Cloudy, Dull Paint Finish Problem

[PeterB]

I am a relative newbie to the hobby. I am painting a DeLahaye 1/24 sedan with Tamiya TS-10 (blue) rattle can. I did 2 coats of Tamiya primer - good coverage. I did several very light coats of the blue - OK. Waited 24 hours.

The problem began with the wet coat. Even though I saw the wet shine while painting, within seconds, the paint turned dark (gray/black) and the finish went flat and dull. I sanded some of the finish off and tried again (24 hours later). Same result.

I am painting in the garage with the temperature of 72 and humidity of 67%.

What am I doing wrong and how do I fix this? HELP.

Thanks.
PeterB

 

[CabDriver]

My bet would be humidity is the problem - probably not an easy one to solve in Florida...when the humidity is higher here in NY I suffer similar problems, sometimes.

I try and only paint when the humidity is below 50% (the lower the better), but again, that might not be very easy for you where you live...assuming there's enough coverage of paint on the surface have you tried polishing the surface out to a shine?

[Snake45]

Cloudy paint (also called "blushing") is usually--not always, but usually--a humidity problem.

In some cases it can be polished out. I've done it. I've also failed to do it. 

[PeterB]

The problem with trying to polish is that the color changed. It went from blue to black. 

Is this blushing?

 

[Casey]

2 minutes ago, PeterB said:

The problem with trying to polish is that the color changed. It went from blue to black. 

Is this blushing?

No.

The humidity is the biggest problem. Do you have anywhere indoors, in air conditioned (or at least dehumidified) air where you can paint?

 

[DiscoRover007]

Sounds like humidity. You can eliminate it by spraying and putting the body under a lamp briefly to get out the moisture. But then you risk getting dust in the paint when you move it around. I'd wait until a dry day.

[Southern Fried]

Some "Clears" are very "Hot". You have to let the base coat "set" for a few days. And, as others have said...humidity has a play.  

Don't try to sand fresh paint...let it alone...

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, PeterB said:

The problem with trying to polish is that the color changed. It went from blue to black. 

Is this blushing?

 

No. I've had paints change color a little on polishing (that's when you know you need to use a clearcoat), but never anything that dramatic. 

I've never used that paint so don't know what to tell you. Maybe someone else can be of more help. 

[Plowboy]

Tamiya paints aren't going to dry with a shine. Almost all of them dry dull as they're a lacquer paint. Some of the solid colors will dry with a touch of shine. You can polish the solid colors. But, the metallics have to have a clear coat like TS-13. I clear over both. It kinda sounds like you tried to spray too much paint at once. Humidity isn't your problem at 67%. I've painted in my garage when it was raining with no problems.

My method for painting is never more than two coats per day. I spray two coats of paint, allow it to dry a day. I'll sand and if I don't sand through, I'll spray two coats of clear. If I do sand through, I'll spray a coat of paint, allow it to dry a couple of hours and spray one coat of clear. Next day, sand again and spray one or two more coats of clear (depending on if I have one or two coats of clear over the paint). Next day, sand and polish. 

To fix what you have, allow it to dry a few days, sand with 1000 grit and spray a light coat of paint over it and see what happens. It would really help if you could post a photo. Otherwise, we're shooting in the dark.  

[El Roberto]

1 hour ago, Plowboy said:

Tamiya paints aren't going to dry with a shine. Almost all of them dry dull as they're a lacquer paint. Some of the solid colors will dry with a touch of shine. You can polish the solid colors. But, the metallics have to have a clear coat like TS-13. I clear over both. It kinda sounds like you tried to spray too much paint at once. Humidity isn't your problem at 67%. I've painted in my garage when it was raining with no problems.

My method for painting is never more than two coats per day. I spray two coats of paint, allow it to dry a day. I'll sand and if I don't sand through, I'll spray two coats of clear. If I do sand through, I'll spray a coat of paint, allow it to dry a couple of hours and spray one coat of clear. Next day, sand again and spray one or two more coats of clear (depending on if I have one or two coats of clear over the paint). Next day, sand and polish. 

To fix what you have, allow it to dry a few days, sand with 1000 grit and spray a light coat of paint over it and see what happens. It would really help if you could post a photo. Otherwise, we're shooting in the dark.  

I've never had a Tamiya gloss paint dry to a dull finish.  

[Plowboy]

This is Tamiya Mica Silver straight from the can. No shine.

This is the same color after three coats of clear and polished.

[StevenGuthmiller]

5 hours ago, Plowboy said:

This is Tamiya Mica Silver straight from the can. No shine.

This is the same color after three coats of clear and polished.

 

 

 

Not only can lacquers, (I imagine Tamiya's included) dry with little to no shine, but a clear coat might be necessary to bring out the true color.

The above pictures dramatize that.

The chassis plate looks drab and boring.

The Ford body is rich and vibrant.

 

I have really noticed this to an even greater extent with the Scale Finishes lacquers that I have been using.

The colors before and after clear often bare no resemblance to one and other.

This is a big part of the reason that I always use clear on a project.

It adds great depth an richness to a color that can otherwise look washed out.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

[El Roberto]

21 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

 

 

 

Not only can lacquers, (I imagine Tamiya's included) dry with little to no shine, but a clear coat might be necessary to bring out the true color.

The above pictures dramatize that.

The chassis plate looks drab and boring.

The Ford body is rich and vibrant.

 

I have really noticed this to an even greater extent with the Scale Finishes lacquers that I have been using.

The colors before and after clear often bare no resemblance to one and other.

This is a big part of the reason that I always use clear on a project.

It adds great depth an richness to a color that can otherwise look washed out.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

21 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

 

 

 

[El Roberto]

I don't use Tamiya stray, so  "some" Tamiya paint may dry dull.  I was talking about Tamiya gloss acrylic paints through an air brush.  I really don't like to use spray cans, it can bomb the model with paint hiding details. I've seen some that look like they have 2 scale inches of paint on the body.