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Sorry if this has been covered, can't seem to track it down.

With the GW spray gun I seem to get very splotchy paint -- instead of a smooth spray, I got a light rain. From far away it looks okay, but you can see the spots at tabletop distance.

I'm carefully measuring water to paint, shaking and stirring them with vigor, the propellant isn't cold, and I'm painting during pretty mild Northern California days.

I've also noticed that it's tough to get the paint to actually start flowing -- I'll usually end up blowing out a bunch of raw propellant.

The former makes me think "more paint in the jar," the latter makes me think "too much."

I'm also aware of the so-so reputation of the Citadel spray gun, but I've seen good results from other people with it.

Any help on this? Thanks much!

Throw that thing in the trash.

Seriously, that thing is the biggest waste of money and time. It is just a grossly over-priced, prone to breaking, paint wasting, can of spray paint.

I only use the spray gun when I do not have the base I want as a can.

For the paint mix, I always throw in a very very small drop of (I lost the word : whatever liquid you use to wash your dishes by hand). That does the trick.

dishwashing detergent ^

Generally is sounds as though the paint mixture is still too thick. The measurements on the spray gun jar are not an exact measure. Ratheer endevour to have a consisency of milk.

As mentioned a drop of dish degtergent acts breaks the surface tension allowing it to mist easier. You should fine that a true acrylic thinner would do the same.

Air pressure is also important and this is where propelant cans fail. Air pressure must be strong enough to draw the paint up the siphon. It must work harder when the paint is thicker.

Thanks very much! I'll work on the mix.

Without investing in a real airbrush (which is still a bit of a bridge to far for me), any spray recommendations for camo patterns/vehicles? The primary use I want for this is to be able to do reasonably fast, smooth Eldar/Dark Eldar vehicle layers and Imperial Guard camo designs. My default spray paint is Army Painters primer+base, which seems a bit thick for camo layers.

Thanks!

Camo patterns aren't too hard. spray the whole model your light color, mask (silly putty is good for masking irregular shapes) spray darker color. Do paint your cam pattern before you do detail work.....
With blending you will need an airbrush that allows for better control including adjustable spray width. Paintwise, use what you like, just use an appropriate thinner for the paint.

For 30$ I got a harbor freight airbrush and an older badger tankless compressor. Not exactly a professional airbrushing setup but it's lightyears better and cheaper than that piece of garbage from gw.

http://www.harborfreight.com/airbrush-kit-47791.html

Just look on ebay or craigslist for a cheap compressor, this stuff won't be suitable for fine detail work but it's great for basecoating/terrain pieces.

Thanks much, again! I'll give a proper air compressor a try, as well as dish soap.

I think the issue might also relate to my tap water -- I thinned out some nuln oil with tap and it left a very light chalky residue when it dried.

Anyways, just the help I needed. Thanks again!

Yeah. use distilled water. if your going to use water. and remember just a tiny bit of dish soap