Model Forum / General / Models / June 2007

I was wondering if anyone could offer some suggestions/advice on
airbrushing Tamiya acrylics.  Long story short...when I try to lay
down a wet gloss coat using my airbrush, there seems to be small spots
on the kit where the freshly spray paint would not cover.  So I'll get
tiny pits in the freshly sprayed layer.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.  First, I thought the surface of
the model might be contaminated.  So I usually wash the kit (primed at
this point) in soapy water and scrub it with a toothbrush and rinse it
for a minute or two.  Then I spray distilled water so it doesn't dry
with spots.  At this point, I handle the kit with latex gloves on and
leave it to dry for a day or two.  When it comes to painting the kit,
I would thin the tamiya acrylic paint with the tamiya thinner about
50/50.  Set my compressor to 10-12 psi and sprayed the first mist coat
through the Iwata airbrush. Clear out the paint from the airbrush by
spraying rubbing alcohol through the airbrush.  Wait 15 minutes and do
the same thing with the second mist coat.  Everything seems fine at
this point.  After 15-20 minutes, I begin to spray the wet coat and
this is where my problem with small pits in the paint begin to show
up.  I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Sorry about the long post guys.