Spraying %$&#ing gloss!

[chicken45]

So for the second time, I've had unhappy results with spraying clear gloss.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
I'm using Future.
It's not smooth. It's not all that glossy, either.
I'm spraying straight at 20psi.
I'm spraying over Boxcar Red painted resin model.
I feel when I first started shooting, it wasn't glossy at all. Made me think I was shooting too dry. It got a little better when I got closer and heavier, but it still looks like crap.

Thoughts?

[amato1969]

Gloss is a major pain to get "right", but it can be done!  If you are getting "orange peel" that's the Future drying in the air before hitting the model.

Lower pressure and close to the model works best.  Humidity of the room also impacts the gloss.

Did you thin it any?  I have used Windex (ammonia-based) while spraying Future with some success in the past.

I have had more consistent results spraying gloss varnish (Liquitex) thinned with Vallejo thinner. 

  Frank

[chicken45]

I did not thin at all.
Do you think what I have now can be made better by more coats? I'll try to take some pictures when I get home. It just has to be good enough for decaling, and the car will be weathered pretty heavily. It just bothers me that I've never been able to get it right.

[dmidkiff]

I've been using the Future a lot lately and have found that a few light coats, sprayed at about 20 psi a few inches from the model are the best.  It's true that I don't see the gloss after the first coat, but once I get the second coat, it's glossy from all angles.  I do not thin it at all and spray all the coats in one airbrush loading.  When I first started using it, I sprayed it on heavy looking for the gloss look when wet, but it ended up running in areas and looked awful.  I also had some luck with sanding down runny spots on my first few models and recoating, it will look like crap when you first break through the gloss coat and see flat areas, but the recoat blends very nicely.

All of the articles I read online from the model car guys said to spray it heavy to get an even coat.  I found that more, thinner coats was best and that even if you see spotty coverage after you are "done", another light application will blend the Future together.  Just be sure to get at it from all angles.

Here are a couple of shots of an Atlas model I just clearcoated and decaled earlier this week.

This is before the Future, just Badger ModelFlex paint, silver mixed in keeps it from looking totally flat.



Here is it after the Future gloss coat and decals.



Hope it helps.

Doug

[peteski]

With any gloss paint (um, it helps with flat paints too), at some point, it needs to go on wet.  If it doesn't, there is a good chance that the paint will no level out on the surface of the model.  I usually airbrush at lower pressures, open the nozzle until I get fairly high volume of paint, and spray fairly close to the model  (few inches away).  If you are planning on multiple coats, the first coats can be applied lightly (to build up a layer of paint) before the final wet coats, but if you spray them on too coarse, the wet coats will not be able to level the rough layers.

If you hold the airbrush a foot away and spray with high air pressure and low paint volume, you will never got a nice glossy surface.  BTW, mine are general observations - I have never sprayed Future.   But it shouldn't be any different.

[chicken45]

Thanks for the advice yinz guys. I'll try some more coats tonight and see what happens.

[chicken45]

Here's the citrus!

[peteski]

Um, I don't think that the way you applied the Future is the problem.  It looks quite shiny. I think that the flat paint you applied first is too rough (again, that layer was applied too dry)'  Future goes on very thin and as such it is unable to level out over the very rough flat paint surface.

I don't ever have to worry about this kind of problems - I use AccuPaint and TruColor paints.  Not only they go on in very thin coat, they dry to a semigloss finish - no need for clear - decals go directly over them.  It is so much easier to work with than flat/clear gloss/flat again thing many people struggle with.

[glakedylan]

not to derail the thread
just a quick question
Josh...looks like a passenger service REA car you are working on?
If so...who makes that car?
I have some Roundhouse ones on their way but your's look better detailed.
Thanks for any info....
Gary

[chicken45]

Um, I don't think that the way you applied the Future is the problem.  It looks quite shiny. I think that the flat paint you applied first is too rough (again, that layer was applied too dry)'  Future goes on very thin and as such it is unable to level out over the very rough flat paint surface.

I don't ever have to worry about this kind of problems - I use AccuPaint and TruColor paints.  Not only they go on in very thin coat, they dry to a semigloss finish - no need for clear - decals go directly over them.  It is so much easier to work with than flat/clear gloss/flat again thing many people struggle with.

I'm cool with that...which is a good Boxcar Red and Zinc Chromate?
But thanks for the observation, Pete. That could very well be the case. I'll try to spray something unpainted when I get home.

This was the GHQ R50b that is being rerun.

[tom mann]

Get some photos before you apply Future.

[chicken45]

I nearly forgot! I glossed up a 44 Tonner that had factory paint. Here are both sides. One side turned out better than the other.

[peteski]

Josh, it looks like you are simply missing to spray certain areas on the 44-tonner.   When spraying any clear glossy paint it is important to have a logh source position in such a way that you can easily reflect it off the model's surface (to check that it is shiny and wet-looking) as you are spraying.  That will easily show any areas you missed and touch them up while the surface is still wet.

As far as Tru-Color paint colors go, see what looks appropriate at http://trucolorpaint.com/color-charts/
I wish they were selliing real color chips, but the PDFs are the only thing they have.

[sizemore]

Orange peel is usually the result of too quick a pass. Low gloss is usually the paint drying before it hits the surface.

On that REA that's good enough for decals. To be honest, I've had no issues decaling directly on flat paint. I often decal right on flat black or dark colors. After the decal has set, I thoroughly saturate the decal with Micro-Sol or Walthers DSS. I then hit the model with either satin, flat or clear. Just tap any silvered decals with a pin and hit it with Micro-Sol.

The S.

[jimmo]

That doesn't look like orange peel to me, it looks more like dust on the model. Orange peel (in my experience) is usually more uniform than that.