Coping with orange peel

[sibomots]

In my earlier life painting (automotive repair, rebuild, etc.. for fun not profit) I had to deal with orange peel on the paint during the work.

 

For those who know what I'm referring to, SKIP ahead..

 

For those who don't know what it is.  Imagine the surface of an orange.  After spraying the coat of paint (any coat -- primer, color, clear-coat, etc..) the paint cures (flashes off) and what is left is the paint but with an ever-so-slight "orange peel" texture.  Not at all rough, just not glass smooth.

 

Fast forward a few decades..

 

When I paint my (BT) models, I run into the same problem on the primer-stage.   Regardless of how fine grained the pigment is in the can, the result is that unmistakable orange peel texture.  Slight, but there.

 

SKIP:

 

Do you re-sand after the primer?  Do you use steel wool? compact cotton swabs (not Q-tip, but tight cotton tipped cleaner instruments as used in electronics rework)?  Or do you just let the second, color coat take care of it hoping the glossiness of the brushed paint fills?

 

Possible solutions seem to be:

 

1. Don't worry about it.   Zeal makes up for it.
2. Try to "buff" the paint a little but don't sweat it too much.
3. Seek and destroy Orange Peel because it is exactly serves the benefit of the enemies of the Black Templar!
4. Repent and don't make the same mistake again.
5. Other

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Edited December 22, 2021 by sibo

[phandaal]

Assuming you know about humidity being too low/too high when spraying. You can actually buff some of the bumpy effect away with nail polish remover, just be careful not to use too much.

 

Also, check out Tamiya primer. Not sure what dark gods they sacrifice to but that stuff sprays on like magic. Almost impossible to spray on too much, and highly tolerant of different temperature/humidity ranges.

[techsoldaten]

I normally only see Orange Peel on large models, like Knights and Tanks.

 

I use a soft tip on my Dremel to buff it out. Acrylics are soft plastic, they can't really stand up to any sort of friction.

 

But yeah, this is a problem I notice on other people's models. That and brush strokes really irritate me.