# How to control the spatter



## dgodek (Apr 5, 2012)

Made my first attempt at airbrushing some blades this weekend. Solid colors were OK, dots...not so much. What did I do wrong?

The process went like this:
First primed the blade with opague white Createx that had been thinned. Cured with a heatgun and then painted color coat with non-thinned transparent Createx purple. All of this went fine. Very pleased with the results. 

Next tried spraying some dots with non-thinned Createx. They look horrible - the paint spatters and spreads everywhere. On another attempt, I tried masking off the dots before spraying the final top color coat. Masking tape didn't hold the nice, fine edge I was hoping for. 

Watched YouTube for some ideas, some of which I practiced (lower the pressure, keep the gun tip very close to the piece, etc.). Paint still went everywhere.

What am I doing wrong? Suggestions? TIA!


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Theres a fine line between the color you're using to the pressure to how close/far you spray away from the baits and how much paint you're allowing to leave the nozzle....These ALL take time and experimentation to master. I'd be willing to bet you need to play with your air pressure some.


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## fishingguy (Jan 5, 2006)

Two things that are common for me are dry tip and slightly clogged brush, or moisture in the system. For dots you need to have a clean brush! Moisture is another problem, I usually take a good long break when that happens. Practice practice practice, you'll get the hang of it.


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

Doing close up work takes some practice. Like ShutUpNFish says, there is a balance between PSI, thickness of paint, and how much paint you are letting out at once. Try adjusting your pressure and practicing on shooting a fine mist of paint, letting the color slowly build up as apposed to one quick shot. And as fishinguy said, if your gun isn't properly cleaned, it's going to give you fits. Especially close up stuff. Those nozzles are tiny and it doesn't take much to plug them up. If you are getting little chunks or splatter coming out, it needs cleaned. Try not to get discouraged, you will get it with practice.


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## dgodek (Apr 5, 2012)

Thanks guys for the posts, suggestions and encouragement. 

I should've provided some additional information. I didn't thin down the Createx at all - just poured in the airbrush and started painting. Seems this is my first mistake. Also, in my description, I should've better described the paint splatters when it hits the blade, not coming out of the airbrush. I'm using a Harbor Freight cheapie but it's working fine. It's easy enough to use that my 4 yo helped me in laying down the base coats. 

As you all have suggested, I think more practice is going to be the ticket...and thinning down the paint. We'll see this weekend.


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## leadcorebean (Jul 17, 2006)

quick fix or a easy helping aid for dots and any other shape u might use alot. for my eyes i use the paper hole from a note book or something.. also another way i do them is a thin clear plastic and use a solder iron to control how big the hole will get. i use alot of templets it just makes it easier


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