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How to Fix Freehand Camo Overspray


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I did my first freehand camo yesterday. I tried hard to have the finest line and the least overspray but still got a lot. I used a Paasche VL double action airbrush with medium needle.(Maybe I should have used the fine needle.)

My base coat is desert yellow and my camo is olive green. Do you think it is practical to fix the oversprayed olive on yellow with airbrushing some yellow on green?

Any tips on how to fix a freehand camo oversray is appreciated.

Edited by Fulcrum Pilot
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Welcome to the world of freehand camo overspray.

What I would do is go to the fine needle, and spray a very thin mix of the desert yellow working your way around your olive green camo. You may have to go back and do the same with the green.

I personally believe the super awesome freehand camo schemes you see on finished models aren't done on the first pass. There is this back and forth "cleaning up" for lack of a better term. Grab a piece of plastic and spray your thin paint (with the fine needle) to get a feel of how the paint will spray, adjusting your paint volume and/or air pressure...then go to the model and start working the edges. I always spray on a plastic sheet (or spare 1/48 S-3 fuselage half I have in my spray booth for just this purpose). Spraying on cardboard or paper will now show how it will look on plastic. I also take the crown off of my airbrush tip, so I can get up close to the model.

I'm still trying to master freehand.

Cheers

Collin

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I had the best luck with the fine needle in my VL. I usually have a few rounds of touch up, and I never had a problem covering a darker color with a lighter one.

I did this phantom with a VL fine needle. I find the hardest part is to get a smooth line because I seem to be hesitant and stop and start. When painting the demarcation line it is also critical to ensure you have the right paint thickness/pressure combination to avoid splatters/centipedes and puddles

good luck!

Kek_l1w8JIrk_8rQJWuva3-vi.jpg

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Before applying more paint to touch up over-spray, consider also the possibility of removing it. With Model Master enamels I often have good success using a Q-tip slightly dampened with rubbing alcohol to remove fresh over-spray with little or no damage to the underlying paint assuming it was good and dry. This can at least reduce the amount of touch-up painting needed if not eliminate it completely. In deciding how to proceed there are lots of variables to consider (e.g., type of paint, degree of over-spray, your expectations about what a "good" camouflage job should look like).

To avoid this problem in the future, yes, use a fine tip. Loose masks can be helpful but then that wouldn't exactly be freehand painting. Probably the single best thing to do if you didn't this time is angle your airbrush into the direction of the color you are spraying. Don't just hold it perpendicular to the surface.

Good luck!

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Fulcrum Pilot:

My method is a bit unorthodox, but what I do is once my camo is done i will spray a fine mist of the last color applied over the enrite model.

This blends in the camo and hides any overs-pray.

I know its not for everyone but i have had very good luck with this method.

This is my latest build.

It was masked using silly putty but once all three colors were down i over-sprayed with the brwon to blend id all in.

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Fulcrum Pilot:

My method is a bit unorthodox, but what I do is once my camo is done i will spray a fine mist of the last color applied over the enrite model.

This blends in the camo and hides any overs-pray.

I know its not for everyone but i have had very good luck with this method.

This is my latest build.

It was masked using silly putty but once all three colors were down i over-sprayed with the brwon to blend id all in.

Hi Pep, stunning - your Tornado! I don'y quite follow your explanation. Wouldn't the dark brown contaminate the (lighter) desert brown, unless of course the desert brown is the last colour you sprayed.

regards

Pierre

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Pierre:

Because our are only doing very light coat, the darkening is minimal.

The future coat and the weathering will darken the kit a lot more.

Also if you are looking for a sun bleached effect, you can always to the lighter color.

Here are some pics i took during the paining process.

here you can compare the original sand color to the final appearance.

IMG_1267_zpslwzfsa1p.jpg

IMG_1268_zpscb2qsryt.jpg

I did the over-spray after painting the green, so these pics are over-sprayed.

IMG_1273_zpsq2gdvrxi.jpg

IMG_1273_zpsnkd8dieo.jpg

IMG_1274_zpsrw13hety.jpg

IMG_1289_zpsovkz2zpp.jpg

IMG_1290_zpspzxr6yjd.jpg

Edited by Pep
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  • 6 months later...

I still have overspray problem. I do freehand camo but I can never make a fine/soft border where different colors meet. I have spatter all the time. I did play with preasure, paint viscosity and needle size, still not happy.

Now this guy is unreal. Check him out here: http://www.ratomodeling.com/articles/airbrushing1/

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What paint are you using? I LOVE Mr Color lacquer! It is possible to get a real hairline with it, and it is difficult to "over thin", making really fine lines possible. Tamiya acrylic also works well. I find Model Master to be quite inconsistent, with some colors being nice to spray, but others aren't as nice.

Before changing to Mr Color, I used to go back over the edges of the camo with both colors, progressively removing over spray. I don't need to do that anywhere near as much now...

M

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What paint are you using? I LOVE Mr Color lacquer! It is possible to get a real hairline with it, and it is difficult to "over thin", making really fine lines possible. Tamiya acrylic also works well. I find Model Master to be quite inconsistent, with some colors being nice to spray, but others aren't as nice.

Before changing to Mr Color, I used to go back over the edges of the camo with both colors, progressively removing over spray. I don't need to do that anywhere near as much now...

M

Second that! I too love using Mr Color. Lets you get really thin and low pressure for really fine lines. On a good day I can get away with touch ups in only a couple of odd hard to reach corners, none required on all the major surfaces. Just need to keep your airbrush really clean as any residue will get dissolved by that Gunze thinner and thrown out together with the color you want! Ask me how I know :D/>

Never masked before for camo since I started using an airbrush. Freehand rocks :cheers:

Edited by torchf4
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I use to free hand and always got some over spray no matter how careful I am. I angled the AB up slightly to minimize it, but I still always get some. I shoot with Tamiya Acrylic paints thinned 2 parts paint to 3 parts Tamiya Yellow cap Lacquer Thinner at a flow rate of 14-16 psi, that allows me to get within a inch or two of the model surface. I also use a Iwata M1 Single Action air brush with a .3mm cone to get a fairly fine line.Being a older modeler, I also suffer from a little shaking, which adds another issue to free hand camo AB'ing. So I've gone to using masks from Silly Putty. It sticks better then any Blu-Tac I've ever used, and seems to last forever. Using worms of a consistent dia. I layout the pattern needed. Then using pieces of Tamiya tape I work my way back from the Silly Putty as far as think is needed. This method has just about eliminated the over spray problem, but has induced a new learning curve. One must learn how different dia. worms created different edges from almost fine line to a nice soft edge, as well as what angle to apply the paint at. I generally like to apply the paint from almost directly down but slight from the back.

Joel

Edited by Joel_W
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BTW, the tip of the airbrush is about 1/4" off the surface of the model when I spray freehand camo. Get any further away than that, and the spray pattern spreads out way too much....

M

Matt,

Your post has got me thinking to what is the actual distance I'm doing my fine air brushing at. To me an inch is close. I could be closer or further, never really paid that much attention to it, but I'm curious to find out just how close I'm actually AB'ing at.

Joel

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Matt,

Your post has got me thinking to what is the actual distance I'm doing my fine air brushing at. To me an inch is close. I could be closer or further, never really paid that much attention to it, but I'm curious to find out just how close I'm actually AB'ing at.

Joel

For fine line freehand work, a quarter inch is about the FURTHEST away I ever get.

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I'm just a lucky modeler. I approach everything with an attitude of "what the heck." I don't get excited and don't get all worked up about making mistakes. That seems to work. If I don't worry about making mistakes, I don't seem to make many mistakes. I always have some cleanup work to do, but I usually get that done on the first or second time around. In other words, if I don't get worked up, I don't make as many mistakes. Just approach it with an attitude of what the heck, it'll get done sooner or later!

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To reiterate previous advice, you need to practice; and spraying on paper will not give you proper realization. Spray on a scrap piece of plastic or unfinished model. A glossy magazine cover can be a last option. Alchohol is also handy for removing overspray and so is Naptha; works a little faster than alchohol so test first on your test strata. Get in close with low pressure and thin paint; a good regulator is primary here.

hth

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