Varnishing with airbrush issues-help-Updated

[Defiant911]

Carl.
Just reading what Jim has said sounds about right to me. I'd spray in very thin coats, letting each one dry, and increase the pressure to 20 psi.
The second photo by the way is great, nice weathering and not over done.

Thanks John, it would certainly be easy to get really carried away with weathering but it is great fun to do even if it’s far from perfect as yet. Practice hopefully will make it better with each new model.
Carl

 

[Jack L]

Try on a coke bottle or something? Prime it, add some weathering as you usually would and then try a couple of varnish methods....saves potentially spoiling a model you are happy with.

 

[Defiant911]

Try on a coke bottle or something? Prime it, add some weathering as you usually would and then try a couple of varnish methods....saves potentially spoiling a model you are happy with.

Yes, that’s a good idea, I had thought about finding some test pieces. I must rifle through the garage this weekend for bits to spray Practice on.

 

[Defiant911]

Hi all, I decided to try a different varnish as an experiment. I went for the Vallego gloss varnish. This went on quite different from the Humbrol. I needed to spray more to achieve the even coating. The plus side is it seems to flatten off very well and you can almost watch any globules disappear in front of your eyes. However, the gloss level doesn’t seem as high from the first coat but I guess that could be built up over two or three if necessary. My main concern was I sprayed over the entire model including the cockpit and the glass work looks slightly opaque and not clear anymore . Is this normal for this make of varnish or do I need to spray more coats to bring the gloss back also.?

regards Carl

 

[rtfoe]

Hi Carl, I've never sprayed varnish directly onto canopy or clear parts knowing that it will cloud it and don't know how to remove it or shine it. The only varnish I dare use on a clear part is Future and I dip it in and let it drip dry on a piece of tissue...no airbrushing or even trying to paint the varnish with a brush. I have seen many make the mistake of airbrushing the varnish over their canopies without masking and ultimately loose transparency.

Maybe someone here may have a solution.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Defiant911]

Hi Carl, I've never sprayed varnish directly onto canopy or clear parts knowing that it will cloud it and don't know how to remove it or shine it. The only varnish I dare use on a clear part is Future and I dip it in and let it drip dry on a piece of tissue...no airbrushing or even trying to paint the varnish with a brush. I have seen many make the mistake of airbrushing the varnish over their canopies without masking and ultimately loose transparency.

Maybe someone here may have a solution.

Cheers,
Richard

Hi Richard, oddly enough I sprayed the canopies with the humbrol gloss before and they stayed clear so consequently I did the same with the Vallego.
i guess the Lesson is clearly not all varnish react the same. I could probably remove the canopy and try to carefully clean with thinners but it may end up going from bad to worse if I’m not careful. I’d be interested to hear if there are any simpler solutions. Obviously in future I will add the canopies after glossing or else mask off.
carl