pebbly finish airbrushing Future

[ex-USMC_Hornet_WSO]

Just got done airbrushing Future and I ended up with a slightly pebbly finish. I sprayed one light coat and one heavy coat at 15 psi using a siphon-feed airbrush at room temperature and low humidity. I held the brush 2-4 inches from the model.

1) Any suggestions on how to fix the surface once the Future cures (I'm giving it 24 hrs).

2) Any suggestions on how to prevent pebbly finishes airbrushing Future?

Thanks!

[yvesff]

Put a a little Windex in the Future (20-1 ratio). It will delay curing a bit a make everything level off, it will be thinner so just lay down enough so it does not run...

[Triarius]

Any clear is a bugaboo to apply, because of the low contrast. I find that it is easier for me to apply one fairly heavy coat of Future. Others do it your way. Try dropping your pressure slightly. If you can, raise the relative humidity. You can also add a small amount of retarder, or retarded isopropyl alcohol.

Perhaps most important is to use raking illumination: a strong light source striking the surface at a shallow angle. The glare of the wet Future (or any clear) is much easier to see so you can gauge how heavy the coat is.

Many apply Future with a wide brush. Easier to control thickness and prevent runs, and it levels beautifully (don't worry about brush marks.)

Whatever method you choose, practice, practice, practice.

[ex-USMC_Hornet_WSO]

  On 1/17/2014 at 4:42 AM, Triarius said:

Any clear is a bugaboo to apply, because of the low contrast. I find that it is easier for me to apply one fairly heavy coat of Future. Others do it your way. Try dropping your pressure slightly. If you can, raise the relative humidity. You can also add a small amount of retarder, or retarded isopropyl alcohol.

Perhaps most important is to use raking illumination: a strong light source striking the surface at a shallow angle. The glare of the wet Future (or any clear) is much easier to see so you can gauge how heavy the coat is.

Many apply Future with a wide brush. Easier to control thickness and prevent runs, and it levels beautifully (don't worry about brush marks.)

Whatever method you choose, practice, practice, practice.

Thanks! That was very helpful. What grit sandpaper would you recommend that I start with when I wet sand after it cures?

[Jim S]

Hello,

I don't have any experience spraying Future, dipping and brushing, yes. Anyway maybe you can find something in here that will help.

The Complete Future

At the end of the article Swanny describes how to mix it with Simple Green for a wet look finish. It may just be it needs to be thinned with Windex like yvesff posted, it seems to be the most likely solution. Right off the top of my head 2 inches seems too close.Like Triarius said "practice, practice, practice".

Hope this helps,

Jim S

[Triarius]

To answer your question: why do you want to wet sand it? You can get rid of it entirely by washing with Windex, isopropyl alcohol, or "Magic" (1 part Simple Green, 1 part water, 2 parts Windex.) Another technique is to spray it with 90% isopropyl alcohol very lightly. This will melt the bumps, though it is somewhat of an advanced technique for an airbrush newbie. However, it is the best technique if you have already applied decals.

If you have acrylic paint under the Future, then wet sand with 1000 grit or finer, depending on severity.

Although I have profound respect for his modeling knowledge, skill, and extreme generosity in sharing his expertise, n spite of what Swanny may say, mixing Simple Green with any coating is NOT something I would recommend. I don't particularly care for thinning with Windex, either, as I've explained too many times. (Yes, I'm a little conservative where coatings are concerned. It's easier to avoid a problem in the first place than try to figure out how to correct it—and I have far too much experience with the latter.:bandhead2:/>

[ex-USMC_Hornet_WSO]

  On 1/17/2014 at 3:33 PM, Triarius said:

To answer your question: why do you want to wet sand it? You can get rid of it entirely by washing with Windex, isopropyl alcohol, or "Magic" (1 part Simple Green, 1 part water, 2 parts Windex.) Another technique is to spray it with 90% isopropyl alcohol very lightly. This will melt the bumps, though it is somewhat of an advanced technique for an airbrush newbie. However, it is the best technique if you have already applied decals.

If you have acrylic paint under the Future, then wet sand with 1000 grit or finer, depending on severity.

Although I have profound respect for his modeling knowledge, skill, and extreme generosity in sharing his expertise, n spite of what Swanny may say, mixing Simple Green with any coating is NOT something I would recommend. I don't particularly care for thinning with Windex, either, as I've explained too many times. (Yes, I'm a little conservative where coatings are concerned. It's easier to avoid a problem in the first place than try to figure out how to correct it—and I have far too much experience with the latter.:bandhead2:/>/>

Well, it's been 13 hours since I sprayed the Future. Is it too late to try washing as you suggested?

[Triarius]

  On 1/17/2014 at 3:55 PM, ex-USMC_Hornet_WSO said:

Well, it's been 13 hours since I sprayed the Future. Is it too late to try washing as you suggested?

No. Windex will strip Future of any age, quickly. So will Magic, Simple Green, and isopropyl alcohol, in roughly that order.

[ex-USMC_Hornet_WSO]

  On 1/17/2014 at 6:18 PM, Triarius said:

No. Windex will strip Future of any age, quickly. So will Magic, Simple Green, and isopropyl alcohol, in roughly that order.

Thanks! I'll give it a shot.

[B-17 guy]

Brush it on with a wide soft brush, problem solved, I've never had a pebbled finish.

[toadwbg]

  On 1/17/2014 at 7:37 PM, B-17 guy said:

Brush it on with a wide soft brush, problem solved, I've never had a pebbled finish.

X2 here. Works perfect for you pre-decal gloss coat. I don't use the brush method as a final clear coat however.

[chuck540z3]

I'm sure Triarius will kill me for suggesting this, but I do it all the time and, so far, have had no issues with it at all. After the Future has dried for 30 minutes or even 30 days, I always spray a straight coat of undiluted Windex on the surface to even out the Future, like melting ice with a blow torch. Yes, I've heard the ammonia in the Windex does all sorts of bad things to the molecular structure and other stuff I don't understand, but trust me, it works. Just make sure of two things:

1) Surface must be horizontal so the Windex (and semi-dissolved Future) doesn't drip and

2) Get the surface nice and wet, but not too wet so that it runs.

Let the Windex dry naturally (about 10 minutes), then turn your model 90 degrees and do the other surfaces horizontally. If you get some whitish clouding, don't worry, it will go away as it dries a bit more. I have successfully removed orange peel doing it this way many times, but that assumes the pebbling is due to the Future coat and not the underlying paint surface. Here's an example I have shown many times that used lots of Windex to smooth things out. No molecular damage here!

Edited January 21, 2014 by chuck540z3

[Check Six]

Very interesting technique, Chuck.

Definitely will make note of that.

Thanks for sharing.

[Triarius]

  On 1/21/2014 at 5:07 AM, chuck540z3 said:

I'm sure Triarius will kill me for suggesting this, but I do it all the time and, so far, have had no issues with it at all. After the Future has dried for 30 minutes or even 30 days, I always spray a straight coat of undiluted Windex on the surface to even out the Future, like melting ice with a blow torch. Yes, I've heard the ammonia in the Windex does all sorts of bad things to the molecular structure and other stuff I don't understand, but trust me, it works. Just make sure of two things:

1) Surface must be horizontal so the Windex (and semi-dissolved Future) doesn't drip and

2) Get the surface nice and wet, but not too wet so that it runs.

Let the Windex dry naturally (about 10 minutes), then turn your model 90 degrees and do the other surfaces horizontally. If you get some whitish clouding, don't worry, it will go away as it dries a bit more. I have successfully removed orange peel doing it this way many times, but that assumes the pebbling is due to the Future coat and not the underlying paint surface. Here's an example I have shown many times that used lots of Windex to smooth things out. No molecular damage here!

"But doubt, this man be callit dead." —W. Shakespeare

Seriously, my main objection is the use of Windex, or anything with ammonia in it. HOWEVER: Windex is mostly isopropyl alcohol. I have used the same technique, but with straight 90% isopropyl alcohol. Hadn't thought of that in awhile :foof:/>. Works well. Thanks for reminding me, Chuck.

[chuck540z3]

  On 1/21/2014 at 3:55 PM, Triarius said:

Seriously, my main objection is the use of Windex, or anything with ammonia in it. HOWEVER: Windex is mostly isopropyl alcohol. I have used the same technique, but with straight 90% isopropyl alcohol. Hadn't thought of that in awhile Works well. Thanks for reminding me, Chuck.

The first time I used this technique was when I also had a pebbly finish and somebody suggested same. It worked OK, but the main culprit was pebbly paint, so you can't do much about that. Since that time, I use it routinely to make sure the gloss finish is as smooth as possible, often immediately after the Future spray session before it has dried too much (within 10 minutes or so). The key, as mentioned above, it to get it wet, but not too much so that runs appear. If you do accidentally get a run of Future, turn the model so that the run is horizontal and get it nice and wet again. As it dries, you should notice the run start to disappear, but it might take a few Windex sprays to totally remove it. If the run is really bad, let it dry and then sand it as you have indicated above, then re-spray some more Future followed by Windex.

Also, I always add a bit of Windex to my Future to thin it and make it lay down easier- and avoid pebbling in the first place. Just enough Windex to make the Future slightly blue is enough to break up surface tension.

[balls47]

I spray Future on big models and brush it on smaller models. I have a Paasche H that is almost exclusively dedicated to clear, acrylic solutions, mostly Future. I have learned several things about spraying Future through experience(our local "all things chemical" man, Triarius, has also reiterated most of these):

1. Practice, practice, and when you have nothing else to do, practice.

2. I NEVER thin Future. I thin with Future, but, again, I don't thin Future. Future has caused me to depart from

one of the oldest rules that I learned as a State Trooper. That is: Never say "never," and seldom say

"always." Again, when spraying Future, it goes from the bottle of Future to the airbrush to the model.

3. Excellent lighting. I cannot imagine spraying Future onto a model without top notch, high quality lighting.

My lighting consists of the room light, an 18" florescent lamp inside my paint booth/box, and a 150 watt

halogen light that is adjustable to about any position needed. I also wear good eye protection and cheaters

as far as glasses. My eyesight is screwed up.(left eye:20/15 - right eye 20/20) I have threatened to sue my

training officer when I graduated from the Academy. He smoked, hence the problem with my right eye. I chose

not to sue my "coach" when he told me that we could go to the firing range so he could show me how how

well he could fire his weapon. We chose to fire shotguns. He sprayed his five sluggers in the mid-section -

probably a 15" diameter. I "painted" a face on my target. He eventually quit smoking. I'm sorry, I have

digressed. Like Triarius says, good lighting is a key factor when applying Future.

4. When it comes to using an airbrush for anything, practice is one of, if not the key factor to the

proficient use of an airbrush. Lighting is a very key factor when applying Future with an airbrush.

The amount of light is important, but the angle of the light is also a key factor for proper lighting

when applying Future.

5. Drying AND curing time for Future should be a minimum of 48 hours. Don't learn the hard way. This

is FREE advice. Don't get in a hurry. Let dry AND cure. Experience and The School of Hard Knocks

has taught me this lesson. Don't ruin that latest masterpiece by getting in a hurry.

If I'm missing anything, please chime in, because I'm probably missing something. Well folks, that's it for now and the Future.(sorry, couldn't help myself there) Good luck and keep crankin' 'em out!!!

[volzj]

I'm with Chuck on the Windex.

I always hit every final coat of Future with straight Windex. It dissolves all of the layers into one homogeneous coating, and levels out beautifully. It has never gone badly and I've been doing it for years.

[falcon20driver]

Could you use a soft cloth LIGHTLY moistened with windex to gently buff out minor future blemishes?

[Fly-n-hi]

  On 1/25/2014 at 10:39 PM, falcon20driver said:

Could you use a soft cloth LIGHTLY moistened with windex to gently buff out minor future blemishes?

Not really. The problem is that the Future becomes a bit tacky as it "melts."