as mentioned ,I’m doing my first paint job /detail of a NP "lowie " ncl and using scale coat 2, I see what looks to me as fine orange peel , now its been warm here an Ive prepped ,washed & thinned the paint as others suggested but the paint dries really fast and I’m thinking I didn’t open up the nozzle enough. So was left to build up a coat with light coats and give a bit of a rough texture from the light coats beginning to dry .
using a single action pashe ,thinning scalecoat 2 50/50 , air pressure @ 24 lb
I’m hoping after decals a coat of dullcoat well make better , but would like to know what I’m doing wrong .also doing a repaint of a kato buisness car in the right ncl colors and getting a similar effect,rough, almost flattish .
Try 75/25,with around 30 to 35 air pressure,on a flat piece of cardboard. Start with the nozzle closed and slowly open it to let the paint flow. Did you ever have your air brush,repacked??
I didn’t mention this but make sure you do not have any moisture in your line…I would recommend,cleaning it again,this time with lacquer thinner if you have it…And then try what I suggested…
As mentioned thin less and spray close enough to show the coverage to be wet. Experiment w/ the pressure and amount of paint applied, you don’t want too much and/or run. The Scalecoat should cover in one coat and be smooth. Usually the "gravely’ or orange peal is from spraying too far away
There are several techniques that work. I’m just sharing mine.
I was using Scale Coat II grays for the foundation for the Alclad2 finishes on my passenger cars. To achieve the realistic stainless steel effect, it’s critical that the gray color foundation be very smooth. I thin Scale Coat between 50%-60% with lacquer thinner (not mineral spirits). I adjust my airbrush to spray at 25psi at a distance of 3" from the shell at a medium stroke speed.
Results are usually very smooth.
One suggestion I respectfully but strongly recommend just before airbrushing models with ANY paint.
Next to or near the model you’re about to spray, test your paint mixture on a scrap shell FIRST! This has often helped me avoid disasters. By test sampling a shell I can see if I need to adjust my technique or if, perhaps I overthinned / underthinned the paint or if there’s a problem with the paint itself. After applying the paint on to a 1" to 3" square section, I can see if I need to make any adjustments to the airbrush or the loose nut behind the airbrush (me!). Imho, it is worth the extra paint to perform a quick test. Here I’m testing my paint on the back section of a scrap Blue Box FP45 shell.
1970s production Bachmann, Athearn, Tyco, Model Power, and Life Like rolling stock and locomotives o
wow; all great advise and can say never really got the wet look (feared it running ) ,I do have some scrapper’s and plastics to use for prep/check , thanks Jerry
The biggest trick, and the hardest to learn is when to quit painting. Too soon, and it either doesn’t cover, or dries to quickly; too late, and it runs. Takes time to learn any skill, and “practice makes perfect” as my drum teacher used to tell me… (I never made “perfect”. [:D])
BigJerr,
At times I wish I had your issue, I put my high PSI Airbrush WAY to Close to my work, 2-4 inches, & I shoot Solvent based paints that may be a little on the thin side too…
To me it sounds like you may be a little distant with the airbrush, but with a ‘real nice spray pattern’ but the paint is drying mid-air, & chalking… I used to do that with FloQuil flats, I could make anthills!
Thinning it only made it worse & more course…
Try this;
Take a shiny card board & try your spray distance & really try to gloss out a stroke, at different distances to the surface.
Then spray over that same stroke, (it should look sandy & gritty, at first), but it should get ‘absorbed’ & then ‘gloss out’ on it’s own.
Try that a few times, lay down a lightly sprayed strip, then a medium one & then a heavier one,
Then try to over spray (light fill coat) on them & see how the paint lays down & (hopefully) blends in.
If you can master that (I’m still working on it too), then you are.on the track to a master painter…
I think if you try this, you will grow & learn really quickly…
Please let me know sometime if this was 'Hockum, or if it helped…
Thanks,
yes ,looking back I’m pretty sure I was to far and to little paint being released ,did I mention I’m a bit impatient.
Cant help but wonder if its possible to smooth it out a bit with a coat a gloss ,then decal ,then dull coat OR (this would need testing on scrap first) spray a light coat of thinner only in an effort to remelt the pryer coat ,now don’t laugh but this was used many times in customer service on lacquered cabinets as that was my job for 15 years, I do realize that the thicker finish on cabinets allows a bit play that would drown out details on a model so JUST a thought… thanks Jerry
The Scalecoat once dried won’t “melt” for a blend. If the rough finish isn’t that bad, a second good coat may help to smooth out a bit and make decal application better. Once dullcoated the poor finish showing now may not be that noticable.
The symptom’s that the OP described, are very similar sign that a air-brush needs to be repacked…The term packing is a term meaning,Packing Washer,it is used on double action air-brushes around the tip of the front of the needle valve,it’s all internal,you can’t see without taking the valve ass. apart…After I realized the OP said he had a single action,I didn’t change it,my fault I guess… If he would have used more air pressure and a little more paint flow,it probably would have come out better.
In My experience,I’ve learned that a lot of people,for some reason do not like to read directions,I say this because,I know the Paasche products and they all come with very detailed instructions and pics of what you spray patterns should look like and what they look like and why,when they are wrong…Maybe,I’m getting too old…
BOGP40 is correct about Scalecoat not being blendable once it dries.
An “option” to consider that requires caution:
If the “rough” area(s) are on flat surfaces or on long panels, you can carefully wetsand those areas with 3M Wet/Dry paper (available at most hardware stores and bodyshop supply businesses). I did this on a passenger car shell. I started with 600 grit, sanding in a horizontal direction only. I final sanded with 1500 grit. I carefully checked the surface for smoothness with a flashlight and gently hit the small spots that still appeared textured. I continued until the results appeared good to my eyes
After cleaning, I masked off the surrounding area (on body lines) and recoated with Scale Coat 2 and continued at a later time with Alclad2, as normal.
I mentioned “caution” because in cases like this, you have to be careful about accidentally sanding raised body details, such as rivets, treadplates, or window frames. [;)]
If you do happen to go to a auto body supply store,ask if they have scuff pads, they come in more than one degree of cut and they are a lot more forgiving than sand paper…Try it you’ll like it,used them many times in painting,cars and semis…
Yes, the 3M Scotch pads work well and are good in getting inside of grooves, especially on corrugated streamlined cars. You can wetsand with them as well.
Lots of good advice here Big Jerr, but you may also wish to take a look at Scalecoat’s Application Directions, especially the amount of thinner and the recommended spraying pressure.
I’ve not used Scalecoat II, but Scalecoat I can be thinned with lacquer thinner.
It’s a misspelled reference to a paint scheme by industrial designer Raymond Loewy.
He was a major influence on design through the '30s, '40s, and '50s.
As for the disappointing paint job, Big Jerr, my preference would be to strip it, and after some practice on cheaper stuff, as suggested, try again. I doubt very much you’ll be satisfied with it as it is, nor with trying to rescue it. [swg]
“The Gestetner duplicator was the first of countless items transformed by streamlining, a technique that Loewy is credited with originating. Calling the concept “beauty through function and simplification,” Loewy spent over 50 years streamlining everything from postage stamps to spacecrafts. His more famous creations include the Lucky Strike cigarette package, the GG1 and S1 locomotives, the slenderized Coca-Cola bottle, the John F. Kennedy memorial postage stamp, the interior of Saturn I, Saturn V, and Skylab, the Greyhound bus and logo, the Shell International logo, the Exxon logo, the U.S. Postal Service emblem, a line of Frigidaire refrigerators, ranges, and freezers, and the Studebaker Avanti, Champion and Starliner.”
