I’m just about at the end of my rope concerning airbrushing gloss colors. I can never seem to get the paint/thinner ratio correct, then I have to do several coats (unlike my flat paints which I’ve got down to a science). I’m seriously considering strictly using rattlecans for all gloss coats (mostly automotive) and not even trying to use my a/b for them.
What do you guys/gals do?
I use to use rattlecans for gloss coats, but now use Future as my gloss coat. Goes on nice an smooth, and smells nice too.
You can try what we used to do when we painted the real cars. 1) mix your first coat as a tack coat, this is a coat of paint that is thinned at about 70% paint to 30%thinner and is shot in thin even coat until the model has a complete haze of color over the entire model and has a Mottled look, this is the “Tack” coat that is the bond between the primed or unprimed surface. 2) the color coat is the coat of paint that is mixed a little thicker and is put on with 2-3 coats applied slowly and from a distance as you are only trying to cover the subject with unbroken color. (usually set with High air flow and wide paint pattern) 3) Gloss coat, if done correctly does not require a clear coat, a 50/50 mix of paint and thinner shot in light wet coats until you have an overall shine This is known as the flash coat. If a gloss cover coat is necessary the same method applies. I find that the old single action badger AB with the attached glass bottle works very well for this method. IF using spray cans ths secret for that is the distance from the subject and the can being warmed up in a pan of warm tap water. you only want to mist it on in even coats for the best result.
I don’t use rattlecans for anything except Citadel primer on figures. They give you very little control on the amount of paint your spraying. If you don’t have an AB, I guess they are better than brush painting. But if you have an AB then experiment a bit & practice on a scrap model until you find what works best for you. Gloss paints are more difficult to use than flats, but the AB will still give you the best results if properly used.
Regards, Rick
Are we talking about car modeling?
I had similar problems airbrushing gloss finishes. Getting things exactly right (especially the paint/thinner/air pressue equation) is tricky.
I airbrush almost everything, except for gloss finishes, which I use spray cans for. Tamiya’s spray lacquers are great, and they’re about all I use for car models. No mixing, etc, etc, just point and shoot.
All of these were painted with Tamiya spray paint:
I hope this helps!
Matt Usher
airbrushing gloss involves using more thinner, and more coats of paint. there has to be enough thinner in the paint to give it time to self level, but not so much that it drips off the model.
Proffessional finishes involve a lot of work. The color will be sprayed, and then wet sanded and then cleared; finely sanded again and buffed. That is pretty much the what you need to follow to get finishes that have the depth and shine of a true gloss.
The color coat sets the color, the clear adds the depth. Lots of clear will make the finish sparkle.
Pick up a copy of Scale Auto. Some of the finishes those guys do are basically astounding. The paint still looks wet.