flybywire Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 (edited) Hi everyone! Just a problem I'd like to ask when airbrushing Alclad aluminum. I prepared the surface smooth and clean, sprayed a gloss black coat; stirred/shook the Alclad bottle/paint very well, but when sprayed with at around 15 psi, it got a powdery texture and not the typical smooth glossy sheeny paint coat. What could possibly went wrong????? Thanks in advance! Forgot to add, it was a clear sunny day and I was 100% certain that the bottle/paint is not contaminated/adulterated. Edited November 12, 2016 by flybywire Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tosouthern66 Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Fly How far away from the surface of the model were you spraying? I had a similar issue with the Alclad chrome. I was a little too far from the surface of the test spoon I was spraying. I moved to around 5" away and it didn't powder. Now if I could just figure out why my MM enamel is powdering. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
flybywire Posted November 12, 2016 Author Share Posted November 12, 2016 About 3 inches I guess... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Walker Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 5" off the surface is crazy, even 3" is too far away, IMO.... What pressure were you spraying at? M Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 2 hours ago, Matt Walker said: 5" off the surface is crazy, even 3" is too far away, IMO.... What pressure were you spraying at? M ...says around 15psi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Walker Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Duh, got excited when I was typing... Did you try turning the pressure down? M Quote Link to post Share on other sites
flybywire Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 This is what Alclad says about spraying I guess I'm still within range. - ALCLAD should be sprayed at 12-15psi. Spray from a distance of 2-3 inches from the surface being painted. I guess I'm still within range...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
randypandy831 Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 (edited) was this bottle previously used use or is it a new bottle? I've had some problems in past spraying alclad just to find it was a bad bottle. did you happen to over spray or just sprayed it on too thick? I know some folks got the powder affect from caking it on by accident. I normally spray alclad @ 10 psi regardless of the finish. Edited November 13, 2016 by randypandy831 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 FWIW, ~15psi is my usual spray pressure at 2 to 3 inches. Make sure that the pressure is checked while air is flowing; static pressure will be higher. I've only ever had lacquer turn into powder when I was too far away. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
balls47 Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 Quote Following are the major reasons why paint turns to powder while airbrushing: 1. You are too far from the model surface, giving the paint the time to dry before it hits its target. 2. Your pressure is set too high, causing the paint to dry before hitting its target. 3. If you are painting in a corner (i.e., where the vertical and horizontal stabilizers come together), the paint will swirl in circles, causing it to dry while it is swirling. 4. Your paint is not mixed properly, causing it to dry out on its short trip to the model. You'll need to experiment on some old "junker" models to come up with the right mixture of everything (paint, thinner, air pressure, distance that you are painting from airbrush to model, etc.). It takes PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!! This part is half of the fun of modeling! GOOD LUCK!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
flybywire Posted November 14, 2016 Author Share Posted November 14, 2016 On 11/13/2016 at 11:29 AM, randypandy831 said: was this bottle previously used use or is it a new bottle? I've had some problems in past spraying alclad just to find it was a bad bottle. did you happen to over spray or just sprayed it on too thick? I know some folks got the powder affect from caking it on by accident. I normally spray alclad @ 10 psi regardless of the finish. It's a new bottle. Just bought it mainly for the main airframe painting. Indon't think i oversprayed. The moment I saw the desired layer of sheen , I move to the next area. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
flybywire Posted November 14, 2016 Author Share Posted November 14, 2016 (edited) Yeah I guess I really have to do the experiment from spare parts from scratch, low vs. high pressure, far vs. near. Thank you all guys for your inputs! Edited November 14, 2016 by flybywire Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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