Dust coats of paint....how to?

[bossy122]

Hello! I see people mentioning "dust coats" on their kits and I am curious as to how you go about that. I tried airbrushing some Testors dark red from the jar and the paint was so thin that it just puddled up on edges and I am guessing that the mythical dust coat may help with this problem. One of the few things I could NOT find on You Tube. The question is: WILL it help with super thin paints? At what PSI should one use? Any preferable distance from gun to piece and an ideal amount of time between coats? Anything I may not have considered?

[43rdMichael]

I’m not sure its an official term, so approaches may vary.

For me its a high pressure, low solids shot. Useful in situations like sealing decals with a clear that might be too hot in bulk.

Or for building up thin layers of primer or colour coat without obscuring fine detail.

[Chinamalc]

Hold your paint spray (can or airbrush) further away from the object being painted and/or move your spray faster past the subject.
The paint should not form a wet surface on the part, it should be almost instantly dry.
This is necessary for yellow for example as it tends to 'wick' away from panel lines and edges if the first coats are applied 'wet'.
Once dry coats are completed, a wet coat is added at the end to get a shiny surface.

M.

[capri-schorsch]

Just test your skills on a piece of wood or something else. You need to get a feeling for your airbrush before you use it on your model.

[CK]

I am wondering if your are using this Testor enamel paint.

Testor.jpg (9.86 KiB) Viewed 201 times

It should not be too think. It is usually too thick for directly use in airbrush. Also what type of airbrush are you using? Is it a single action or a double action airbrush? Single action airbrush may not have good control on amount of paint being spray.

For a single action airbrush, you need to use distance and/or speed of passing to control the amount of paint landing on the surface. For a double action airbrush, you can control the amount of paint by the position of the throttle.

As others have suggested, try the painting on something else first to get the feel.

[PeteJ]

In my world, a dust coat is just a very light coat. Certainly not enough paint to create a wet surface. I prefer well thinned paint and a low pressure on the brush. Low pressure is going to be dependent on the brush though. Different brushes have different requirements. Get some plastic spoons and practice on the back of those. You'll get the hang of it!

[bossy122]

The paint went onto a spoon just fine but a front bumper; not so much. It is Testors and I thought it would be thick as well.....imagine my surprise. My airbrush is a shitty old single action. I'll try spraying further back.

[BMW]

A "dusting" might just be what you need in this case.
I sometimes "dust" the first layer on, as it makes the first layer stick a bit more, and the following second layer evens out the paint anyway.

Another good use for it is when clear coating, and using "aggressive" paints such as TS-13 on decals. A buildup of several very light layers of the stuff helps to let the clear-coat dry before it has a chance to bite through the decals. Successive layers then flatten the coat.

[bossy122]

This is what the result looks like.....all puddled up. And it really built up badly along the edge of the masking tape.....really disappointing.

[CK]

There may be other issues causing your painting problem.

Have the paint been thoroughly mixed in the bottle before airbrushing? Testor is not a high grade paint. The color pigment may settle quite fast. Make sure the paint is well stirred before spraying.

The paint may be not as opaque as we wish. It will looks like semi transparent paint. Any uneven thickness of the paint will show different darkness of the painted surface.

Also make sure the painted surface is very clean. A thin dried coat spray from a further distance will help to deposit a more even layer. The front bumper of your car is a challenge to paint as it has so many ridges. Use thin layers to build up a thicker coat. It should give you a good result.

I usually spray a thin layer. Use a hair drier to warm up the paint layer a little bit to smooth it out and make it dry faster. Give it a 10 minute break between each layer. I think down the paint for the final coat to help to achieve a mirror finish. Testor enamels are easy to use.