what makes an airbrushed gloss lacquer turn out a rough finish that needs sanding and polishing to look right?
Lacquer dries very fast, so does not flow out to a smooth surface as well as a slower drying paint, such as enamel. However, because it dries hard, it can be polished well. Rubbing out a fresh finish was always part of car painting.
If the surface is really rough, most common reason is that it is drying on way to surface- either pressure too high or holding airbrush too far from surface.
Dittos to what Don said.
The surface was a flat coat of a color only available in that texture. I will hold the airbrush closer in the future. Thank you.
I sometimes have the same problem with acyrlics. You might experiment with more thinning and try to keep all surfaces wet when spraying. Practice makes perfect and I still have a way to go!
Max
All good points above. Surface prep is key as well to a gloss coat. the smoother the underlying surface, the better the gloss coat. Also, I would recommend Mr. Leveling Thinner. Yeah, its $15 for 400ml, but it is well worth it. It has an additive that slows drying time and assists in leveling your paint. It thins lacquers, Tamiya paints, enamels, and of course Gunze, and works awesomely. To get a really fool proof gloss coat, I learned this little trick from a FB group that works exceptionally well. Get some Tamiya X-22 clear and thin it with Mr. Leveling Thinner and apply. When your done applying this mixture, load straight Mr. Leveling Thinner into your airbrush and apply a wet coat of straight MLT. 3-5 minutes later, you have a gorgeous gloss coat, even if you didn’t apply the X-22 evenly. Works awesome.