Dullcoat Texture

I have had the same results using the clear coats be it dull or semi gloss or high gloss. Not sure why, to much air, or not thinned enough?

Ray

I thinned mine 50/50 or so with plain old hardware store laquer thinner. I don't really mind the texture but I'm wondering if it's normal.

Try turning the pressure down.

Paint a sheet of something and then spray stripes of dullcote at different pressures and see what results you get.

FWIW, I use dullcote from the rattle can.

Smooth results

50/50 is OK but make sure its wet when it goes on. If not your airbrush is too far away.

I find dullcote OK if you plan on weathering it but if all you want is to flatten the gloss it will leave a whiteish tinge.

Krylon flat is better in that regard and Automative urethanes are better yet.

Pete

I agree with Pete about being to far away. 6 inches generally works. You want the paint to have a sort of wet look as it’s applied. Best to give it a couple of thin coats when working this close. Otherwise your likely to have runs. With a 50/50 mix.  18 to 20 psi would be a good starting point. It tough to give advice on these things as everyone’s equipment is different. As mentioned. It’s good to practice on a donor if your working with a paint your not familiar with.

The last thing I painted was with True Color. I’ve only used their paint a few times. Was painting 2 Borden’s tanks for a Flatcar. I used it to get the correct color. The red came out much as you described. As did their own clear gloss I put over it. I somewhat followed the correct procedure I found on line. I had to decal over it and needed a smooth surface. I ended up wet sanding with some superfine rubbery sanding pads from Micromark. Luckily there were no sharp edges to work around. It took the roughness right out. I believe it’s called orange peel in the auto industry. Once weathered no one will notice. The tooth on the clear will also give the chalk or powders if your using them something to grab onto.

@Dave_C posted:

I agree with Pete about being to far away. 6 inches generally works. You want the paint to have a sort of wet look as it’s applied. Best to give it a couple of thin coats when working this close. Otherwise your likely to have runs. With a 50/50 mix.  18 to 20 psi would be a good starting point. It tough to give advice on these things as everyone’s equipment is different. As mentioned. It’s good to practice on a donor if your working with a paint your not familiar with.

The last thing I painted was with True Color. I’ve only used their paint a few times. Was painting 2 Borden’s tanks for a Flatcar. I used it to get the correct color. The red came out much as you described. As did their own clear gloss I put over it. I somewhat followed the correct procedure I found on line. I had to decal over it and needed a smooth surface. I ended up wet sanding with some superfine rubbery sanding pads from Micromark. Luckily there were no sharp edges to work around. It took the roughness right out. I believe it’s called orange peel in the auto industry. Once weathered no one will notice. The tooth on the clear will also give the chalk or powders if your using them something to grab onto.

A fellow OGR member suggested polishing the area for the decals with auto polish. Not wax, just polish. It worked very well. While glossy where the polish was applied, once coated with Dullcote, the shine disappeared. The decals look great.

I've used Dullcote for years and I've never seen a sandpaper like rough finish. The spray cans tend to leave a mottled finish I think because the cheap nozzles Testor's uses don't break the paint down into fine droplets. Most of the time I use an external mix airbrush with about 2/3 Dullcote and 1/3 thinner. This gives a very fine mist.

I think you might be using too high air pressure which is causing the paint to dry before it hits the surface. The earlier suggestion of trying different air pressures is a good one. Otherwise it might be your airbrush isn't atomizing the paint properly or the Dullcote isn't compatible with the hardware store lacquer thinner your using.

The only time I've seen a whitish tinge to Dullcote is when spraying in high humidity.

Ken

Too close to model.

Not seeing any whitish tinge. I'll post photos later.