Smooth texture

[jbuckley421]

Using Createx Illustration colors and Iwata eclipse hp-cs @ ~ 25 lbs of pressure on a wood panel with gesso. I'm struggling to get smooth textures. It seems that even if I put the tiniest amount of paint on, it rewets and displaces the already dried paint. I've tried way over reducing it, using it straight out of the bottle, adjusting pressure, and adding some white to the mix to reduce the transparency. I can't seem to get a smooth texture.

Second question, you can see in the 2 close up pics the texture of the actual panel visible through the paint. Would 2k aerosol clear coat help that?

 

[AndreZA]

RE Q1. "Smooth texture" is a bit of a wrong term there. You don't want texture, you just want it smooth. What do you consider "over reduce"? Illustration colours stay rewettable for up to 30 minutes. To me it looks like your paint is too wet/pressure too high/you move too slow/you're too close to the surfcae.

RE Q2. You will have to sand it down to get super smooth gesso. Start with about 800 grit sand paper and finish with 1200 wet and dry.

 

[basepaint]

Drop the pressure down around 15 psi and see if that helps,also don't try to cover it in one shot do a few light pass's

 

[jbuckley421]

RE Q1. "Smooth texture" is a bit of a wrong term there. You don't want texture, you just want it smooth. What do you consider "over reduce"? Illustration colours stay rewettable for up to 30 minutes. To me it looks like your paint is too wet/pressure too high/you move too slow/you're too close to the surfcae.

RE Q2. You will have to sand it down to get super smooth gesso. Start with about 800 grit sand paper and finish with 1200 wet and dry.

I'm not sure on the exact ratio, but I've tried going as far as a single drop of paint and half the paint cup of reducer. Usually I use close to about 6:1, but it hasn't been working. I agree, it seems my paint is too wet, and everything else, but my efforts to correct the issue hasn't really yielded any results.

 

[jbuckley421]

Drop the pressure down around 15 psi and see if that helps,also don't try to cover it in one shot do a few light pass's

I was trying to do lots of light passes, but it seems once I start to get decent color saturation, the rewetting issue occurs.

 

[musicmacd]

I would make the colour neat with white and spray at 20psi i read you tried white but maybe less pressure? Never tried spraying gesso
With CI you need the white to make it smooth .

 

[haasje dutchairbrush]

All the above for the 1st question

As for the 2nd question, those "cut's" look to me to be too deep to hide with a layer of clear. This can hide some "damage" (in this case texture) but there are limmits.

 

[jagardn]

What are you using as reducer? For its water on a hard surface, your just asking for trouble. It takes a while for water to dry since there is nothing for it to absorb into.

 

[basepaint]

Also if your trying to reduce your paint that much (single drop to 1/2 the cup size)you would have to use a transparent base mix as that much reducer would break down the paint too much

 

[CALz AyrWKz]

The texture in the wood is too deep and will show through any attempts to hide them. Preparation is the key with wood. Sand, sand, sand. As far as the illustration colors go, I believe they are designed to be used for rewetting techniques in illustration work. Perhaps another type of paint such as Wicked that can be used on hard surfaces.

 

[jbuckley421]

I mixed in a lot more white along with more purple, dropped my pressure, and was able to get an acceptable result. I think I'll be trying out the wicked paints soon though; I'm not a fan of the rewetting for this sort of thing.

I've been using 412 reducer, and experimenting with transparent base as well.

Its super frustrating trying to figure out if issues I'm having are me, the brush, the paint, or some combination.

Given that I can't do a lot about the surface texture at this point, what foreseeable results might I be able to expect from clear coating? I definitely want to protect the surface, and enhancing the image would be nice as well, but if theres a chance it will somehow make it worse, I'd rather not go that route.

Thank you everyone for the input!

 

[jagardn]

I mixed in a lot more white along with more purple, dropped my pressure, and was able to get an acceptable result. I think I'll be trying out the wicked paints soon though; I'm not a fan of the rewetting for this sort of thing.

I've been using 412 reducer, and experimenting with transparent base as well.

Its super frustrating trying to figure out if issues I'm having are me, the brush, the paint, or some combination.

Given that I can't do a lot about the surface texture at this point, what foreseeable results might I be able to expect from clear coating? I definitely want to protect the surface, and enhancing the image would be nice as well, but if theres a chance it will somehow make it worse, I'd rather not go that route.

Thank you everyone for the input!

You may be confusing something you are doing with "re-wetting". I would guess that your problem has something to do with surface prep. Re-wetting is the process of using an Amine(ammonia) to re activate the binder so paint can be removed/manipulated to create texture effects.
The problem you are having sounds like the surface itself has not been prepped correctly for proper adhesion.

 

[markjthomson]

No spray paint will fill in the gaps, dents and imperfections unless it is a high build primer - you won't get that through your airbrush. Sand, prime and sand, pick any of the above if you want a smooth surface. Otherwise paint on metal or plastic. Now looking at the picture as a whole, you can't make out that fine "defects" . It may not matter that you can see the shapes under the paint.

From what I understand you are describing you are WAY over reducing the paint... start with it straight then try different ratios. For normal application 50% to 100% would be considered.

A clear will make the paint work glossy instead of a matte type finish. It will tend to highlight any imperfections. May or may not work for you.

 

[Maple Art]

It appears that you would need more layers of gesso and sanding to get the smooth surface that you are looking for. I don't think whats happening is "re-wetting" it appears that your spraying too heavy with over reduced paint and not letting it dry in between coats.... less reducer, more paint, lighter layers.

 

[jbuckley421]

It appears that you would need more layers of gesso and sanding to get the smooth surface that you are looking for. I don't think whats happening is "re-wetting" it appears that your spraying too heavy with over reduced paint and not letting it dry in between coats.... less reducer, more paint, lighter layers.

This makes sense. I've pre mixed some paint in separate bottles (rather than in the cup) at 1:2, and it seems to be working well. Thank you everyone for the input.

 

[Squishy]

It looks to me as if there is too much fluid coming out at once and the air is blowing the paint aside into almost ridges which is showing up as a darker area as more paint is gathered there (I hope that makes sense) So less pressure and thicker mixture should resolve this. The surface itself looks like it needed more prep, maybe more layers of gesso, and more sanding. Like the picture and the bright colours though