Do i need a third paint coat??

[hoakin1981]

Hi to all and happy new year!

Complete newbie here trying out his first built.

The question i have is regarding the "shadows" shown on the photos after the 2nd coat of paint was applied. They are on both sides of the conning tower and even though not super visible (to be honest) they are more pronounced under some lighting conditions. What i find strange is that i had a similar shadow (on one side only) after the 1st coat but now there are two.

Normally, if I did not have these two shadows I would proceed with the next color in line since i am satisfied with how the rest of the sub. looks but perhaps now a 3rd coat is needed after all.

What worries me is that perhaps i do something wrong in that specific section or I need to set something up differently airbrush-wise to correct this.

Would appreciate any advice since there is no point in adding up coats without solving the problem and losing detail/panel lines in the process.

Thanks in advance

 

[cobraleader]

it looks like the paint might have been drying as it was being applied. sand back lightly with 1000 grit and repaint. add some retarder or more thinner to your paint.

 

[urumomo]

Welcome to SMA !

I can't really tell too much from those 2 photos .
The " shadow " in the first photo appears to also be visible beneath the area you hi-lited .
as well as aft of the hi-lited area in the 2nd photo .

Is that primer beneath the gray paint ?
Like Cobra says , it looks like the paint went on too thin and dry -- from too far away maybe ?

 

[hoakin1981]

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

Yes, underneath there is primer. Hmmm...come to think of it there two kinds actually. Initially i primed the entire model with a light grey AK Interactive primer from a spray can but some additional seam-putty filling/sanding was required and the next primer used was again from AK Int. but this time using the airbrush and only where it was needed so not on the entire model. Also the second one was again grey but of a slightly darker hue...

I cannot remember in which parts of the model the darker primer was used but it was surely not only on the conning tower. So, the general consensus is that I should apply a 3rd coat of paint but this time more thinned?

Last time i used 2/1 (paint/thinner), should i go for 1/1? Or perhaps go closer, or do both?

Also on a more general note, when you want to fix a specific location paint-wise, can you just go over that spot only or you need to paint the entire model again?

Thanks in advance.

 

[urumomo]

You don't need to recoat the entire thing to do touchups .

2/1 should be fine . That's one of those " fix-in-field " items -- difficult to remote diagnose . You'll have to adjust accordingly but don't over-thin .
I assume that's the primer showing thru .

How far away is the AB spray tip from the work ?
Knock those ' boogers " down with some fine grit sanding sponge / paper before you put down a second coat and weld them on .

 

[hoakin1981]

Good to know I do not have to do the entire thing again...

Cannot be certain of the distance but I would say about roughly 8-10cm away. Should i try for closer? I always fear i might overspray a section when i am too close...

So, next step is to lightly sand the problematic areas with 1000 grit paper and paint them over one more time..

Thanks again

 

[BlackSheepTwoOneFour]

You should be able to get a decent coat of primer on one go, not multiple coats. Sounds to me you're spraying too far which is the cause of a light coat.

90% of the time I prime using Rustoleum 2X Grey primer in a rattlecan.
When I feel like priming with an AB, I use lacquer thinner to thin. Just spray close but not stupid close that's not gonna make you lose the details with a heavy coat.