cobwebs coming out of my airbrush!???!

[PBR Allstar]

okay, so I'm new to the airbrush thing, I got one about a year ago and tried using parma faskolor, got frustrated with it and threw all the faskolor up in the rafters, recently I got a couple jars of traditional pactra and have been playing with it with some success and enjoyment.

one thing that keeps happening though, when I'm spraying, it's like cobwebs are forming inside the body? I'm assuming it's dried paint all coagulating somehow? am I nuts or is this common?

[Eau Rouge]

Yes, the paint is drying before it is hitting the body, like a cotton candy machine.

What are you using for thinner?

[PBR Allstar]

Yes, the paint is drying before it is hitting the body, like a cotton candy machine.

What are you using for thinner?

thinner? Are you telling me here doug that I'm not supposed to be shooting it straight out of the jar?

[Eau Rouge]

That's why it is spraying cobwebs. I'm surprised that it's spraying at all.



Pactra Acryllic RC Paints are water-based, so you thin with a solution of water, alcohol and dish soap (or straight water).
Pactra Lacquer RC Paints are solvent-based and need to be thinned with lacquer thinner.

Most paint colors thin somewhere between 1:1 and 2:3 thinner to paint.


Both clean up with their respective thinners.

[Brandon G]

Air pressure may be a little high too. What pres are you shooting at?

[Eau Rouge]

He could be shooting 5psi or 50psi, it won't matter if he is shooting paint straight out of the jar.

[Lowgear]

Whats the difference between acrylic and lacquer paints and which is preferred?

[Eau Rouge]

Water based vs solvent based. Most states by 2015 will have banned solvent based paints, or at least heavily restricted them like in California. I much prefer painting with solvent-based paints, but they are toxic, have nasty fumes, are harder to clean up and dispose of and really just aren't terribly practical any more.

A Createx/AutoAir/Faskolor type water based paint is probably the best bet for most hobbyists and recreational painters today.

[Mr. ED]

A few random differences and thoughts about the subject of differences between both:
pactras laquer paints for me have better adherance : the thinner 'bites' into the lexan and so the paint won't chip on the first bang. (And it is less dependant on proper preperation to stick compared to the water-solvent based paints).
The thinner pactra uses is very strong and that makes it a nightmare when trying to add some details with a standard brush: standard thinner just won't get it all out and your brush can dry up stiff with left-over paint easily.
All thinner-based paints dry quicker than wather-based paints so watch out for stuck air-brushes.