Spray paint problems

[AegisD]

I have a problem. Every time I spray something plastic, be it to prime it or base it, if it isn\'t an enamel paint or a metal mini, my plastic ends up with this wrinkled texture in places.

I\'ve tried GW paint, rustoleum, Krylon, etc. Everything that isn\'t enamel (IE lacquer or acrylic) wrinkles it. It doens\'t seem to matter.
In fact, the GW brand seems to be the worst. Normally I\'d just roll with enamel, but I really hate working with it since it\'s so temperamental and takes a good day or two to fully dry.

But I don\'t know what I\'m doing wrong here. I shake the can for a minute or two after the ball is rattling to mix the paint well, and spray from a good distance (too far on something small and you get orange peel, to close and it runs), but it keeps happening. What am I doing wrong?

 

[uberdark]

post a pic of a model. then i might be able to help.

 

[AegisD]

For the sake of speed I just uploaded a quick shot to tinypic (forgive me). This one was actually stripped with simple green, but the paint remained in the wrinkles none the less. It\'s pretty much the same effect across the board.

Edit: Forgot the link http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=x5a8n7&s=3

 

[Benihana]

I assume you\'re spraying thin coats and doing 2 or 3? If not, try that.

 

[RichardSimons]

imo, you need to spray slightly heavier coats or maybe closer. the result you\'re getting is either a result of:
1.
-the paint drying mid flight in the air before reaching the surface
-in this case, you may have to spray closer to the object. 20-30 cm is the optimal spraying distance for me.
2.
-each coat of spray paint you are spraying is too thin. non enamel spray paints primers usually have a very fine spray pattern compared to enamel spray paints and are almost like dust particles.
-you may either want to spray heavier coats by spraying a few small coats that will go on top of each other before the layer below dries.
-what i do usually is:1 second burst of spray paint across/over the mini >> half second pause >> another 1 second burst of spray paint across/over mini >> continue process until you get a nice smooth and solid coat. BE CAREFUL NOT TO SPRAY TOO MUCH. you dont want to drown your mini or make the coat too thick. dont spray and linger.

another tip: when you spray on your surface, start and end the spray off the intended target. at the start and end of a spray, the sprayed paint tends to splatter a bit

sorry if any of this is grammatically wrong. its about 1-3 in the morning right now where i live.

please dont try this out right away on a mini. test it out on a piece of plastic or something. an important part of the hobby is to understand the nature of the material you are working with

 

[AegisD]

Originally posted by Benihana
I assume you\'re spraying thin coats and doing 2 or 3? If not, try that.

I never soak the mini to the point where the detail disappears, but yeah, I usually do it in one go. I never thought that that extra small amount of paint could deform the plastic though.... I\'ll give what you\'re saying a shot though. Thanks.

 

[AegisD]

Well, that helps, but I wasn\'t spraying it too thick to begin with so my coverage isn\'t that good now, and the coat is kind of mottled. I think I\'m just going to prime/base with my airbrush and foundation paints from now on. Spray paint is just not designed for these little guys.

Thanks for the suggestions though. I do appreciate it. :beer:

 

[RichardSimons]

spray paint wasnt designed for minis but works perfectly provided your technique is right.
try out the tamiya spray primers. they\'re twice the cost. twice as small, but are known to be best out there.
another factor could be weather though.

 

[3dken]

Spray Paint

Does this happen when you first spray the minis after cleaning them right out of the box, or only after you stripped them in simple green? Sounds like the paint you\'re using has acetone in it. Avoid those paints!! Very common in sprays that are made for plastics, that\'s how the paint bonds with the plastic. Otherwise, it sounds like the spray paint is reacting to any Simple Green residue that might be left. If you live in the U.S., go to Wal-Mart (I hate that store, but they have the best paint!) and buy Wal-Mart brand (blue label, called ColorPlace) flat black, flat white, and gray primer. I think they stopped carrying the red oxide primer. It spays on thin and is very opaque, only need 1-2 coats. It\'s very durable and doesn\'t rub off easily. I can\'t live without it!!

 

[AegisD]

Originally posted by 3dken
Does this happen when you first spray the minis after cleaning them right out of the box, or only after you stripped them in simple green? Sounds like the paint you\'re using has acetone in it. Avoid those paints!! Very common in sprays that are made for plastics, that\'s how the paint bonds with the plastic. Otherwise, it sounds like the spray paint is reacting to any Simple Green residue that might be left. If you live in the U.S., go to Wal-Mart (I hate that store, but they have the best paint!) and buy Wal-Mart brand (blue label, called ColorPlace) flat black, flat white, and gray primer. I think they stopped carrying the red oxide primer. It spays on thin and is very opaque, only need 1-2 coats. It\'s very durable and doesn\'t rub off easily. I can\'t live without it!!

It does. I never thought that could be the problem since so many paints have it, even those specifically made for plastics. In fact everything I have except my enamel has it in there.
But no, it doesn\'t happen after I strip it. Simple green has never given me any ill effects when used on plastics. Although once it did change the color of a metal seraphim I left in there overnight.

I\'ll definitely give this stuff a shot. I can use my airbrush to base, but I\'d rather not since I still have a great deal left to do.

 

[airhead]

are you starting and stopping off of the mini and passing the shot across the mini?

You push the button down with the paint painting to the side of the mini, then bring the paint can across the mini - spraying an even coat as you go - then release the nozzle once the spray is no longer on the mini.

It is hard to tell from your pics, but one of the effects you are describing is called \"Orange Peel\" and can be caused by a number of things. Generally from shooting \"bursts\" right at the mini.

But part of the pic looks like a mini that was not given a proper coat of paint from too far away (as Richard Simmons said) - which is just the opposited of orange peel.

***
One of the better primers I\'ve found is at WallyWorld, in the automotive section... Duplicolor primer - comes in white, black, red and gray (most stores don\'t carry all the colors....).