AB primer; thoughts on my issues

[aurfalien]

Hi,

While many of my problems are due to lack of experience, I've this one issue which is very odd.

I've this very high quality air brush ready primer whose suggested PSI is 20 and I'm using a .5mm tip and about 3" away.

It clogs my brush almost immediately and goes on very course, almost as if its drying to fast.

Would any one have any insight as to whats going on?

Its a very well known and respected brand and they have been very helpful in general.

[Snake45]

You need either more air pressure, or thin the primer more, or maybe both.

[aurfalien]

Cool deal, thanks!!!

I increased pressure it it started to spatter so I assume too much pressure?

I'll thin during my next session.

Thanks again.

 

[MrObsessive]

You need to thin your primer to the consistency of milk. My rule of thumb when thinning paint is that I should be able to swill the jar, and see just a translucent film of paint coat the inside of the jar as it settles.

Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule, but one that works for me and may take some practice on your part.

HTH!

[aurfalien]

You need to thin your primer to the consistency of milk. My rule of thumb when thinning paint is that I should be able to swill the jar, and see just a translucent film of paint coat the inside of the jar as it settles.

Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule, but one that works for me and may take some practice on your part.

HTH!

Funny thing is that its pre thinned AB only paint.  I'll thin it slowly but its odd.

[MrObsessive]

It may be that it's too thin and it's drying up before it's hitting the surface. This is one of the chief reasons I don't like to buy "pre-thinned" paint. You're at the mercy of someone's idea of "thinning". I'd try to turn the pressure down and perhaps spray just a touch closer with slower passes and see how that works.

EDIT: Also if the paint is too thin and washing away quickly when you swill the jar, you could always leave the cap off for awhile and let some of the solvent evaporate. Other than that, I've always found it best to buy the aerosol brands (Plastikote is my favorite) and decant the paint into an airbrush jar. 

If the paint is good enough to spray out of the can, it should be good enough to spray out of your airbrush.

Edited September 12, 2016 by MrObsessive

[aurfalien]

It may be that it's too thin and it's drying up before it's hitting the surface. This is one of the chief reasons I don't like to buy "pre-thinned" paint. You're at the mercy of someone's idea of "thinning". I'd try to turn the pressure down and perhaps spray just a touch closer with slower passes and see how that works.

EDIT: Also if the paint is too thin and washing away quickly when you swill the jar, you could always leave the cap off for awhile and let some of the solvent evaporate.

Ah, great advice, many thanks!

[peteski]

I was scratching my head to figure out what the heck "AB" meant until I read the thread. I thought it was a brand of primer! Is "AB" some sort of texting shortcut?  I don't do any texting so I might not be "in the know".

A also think that your AB-ready primer is not thinned enough or it uses a thinner which is evaporating too fast.

[jwrass]

You need either more air pressure, or thin the primer more, or maybe both.

Ditto......

Even ready to spray products typically need to be tweeted!