Help with Passche VL airbrush

I'm new here and this my first post. Been lurking for about a month and have read the FAQ and read all the way back to page 250. I'm recently back into modeling again and I purchased a Passche VL aibrush kit. Now I first shot Testors Enamal through it and had some pretty good results. All I have been hearing is praise for Tamiya's Acrylic paint so Im having a go at it. Not so good.

First question: Orange peel how do I reduce the amount that I get. Two coats of Duplicolor white or gray primer, sanded w/800. I thin X-2 down 2:1 with Tamiya's Thinner and have been using a #3 needle and nozzle, two mist coats and two wet coats and major orange peel, Into CSC, re-prime. Tried #5 needle and nozzle same effect. What neddle size do you use????

Second question: Been spraying at about 25psi is this close or should it be lower?

Third question: Lacquer's seem to be so much easier to spary, harder when dried, can rub the $hit out of them to shine, or just 2000 grit and coat of clear and WOW, no need for polish, (I think). What are the downsides of spraying lacquer? Oh and what psi for lacquer, 15-20psi?

Forth and final: How the He!! do you guy not final sand or poish tha paint away for such spot as the door handles molding molded in thr body of the car, key locks and embles on the body. Every time I'l rub right back to the primer is not time when I fianl sand with 2000 or 4000 grit paper.

Thanks for the replys in advance

Nick

I would lower the pressure to about 12-15 psi for that paint, sounds like it's going on too dry.
Could be the paint is too thick too. You want the paint to be the consistency of whole milk when you start, then adjust to fine tune.
The needle size shouldn't make too much difference, it's more about the size of the subject you are painting in this case.
Down side to lacquer is it's not good to breathe. Just use common sense. It can also eat some plastics if you put it on too wet. The pressure depends on the circumstances, 12-25 psi to start.
You have to be careful when sanding, always. Sand around the high spots. Save them until last. - Mark

Definetely, put that pressure down... 12-15 is quite enough for a 2:1 ratio ! You certainly had a pretty big cloud around the piece you were shooting ! I don't know the Paashe so I could be mistaking but you should try to bring that psi down.

I'd pretty much echo what Mark said, but add a few things:

Firstly, welcome to AF! Personally, I think the quality and diversity of stuff built here is unmatched by any other forum I've been too. There's a lot of awesome and creative builders here.

I have a Paasche VL too, but haven't used it as much lately (I have a Badger 100 now that's seeing a bit more action - I wouldn't say that it's better, just newer and therefore more attention...)

Generally, my experience is that orange peel is the result of the paint drying too quickly. There can be lots of causes, but one of the bigger ones is temperature/humidity. If the paint/air is pretty cold, then the paint doesn't flow very well and dries before it gets a chance to level out. You might want to try some way of heating up the paint a bit??

I've found that generally my Paasche needs higher pressure than my Badger. Even so, the 25 psi sounds a little high. The higher pressure might result in the paint drying a little too quickly. Try a lower psi (i'd go 15-20) and keep the brush closer to the car body (less air time). I use the #3 nozzle as well. The #5 will give you a bit wider spray pattern, which might be worth a try, but I doub't is the real cause of the orange-peel.

Personally, I almost always use lacquers and enamels over acrylics. For the exact reasons you specified - I just seem to get nicer paint results from them. They seem to dry nicer for me, and I rarely have any polishing problems, unless I haven't waited long enough for them to dry properly. I'm still learning, so I may change my mind someday, but for now they give me much better results. The down side is that they're nasty smelling and basically toxic. It's pretty easy to get overwhelmed with fumes and not realize how potent the cloud is that your are sitting in. I use a respirator whenever I'm painting bigger projects (like car bodies), and unfortunately don't have a booth yet. It's your health, but I'd suggest at least opening a window or something to clear the fumes.

Final sandind is tricky not to rub off the high points. I've found that the best way for me to protect those edges is to put a small piece of masking tape over the edge/corner. Sand and polish as normal, and then take the tape off just for the final polish - and even then, be gentle!

Good luck! The orange peel can be tricky to figure out, but with a bit of trial and error I'm sure you'll get it. If you live/build in a cooler area or climate, try heating the paint up a bit. If you thin your acrylics with water, just try using warm/hot water to thin. Oh, here's another trick I just remembered - some people put a tiny bit of dish washing soap in their mixed paint (acrylics only). I've only tried it when doing a wash, so I don't know what it would do in an overall paint job (maybe the air pressure will make the paint go all sudsy???). However, it does tend to make the paint 'flow' a whole lot better, which might help the orange peel???

Good luck!!

Murray

I personally don't like Tamiya Acrylic Paint, specially for body.

As said, you should turn down a bit the presure (for body, 15-20 is fine, for other I work on 5-12)

Orange Peel with airbrush is strange (I never had this) maybe you work too far from your project ? (at 15psi, you should be at 6" or so)

Lacquer is awesome paint. There is no real down side to it beside that it's hard stuff and it can melt plastic if you don't use it correctly. Also the smell is veryyyy good stuff :D

Thanks everybody.

You want to be REALLY careful when spraying lacquers.

They are great paints, but the fumes are terribly toxic. Simply opening a window isn't enough.

Spraying outside you might be able to get away without a mask, but would still consider a good respirator type mask. Not just a cheapy dust mask.

I know they are a little expensive but the damage you will cause to you lungs and brain by breathing in lacquer fumes are pretty much irreversible.

well, when you work at 5-12psi, a respirator is a bit overkill. sure there is a small smell, but at this psi, there is no fume

Sure there is a small smell, but at this psi, there is no fume

Vric, what do you think the difference is between a smell and fumes? My understanding is that we smell something because its molecules are entering our nose. It's those lacquer molecules which are bad for our health. Maybe I'm wrong?

Just because you don't smell it doesn't mean it's safe. For example, Carbon Monoxide is odorless and it will suffocate you. - Mark