First let me say that I don’t own an airbrush and can’t use one for various reasons which would take too long to explain. So please don’t suggest I use one.
For the longest time, I have been spray can painting my models. Well, just the larger model parts. Some pieces turn out great with good coverage of the paint while others don’t.
The hardest things for me are the following:
How near or far away should I be holding the spray can from the model part to be painted? I’ve had too many mistakes where I’m too close with too much paint or too far away and not enough coverage.
Gloss paints have always given me trouble over the years. I can never get them right. Any good tips and tricks for spray can painting gloss colors?
Starting hopefully soon, I’d like to spray can paint the flight deck of my aircraft carrier model with Vallejo # 28002 Panzer Grey. Has anybody ever used Vallejo’s line of spray can paints before? How well did they work for you? Pros and Cons?
I’ve only been using Tamiya spray paints and had pretty good results right out of the can… and I own a couple airbrushes. Practice is all I can say - all the instructions on the can/online are accurate but repeated practice lets you get the feel of it. Especially gloss paints where my advice is a couple light coats followed by a wet coat… put it on heavy - just before it runs ← that is the practice part
I only have been working with spray paints for 7 years, so I think I might be able to help. What kind of spray paint do you use?
But in general, I would say that you should spray paint roughly 7 inches away (but it does depend on the brand you work with). I work primarily with Rustoleum X2 paints because they work best with the budget lol. Additionally, I always do test sprays right before I paint on some cardboard by doing short sprays and a few longer sprays. This helps get an idea for how each bottle behaves (because not all the bottles are the same). I don’t know if I’m tripping, but I feel like certain colors cover more quickly and “aggressively” if that makes sense. I have this purple gloss color that just loves to spray really hard, so I work a little farther away with that one.
For gloss, it’s ok if you don’t get a good coverage, just do multiple sprays. I find that gloss tends to pool more visibly (which is pretty logical) but that is the biggest problem.
For Vallejo’s stuff, I don’t really use it, so I’m not too big of a help on that one lol. I would recommend testing the Rustoleum stuff and Tamiya’s stuff like @keavdog said. I would say though that a lot of people look down on me for using Rustoleum because “tHeY’Re nOt DeSiGnEd fOr HoBbIeS.” but honestly I don’t really care and they work well for me. Anyways, I think they’re worth checking out because they’re much cheaper than Tamiya and are locally available for most (Home Depot).
Yeah,it just takes practice and touch,there’s no magic formula,you just got to make sure that all your factors are right,like distance snd clean nozzle,and then there’s the timing of your sweep,and after all that, your hand can shake.Think about the practice it takes to master airbrushing,and with the can,you have less control,so it just tskes practice and technique.
I rarely, if ever, use TAMIYA spray can paints anymore. I’ll still use their primers, but as for regular colors, not so much anymore. I just can’t stand the fumes.
I’m switching to Vallejo because of the self-leveling qualities their paints have. Their color range might not be as extensive as what Tamiya has, but there’s really not that many future model projects on my list where I need a large assortment of spray can colors.
I haven’t tried the Revell spray can paints yet, so I have no idea how good or bad those are.
If you don’t like the smell of Tamiya spray cans I would stick to Vallejo. Mr Hobby, Tamiya, and Revell are all lacquer paints. Lacquers are always going to stink, you can’t avoid it.
As for technique, I think above all else you need to keep that spray can moving. You don’t need to go super fast unless you are trying to spray a SUPER light coat. But it is easy to slow down too much and possibly end up applying too much paint.
I live by this rule. Apply light coats. You can always apply more paint.
This is especially true with gloss coats on a car for example. Apply light coats to that paint has time to get tacky so it can grab onto that next coat, and so on. You are going to polish it smooth in the end anyways.
As far as how far away you are spraying from. That is one of the best things about keeping that can moving and trying to apply light coats. When you are doing these things the distance you s h o o t from is very hard to mess up. There really is no such thing as s h o o ting a little too close. I mean there is way too close, But that is different Get a little too close, or a little too far away, no big deal. You will apply some more paint on the next pass.
Temperature wise, the area I live in is a consistent 65-70 degrees outside where I do my painting, which I find is perfect for painting. I would stay in the shade as much as possible, because on hotter days in the sun, I’ve had parts dry kind of weird and end up with wrinkly paint in a way.
Humidity wise, I haven’t had to worry about much, but a quick google says that a range of 40%-50% is ideal. Hope that helps!