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So I have watched the YouTube video's and read tutorial after tutorial, and finally tried it. ,

I put down my rust color, sealed it with matt varnish, and then hit it with the hairspray. I waited for it to dry over night and then used my airbrush to lay down the "base coat". Here is where the wheels fall off the bus. The top coat never dried, its still weird, blotchy and soft to the touch.....

I used reaper HD paint (never had an issue before), so I am thinking it is the hairspray? I used water soluble, its Herbal Essence Max hold (was on sale for $2.50)

So where did I go wrong?

bump.

I'm also seeking an answer. I want to try this but haven't found anywhere near enough information to appease me before potentially destroying a precious model of mine...

Not sure on the method which is given that you have seen...but Ill share mine.

I apply my base color and seal that with gloss paint. Gloss works better, as you will want to be able to use water to remove the hair spray. Matte finishes can hold the hair spray too well, and it wont dissolve properly.

After that has fully dried I use a bottle of the cheapest store brand or generic hairspray I can find...in a pump bottle. I apply the hairspray using an airbursh, as that gives better control. You want the cheapest, because some of the name brand ones are formulated to not become crusty hard, rather stay bouncey in the wind.

The cheap stuff seems to dry fully in a few hours time, though you will need to poke at it in order to figure out exactly how longit will take. When dry, it should no longer be tacky to the touch.

Choose a somewhat transparent color or apply very thin coats of an opaque color. After 10 minutes or so, I will come back with a regular brush (for chips) or a cotton swab (for fades) and some water to remove the paint on the areas that I had hit with hairspray.

The only thing that I can think of that might be problematic for you in it not drying is the name brand hair spray. Aromatic oils used to provide a fragrance and of course likely being formulated to not become crusty hard will probably be an issue. The matte varnish is likely not helping things either as that will trap things in between the matting agent particles and could be the source of long term outgassing of chemicals.

Sean, you are the man!

I'll give it a shot with glossy and go out to dollar tree and see about finding some super cheap hairspray. I hope my daughter or wife wants the other stuff i have.

Update time, Pics to follow this afternoon. I picked up some Aqua Net from the Dollar General because 1 its super cheap, and 2 if my memories from high school in NJ in the early 90s is accurate that stuff dries stiff (like it could probably take a .22 and not mess up the hair).