i am having an impossible time painting the dots on a bass' belly - evertime i just about get done the gun spits out a clunk of black paint on the white background - have consulted the gun's almost nonexistent instructions that come with it - have regulated pressure everyway i know how - what ma i doing wrong?
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Keep the paint fluid enough?
keep the tip clean every so often or you need to regulate air , but it sounds like you need to clean it.
When painting precise spots like that the brush is gonna glog up use a tooth brush every few spots and clean the tip. What I do before sealing the fish I use a number two pencil and put the spots on they will show through after finished.
works great
Do you have a moisture trap installed? Sounds like that might be the problem. You should also filter mixed paint that is to be employed for fine details. Actually, the pigmented areas of which you speak are not "dots" in the first place.
Use a retarder, moisture trap and filter. Adjust your trigger and air so that merely pressing on the trigger device will result in a dot (or dash) of color emerging from the nozzel. I do the "dots" in two stages, a light mist on the first application and a darker center applied after the fact. The darker center cn be applied by hand with a spotting brush and the mist is easier to control and cleanup if a problem occurs. I have yet to see a graphite lead pencil that is the same color as the pigment areas involved.
One more suggestion is to strain your paints for detail work like spots etc. Sometimes when you pour from your paint bottles chunks can flow into your airbrush cup that you might not notice and these WILL end up clogging your tip. Use a piece of nylon of the straing cups that Van Dyke's sells.
When painting small dots I like to run the pressure at about 10psi and thin the paint (lacquer) to about 50/50. Problem is, the more lacquer thinner you add the faster the tip will clog. So you also need to add enough retarder so the paint flows. Then I fill the cap of a plastic film container with lacquer thinner and simple dip and purge the tip of the air brush when every third or forth dot. Lots of other ways but that one works for me.
Good luck, BK
I've had those problems when I clean I find lots of dried paint I have to get all of that out.Then you should have quality paint to start with that sure helps.