Help! Paint problems, running Humbrol (airbrush)

I'm painting my helmet and jetpack with thinned humbrol in airbrush. The problem is that it runs! In my last try, I used a lot less thinner, about 4 parts paint to 1 part thinner, and it's still just a lot of mess. I don't use thick coats, so I don't know what I can do different.

Any suggestions, please? I'm meeting Jeremy Bulloch in two weeks and want to be in armour!

Hi Lisa as V-Fett mentioned above the first couple of passes with the airbrush should be misted on, you are not trying to cover the first layer and it's OK to see through these first coats. When touch dry you can go on a bit heavier until the desired opacity is reached. This is assuming you have primed the surface? Or you are layering on top of a silver bass coat. On my layered paint jobs i tend to use Humbrol silver no. 11 this is an enamel. The silver V-fett mentioned no. 27002 is metal coat, i found subsequent layers sometimes didn't adhere to this so well, just my preference i'm sure it works fine for V-fett!
Cheers, Garrett...
PS also turn the pressure down for those first coats to limit the amount of paint coming out...

Thanks for advise! The helmet is primed (of Bobamaker) and I'm using enamels thinned with Humrols own thinner. I have tried whitespirit as well, with the same result. I'll try to mist thin coats, I was just afraid that it would be sticky if I didn't wait long enough between coats?

If I can't get it to work, maybe I'll buy you a flight ticket.

Ok, thanks both, I'll have another go now.

Hi again Lisa !
I used exactly the same Enamel Humbrol paint (metal coat ), thinned with WhiteSpirit only, and never had any problem...Give it another go, mist thin coats ( and by "mist" I mean "light mist" not "heavy fog" ). Don't be afraid of the sticky effect, because you shouldn't have any...just wait 5 minutes between each coats. As Terminal Fettler mentioned, you are not trying to cover the first layer, you should see through the first layers and after a couple of layers, you will get a nice finish.
Could you post some pics of your paintjob ?

It seems to stick to the masking fluid only. Haha, it looks like I reversed the colours.



I feel like I need a zillion coats to cover the red, I am thinking of just adding a layer of grey primer in between because it covers the red better. Any idea if that will mess up the battle damage? My primer is almost the correct grey tone.

And the jetpack, where it runs a lot.

I didn't have enough patience, and tried a coat of grey primer on the ear. It messed the whole thing up, leaving it with "wrinkles". I have removed all the paint now (huzzah for carpenters knifes and aceton) and have to start from scratch. I think I'll just do the grey damage with masking fluid and add the red damage later, because I don't have time for all the coats required to cover the red.

Wish me luck!

The jetpack is doing great though. Forgot to say that. The misting is fantastic!

Humbrol, I really don't like it for spraying. Brush painting, it's amazing because it's thin and you don't see brush strokes. What airbrush are you using? If it's an Aztek, there's 90% of your problem right there. It's ****, plain and simple. Tamiya paint is perfect for airbrushing, but NEVER try to brush it. It looks terrible. I prefer model-master acrilycs or enamels. Take the airbrush about 10cm from the part, and start your pass on 1 end. Gently go acroos. Do 1 coat, let it dry. Repeat. Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by Lisa

The jetpack is doing great though. Forgot to say that. The misting is fantastic!

Hi Lisa !
I am glad to read that your jetpack is doing great ! Of course misting is fantastic . Just remember that it may not look like much at first sight but after a couple of layers , you get your final color...And you can work faster because the paint dries quickly (5 minutes) and once you get your final color, let it dry for a few hours . I guess it's better than waiting for a thick coat of paint to dry in 24 hours ( some Humbrol colors require that much ).
And if you have a Big problem , just use WhiteSpirit , let dry it dry and repaint once your surface is clean. (I had that kind of Big problem , it worked just fine ).

Humbrol is a pain to airbrush, but that's what I have available. My airbrush is an Evolution double action airbrush, so I think I'm good there.

Never tried them, but the brush seems of good quality. Top-of-the-line brush is probably Iwata, and it comes with top-of-the-line price. I use a Paschee VL double action, and it gives me great results. What are you using as an air source? I got an Iwata smart-jet compressor. Very quiet. The best air sources are compressors with storage tanks, so you don't get a "pulse" from the compressor. That may be contributing to your problem. And if you're using a can of compressed air (small ones) just throw it out. They really don't work. The pressure changes like crazy, and it can get nasty. Do you have a moisture trap? 1 more thing that can happen, cause water gets in the air hose and starts making the paint runny.

Thanks for advise! I have a nice compressor that works well, and I make sure the hose is dry from water. The problem was solved with the misting, so there's been no running since then.