peel??? just sand back and compound...

yes, it is an orange peel surface, but I sprayed at the surface until it's getting a little bit runny, already a little too much IMO.
By right we should stop spraying when the surface has orange peel so as to let the wet paint even out for itself right?

I would suggest you should close in on your gap when you paint. The farther you spray, the more of an "overspray" coat the paint becomes, which results in uneven buildup. I had the same problem with my Camaro, instead using different paint. Give this a shot, and come back with the results!

*forgot to mention that getting too close can also give you bad results. I think going around 15-20cm would be good. But experiment.

I've tried your method just now, I've even heat up the can as recommended by others, but to no avail, but I'll stick to your method for this current project, logically it should give a better result...yes, spraying too near can result in paint built up and it'll be very thick esp at the edges

tell you guys what progress I've made so far:
I've tried spraying pure white to get a glossy base coat(on top of primer), then the red coat goes next, it's slightly better, reflections are starting to show, but still far from the showroom shine...

I guess I'll need another bottle of red paint to get this project done, sign... :disappoin :2cents:

my model is far from showroom shine. it has the same kind of texture and reflection as the polishing example in the FAQ. lets hope i am able to polish it up without ruining the paint on friday :D

you mean the red opel in the example?? I was wondering are we facing the same problem??

Sebstar, can you post some pics of your kit's body? I'll post mine someday too

Have you polished the body yet? You might just have a bad can of paint. If you polish and compoud it, it might help a little bit.

I wouldnt say it's a bad can, I'm now on my 2nd bottle and it's bought from another model shop.

I tried polishing it with 1000grit sandpaper, dry method, and wiped away all stray dusts before getting another coat, but the paint'll go from glossy when wet all the way to matt when dried. :banghead:

In my previous projects, the gloss will still stay even when much time has passed for it to dry...

When I said poilsh the body, I ment after the paint is all dry, polishing it with Tamiya polishing compound, or even just some car wax.

First of all, you refer sometimes to a can and sometimes to a bottle. There's a huge difference, and trying to figure out what's going on when more than one reference is given is difficult.

One thing that can cause a spray can finish to look flat is moisture. If the conditions are cool/humid, the surface may look like it's fogged. This can be buffed out.

Sometimes Tamiya spray cans don't give good results, if the can has been subject to freezing. I know of a guy in Chicago earlier this year that had terrible results w/a couple cans of Tamiya spray...had good results at other times. Most likely culprit was that the cans of paint had been subject to freezing.

Polishing is best done with water, it smooths the process, cleans the sandpaper and the surface. A drop of dish detergent in a bowl of warm water that is used to dunk the sandpaper is a good idea.

Wet sanding every coat helps, from the primer to the base coats to the final coats. Each step makes the final coat smoother. But if it's glossy when wet and flat when dry, it's either fine orange peel that appears after the paint has shrunk, or it's a reaction of the plastic to the paint, causing the plastic underneath to react/craze, or it's a moisture/low temperature/blushing problem. If there's enough paint on the surface, a final polishing should smooth everything out. Using a dehydrator to warm the paint and the body prior to painting, and warming the body after it's painted will help to keep everything glossier.

First of all, you refer sometimes to a can and sometimes to a bottle.

sorry for the confusion, got too carried away in my typing. All 'bottles' mentioned earlier refer to 'spray cans'.

I do not know how effective it is to warm the body and the can before spraying but it's worth a try though, I've yet tried it out. It's humid here all year round, moisture's always high, that I can't do anything about it besides doing the paint job in an air-con room.

As for the temperature, what's a dehydrator?? can I use a hairdryer to warm the can and the body as a substitute?

chariot...it's definitely worth the effort warming the spray can cos I've seen the difference. I wouldn't recommend using a hairdryer tho - just stand the can in some warm water for a minute or 2 before shaking and spraying.

The spray paint is driving me mad!

I used TS-8 italian red to spray my ferrari, primed white, but the surface was less than satisfactory...I didnt get any shine when the paint has totally dried.
I followed all the necessary steps to get the body for the final paint coating, which includes priming, sanding off trapped dirt and spraying the paint in a well ventilated area 25-30cm apart.

The paint settled quite evenly on the plastic surface but the gloss is zero, the red paint looks very matt and even the primer gives a better shine! I suspected that it was the climate which caused the disaster so I simply took a body piece(paint red already) and sprayed it with pure white, to my anger, the shine was so beautiful! Still unconvinced, I took spray another piece yellow and it gives the same nice result...

Now I'm at my wits end, I've used up 1 bottle to paint all body parts with 2 coatings already but I still couldnt get any shine or gloss, doesnt get this with other paint, only TS-8, I'm now on my 2nd bottle which is still giving me the same crap. Can someone tell what I should do and what's happening???

What brand of primer did you use? If it was not Tamiya or Gunze then that is your problem not the paint. Tamiya and Gunze primers when applied correctly have a semi gloss finish and are for lack of a better way to say it. "sealed". regular primer is porous and it takes a loy of tamiya paint to fill, seal and level regular primer.


David
http://www.scaleracecars.com

I use tamiya for everything, tamiya fine surface primer, tamiya TS-8 italian red and tamiya finishing abrasives-sandpaper

I realised that the climate and the temperature of the spray can and the body adversely affect the resulting surface of the paint, according to this case.

By warming up the spray can, based on a logic I've read somewhere, the alcohol solvent will evaporate faster when in contact with air, this causes the paint to dry faster, giving it a smoother finish. I've tried this out and it works, but i'm not sure whether it's the same for all paints.

what are you talking about.. warming up the can causes the propellant to build up pressure and the spray would be more forceful and you get a finer spray which of course goes on smoother.

if the solvent evaporates too fast the paint would go on too dry and which causes orange peels.

the solvent does evaporate faster, that's why "be aware of this and be prepared to move the can closer and move it faster to compensate for the increased flow of paint"(quoted). it's said to be a side effect because of the fast evaporation but it's an advantage to me.

Why not just put a clear coat on top of the red? Everybody is trying to help but since you seem to already know all of the answers you should stick to the kiss method and just spray clear gloss over it.

I do find the suggestions helpful, and i try all of them out, but i too do my own experiment and posted the solution which gives me the best possible result.

And also, I forgot, most importantly, thanks everyone for your suggestions.

sorry for the confusion, got too carried away in my typing. All 'bottles' mentioned earlier refer to 'spray cans'.

I do not know how effective it is to warm the body and the can before spraying but it's worth a try though, I've yet tried it out. It's humid here all year round, moisture's always high, that I can't do anything about it besides doing the paint job in an air-con room.

As for the temperature, what's a dehydrator?? can I use a hairdryer to warm the can and the body as a substitute?

i live in a humid climate i spray outside and let the heat from the sun dry the paint
you really notice the problems with high humidity when you spray clear
it goes very milky looking,heat (not extreme)works fine for me