BringHomeTheBacon

I have just ordered: * VCT MINI INLINE AIR HOSE COMPRESSOR WATER OIL FILTER DRYER (filters dust, oil and moisture) * Badger Air-Brush Co. 121 Paint Mixer, White, battery-operated paint stirrer * Ram-Pro 50 Pack of Paint Strainers with 190 Micron Paint Filter, Fine Nylon Mesh Paint Filter Strainer - Premium Grade Paint Strainers Paper Cone Painting Projects I'm so sick of these botched paint shoots. I need to get serious now!!! Amazon.com had everything I needed.

1. do you use cheese cloth to strain paints? is there better filters for paints than that? will a clean gun cleaning patch work over the bottle for straining? 2. can I get away with just wet sanding that botched hood smoothly and thoroughly before the re-shoot? most of the hood came out smoothly the first time, except for a few pieces of contamination, I have heard of wet sanding and reshooting in case of dust particles on wet paint

Paache H airbrush, single action, came as kit Paasche 1 oz jars, lids, cork gaskets, siphon lids Kleen-Strip lacquer thinner Testors 1/4 oz. jar enamels Dewalt 1 gallon air compressor without any filtration in air line Paasche airbrush cleaning kit mason jars for clean-up with thinner paint booth station

PS- I was an American army soldier, once younger and thinner. I am beginning to realize a model builder must take good care of his painting equipment like a soldier takes care of his rifle. I know I get lazy, cheap, impatient or complacent sometimes and that can be costly during a paint shoot.

I was shooting my truck hood and some bits of contamination blew out onto the hood like chunks of solid paint pigment. I have a habit of keeping my paint/lacquer thinner mix stored in an airtight jar. Crusty paint tends to build up under the lid and on the cork seal. I haven't been using any water separator of filter with my air compressor lately. 1. Will I need to wet sand my enameled hood when full cured and shoot again or should the hood be stripped completely down to plastic again as with brake fluid? 2. Should I invest in a power paint stirrer for my little jars instead of just shaking the jar for a minute before a shoot? 3. Should my airbrush, jars, siphon spouts, lids, gaskets and accessories be cleaned thoroughly in solvent each and every spray session? I have dedicated an extra mason jar for soaking painting tools in for cleaning. 4. Should I always use my water separator in the air line? Is there an inline filter for compressors to keep dust and other contaminates out of the air stream? 5. Should I always transfer unused paint/thinner solution to a clean jar, led and gasket after each and every painting session?

You see clear paint is invisible. Very hard for my eyes to see where it was laid down over an already glossy base coat. But I could be mistaken. I have never clear coated before. How can YOUR eyes tell where clear is being laid down over the body while spraying? Don't want to miss some parts or spray too heavy in other parts. I would be nice to have a robotic model sprayer like they do cars at the assembly line.

Never mind.

One of the tricky things about clear coating a whole body is uniform coverage. I will be spraying clear over an already gloss base paint body. I don't want to miss spots that the human eye can't detect.

I had in mind to paint a plastic spoon. Use one of my spare decals, I've got a bunch, then hit it with clear to do the test. Applied decals would cure at least a week before clear spray. Testors Glosscote and Dullcote is what I have in bottles. Did you cure your decals long enough before the clear? My decals vendor states: Once the model is completely dry, it's recommended to give the entire model a uniform finish of clear coat. Any commercial model paint clear finish will work as long as it's compatible with the paint on your model. https://highballgraphics.com/index.php/using-our-decals Testors top coats should be compatible with Testors/Pactra/Model Masters enamels. No? I've heard decals should be "primed" with a mist coat then clear can be laid down heavier later.

Very well. I will probably just clear everything in body color to top it all off. Thank you, sir.

I'm now painting my Kenworth truck model in Testors Grape gloss enamel and it's coming along super. Eventually, I will come to applying decals and that will be followed by the need to seal them in with a gloss topcoat. a. May I just gloss over the decals themselves? I was thinking about masking around the applied and set decals and leaving about 1/8" overlap for clear paint onto the body parts. b. Is it just best to spray the entire decaled body with clear? c. Should all body parts in body exterior base paint color be clear coated, or is it Ok just to clear the decaled parts? The following tractor parts are to be painted in body base color, Grape, parts are to be decaled as noted: -cab, both sides (decals for trucking company on doors) -hood, both sides (KENWORTH badge decal on sides of nose) -battery box and driver cab step assembly, both sides -battery cover, both sides -sleeper unit assembly -air cleaner housings (truck number decal on each air cleaner canister, 35) -steering column - sleeper steps -air cleaner brackets -bottom of interior bucket -firewall -visor

A paper clip will work too to keep the two holes in place.

The reason my holes got out of line was because I disassembled the lid for a good cleaning. I did not observe putting the washer and lid back with the holes lined up. I was not even aware of this two-hole setup. Why didn't Paasche just drill a hole outside the washer area to begin with? I finally figured out these holes right AFTER I goofed up a spraying session the other day. Blocked holes will screw up airbrush function totally. It's like plugging up an engine's intake with a cloth and expecting the car to win a race. Hard knocks. Live and learn. The airbrush is a very scientific precision instrument. It works by strict laws of physics and chemistry. That needle valve is intricate like a Swiss watch's hairspring.

There is more than one way to "vent" a "cap".

I have 1 oz. siphon jars. The lids have vent holes on top. The elbow connector flat washer that also goes over the lid also has a hole in it and both holes have to be lined up so the jar doen't build up back pressure inside while spraying. I just discovered this yesterday the hard way when I botched the paint job on the interior of my truck cab because the two aformentioned holes weren't lined up. The Paasche H siphon-action airbrush works like an automobile's carburetor using the venturi effect. So, always double check to make sure these two vent holes are lined up before each and every spray session. The elbow connector nut under the lid can loosen up and the whole deal can turn and get the vent holes out of position. You may need to tighten up this nut ensuring the vent holes are lined up correctly. You won't get a consistent uniform spray pattern with an obstructed jar vent. Paint will load up inside the metal ball socket where the jar connector plugs into the airbrush. You will also make a total mess of the model you are trying to paint with such a malfunctioning airbrush.