Model Railroading > Questions on weathering oversprays

O.K.,
I tried my first attempt at a waethering overspray using Floquil grimy black diluted 15:1. When sprayed it wanted to spatter on me. I used a filter to strain the mix before shooting. PSI was about 16. What works for the rest of you out there? Any help greatly appreciated.

Try raising you air pressure to at least 20 lbs or more. I spray with a higher pressure than most people do, 30 lbs since it atomizes paint very well.

Jack:

Spattering generally indicates a clogged airbrush nozzle, paint that's too thick (not the case here), lumpy/old/defective paint, or each of the above aggravating the others. Insufficient air pressure could also be a problem. I think you also could have thinned it too far, but I have minimal experience with old-style Floquil solvent-based paint so I can't speak from experience in that regard.

Try a thorough cleaning for your airbrush, including disassembly of the tip parts and related components. Strain the paint through an old nylon stocking, and/or use one of the cylindrical filter screen units available from Micro-Mark and others. I use such a screen and it's a lifesaver.

For general painting and weathering I use Floquil Polly-Scale paint, which is fairly thin in the bottle and requires less dilution. For weathering, I thin it about 1 part paint to 1 part "wet" water, plus about 1/4-part denatured alcohol, but this formula is widely flexible according to your preference and experience. Floquil Polly-S Airbrush Thinner can also be used in place of wet water. This thins the paint enough that it can lay down thin and gradually so I can sneak up on the effect I want rather than having it too thick all at once.

Check the weathering spray suggestions in the Steam Loco Weathering Clinic DVD, from www.trainvideosandparts.com.

Above all, practice and experiment with your mixtures, air pressure and so on! Test your formulas on scrap material before you tackle your model.

Best regards,
Jeff Johnston

For airbrush weathering, I use Polly Scale acrylic with little or no thinning. I use my old Badger 200, with 25-30 psi and adjust the paint flow very low. The car below was lightly over sprayed with a mix of railroad tie brown and grimy black. I spray a little heavier on the bottom of the car body, and less as I work to the top.

Dennis

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Jack Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> O.K.,
> I tried my first attempt at a waethering
> overspray using Floquil grimy black diluted 15:1.
> When sprayed it wanted to spatter on me. I used a
> filter to strain the mix before shooting. PSI was
> about 16. What works for the rest of you out
> there? Any help greatly appreciated.

Your air pressure is way too low. Try about 30psi.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

CNW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For airbrush weathering, I use Polly Scale acrylic
> with little or no thinning. I use my old Badger
> 200, with 25-30 psi and adjust the paint flow very
> low. The car below was lightly over sprayed with
> a mix of railroad tie brown and grimy black. I
> spray a little heavier on the bottom of the car
> body, and less as I work to the top.
>
> Dennis

This is slightly off topic, but who makes this coupler? The detail on the side is very nice.