Air brush techniques
 

I have an old Badger air brush set with a small compressor. It all seems to work well even though there is no way to regulate the air pressure. I'm wanting to spray a camouflage finish on a plane I've been working on. I did some test sprays and I like the way I can shape the pattern but no matter what I did I found small paint spatters outside the painted area. What have I done wrong?

1. Improper mix of paint and thinner?
2. Lack of adjustable air pressure?
3. Dumb operator?
4. All of the above?

I searched for some frisket to make the pattern but the only one I found would not stay adhered to the plane.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

RE: Air brush techniques
 

Well, keep in mind that full scale camo was done free hand most of the time anyway, so masking often makes the camo look too "sharp", a fuzzy edge is a good thing here.

Is your airbrush single or duel action? Mine is duel action, allowing me to control the size of the line drawn easily.

When I spray, I find I get spattering if I use too much air pressure or not enough air pressure, or paint that is too thick. I also get it if some paint has partly dried inside the gun, and clogged things up. That's actually my #1 problem, keeping the thing clean and working with out any obstruction inside.

Oh, and if I screw up and go outside where I planned to, I just adjust the plan a little. Unless you're doing a competition quality scale finish and trying to match every curve and wiggle of a particular full scale plane, you can get away with a lot of "faking it" and still get a plane that 99% of the guys out there can't tell from exact scale anyway.

RE: Air brush techniques
 

I believe your problem is mostly item #2. You can probably get a pressure regulator from Micro Mark, your LHS, Home Depot, Lowe's or ACE Hdwe.