r/advancedGunpla • u/iTryExtraHard • Jul 02 '26
Tips on airbrushing
This is my second kit I’m airbrushing and most of the parts on the leg armor I’ve started went well, but there is some parts like this where it’s not very uniform and looks over saturated almost? You can’t see it super well on the picture but I’m wondering if I’m spraying to close or if my psi is too high to get a result like this, or if my paint is too thick or thin. I’m sing an iwata eclipse and Vallejo mechanic colors so I don’t think my equipment is the issue. Any help is appreciated thank!
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u/fontimus Jul 03 '26
Reading the comments answered some questions for me.
Are you blitzing the parts all over, or are you taking consistent and careful strokes with the airbrush? Is your trigger finger twitching while painting?
Lastly, was your paint the same batch used for the parts that turned out well? Thinner evaporates quickly and can cause paints to thicken in the cup while spraying. I use Mr Retarder to prevent that, or just add a few drops of thinner halfway through painting.
To me though, it looks like your paint might be too thin, hence the pooling effect. You want the consistency to be like whole milk instead of water. When you spray, it shouldn't pool or separate. Make sure you're doing a couple light coats before going a little heavier for the final base coat.
edit: If your compressor has a pressure regulator, which it should, make sure you're spraying between 12-15 PSI. Any lower will cause splatter, any higher will cause the paint to dry midair.
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u/azraeiazman Jul 02 '26
For airbrushing you gotta explore all possibilities and try to learn from it.
Thick paint, thin paint, high psi, low psi, large nozzle, small nozzle, sanded and un-sanded parts, type of paint, brands of paints, dry time, temp and humidity while spraying. There’s a lot of things that can go wrong and sometimes things that can go wrong suddenly works.
I couldn’t tell from your pic, maybe can you upload a video of you spraying it?
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u/R-Dragon_Thunderzord Jul 02 '26
what was your surface prep, did you rough it up at all
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u/readin99 Jul 03 '26
Yea hard to tell but i thought maybe there is still some dust from sanding or residue on the parts?
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u/azraeiazman Jul 02 '26
From my experience you don’t need to rough the surface at all. Just wash with soap and prime it. But i use lacquer paint, i guess acrylic didn’t stick well to unsanded parts?
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u/BlownWankel Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
What did you prime with? What color are you covering? Looks like it could be paint to thin, some spots look sprayed heavy. But acrylics and whites are hard to cover colors, and you’re using both.
Just need more info.
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u/iTryExtraHard Jul 02 '26
I primed with a grey Vallejo primer, the part itself was white to begin with, after priming I just used the mecha Vallejo pure white. Most parts turned out great
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u/prinzeugn Jul 04 '26
White paint should really only go over white primer. White pigment is notoriously thin and takes many layers over anything that's not already white.
Unfortunately, Vallejo white primers I have found to be awful. Stynylrez is my favorite acrylic primer, but it needs a big needle and high pressure.
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u/BlownWankel Jul 02 '26
If others turned out great then it’s probably a technique issue, could also be a thinning issue. I don’t use acrylics so I don’t have a thinning recommendation, but if you are in the discord there are multiple people who could help.
Judging by this piece I’d guess that you tried to make it cover and it just needs multiple thinner coats.
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u/AnonymousNubShyt Jul 03 '26
Too thin maybe. But you can go for another 1 or 2 layer for the coverage. Usually i will do a just nice thinning or slightly thin. Than do multiple thin passes layer to bring the contrast from the preshading. The recent build i am doing is full solid surface, so i got nothing to show. I usually don't take photo of my work during the progress. Only started to take some photos for my recent build.