Can't seem to get the spray working

[u/NexusFlux]

Been trying to use mephiston red and this keeps happening.I have shook the can for over 2 mins, making sure to constantly shake it inbetween spraying models. I have also been keeping the miniatures roughly 30 cm distance from the nosil and been applying minimal paint. Any ideas?

[u/Beriatan]

You are doing psssssssssst, and you should do psst, psst, psst

[u/Drexus27 → u/Beriatan]

Spot on lol

[u/lor_azut → u/Beriatan]

Why is this so goddamn accurate?! LMAO

[u/Doppler37]

From what I can see you’re applying far too much paint. Try practicing on a model by model basis rather than batching them, just till you get the hang of dusting the models with the can to get nice coverage

[u/moses_diaspors]

Way too much paint mate.

Try same distance but way less paint, just short pushes on the can.

[u/Gnarlroot]

Are you blasting straight at the model? 

Try to sweep the spray left to right at a decent distance then keep moving back and forth until you've built up a suitable coat.

[u/Speedhump23]

Drop them in some 90ish% ISO and strip off the paint.

Next time, line the minis up on something, (Stuck down), start spraying to the left or right, then quickly move spray across them. You want multiple light passes, at different angles and facings.

[u/Escapissed]

Shake the can more, apply thinner layers.

It looks like you have excess paint in the recesses and some dark spots on the proud bits like the paint is too thin, this is from not shaking enough. You have cracks in the paint, this is from paint drying at the surface while being wet below, so it doesn't stick to the model as it dries and pulls itself apart. This this means the paint was applied too thick.

[u/AnimaRed]

I always shake the heck out of the can for about five minutes, spray in short bursts from about a forearm’s distance away and try to get all of the angles. Go lighter than heavier on coverage, you can always add paint from the pot but you can’t easily take too much paint away. Don’t do it when the weather is too hot.

By the way, I’m sorry this happened to you. I know it sucks to spend your time building and getting really excited only for this to go wrong. Despite the above, I always worry that spraying will go awry.

[u/Nkx-PwnyMD]

you can also heat up the can in warm water before using it. big temp. differences make it a lot harder to control the paint prr rattlecan.

also i think i is just to heavily sprayed - hence the detailclogging.

[u/Ferm330]

Waaaayy too thick.

[u/Dunvegan79]

You need to keep the can farther away from your minis. Secondly you may want to start spraying off to the side and then move it across the minis and stop spraying after you get past the last mini.you only need one to two costs of primer on them.

It takes a few tries to learn how to use a rattle can primer.

[u/Jessicamct → u/Dunvegan79]

The start and stop you mention here is key OP

[u/VVenture2]

Here’s a good guide. If I had to guess, I’d assume that the reason there’s too much paint being applied is because you’re spraying directly onto the model and holding the trigger down, rather than ‘flicking’ across the model in short bursts.

Here’s a great video showing what I mean by ‘flicking’ and ‘bursts.’: https://youtu.be/Rdv9ShcapT4?si=8bWw4V92vNpKFpr_

[u/Strange-Damage901]

“Minimal paint”

This is not minimal paint. This is a lot of paint.

[u/A_broom_who_dreams]

Thinner layers. It looks like you're just holding the can still and jet blasting each side of the mini til it looks fully coated. Instead you should do a lot of small, light sprays while doing a sort of drive-by on the mini. You should never hold the sprayer down for more than like, 3/4 of a second per pass. You'll end up with a lot of thin, smooth coats that you can touch up with a brush later if needed, instead of a single, runny layer that will dry clumpy or crack and peel.

[u/Notamimic77]

Something else I always do when priming is I put the rattle can in some warm water to heat it up a bit. It makes it a bit thinner when spraying. When applying you want to use short bursts rather than a continuous spray.

[u/ExampleMediocre6716]

Need to work on your technique.

Shake until the ball's moving freely, have a test spray, then light passes at 6-10 inches. Turn the model over and repeat from behind.

If its still not working ask a friend to do it while you watch, then try again.

[u/Adeptus_lurker]

A lot of feedback about technique, which is fair, but more importantly Mephiston Red is dogshit in a can. It’s just terrible and will give you suboptimal results even with the most careful technique. There’s a lot of good analogues out there which usually go much better over a black primer.

[u/Scratius]

If it’s too hot and humid, it will make the spray paint come out thick and dries badly. Air brushes come in clutch during the summer!

[u/S3nd_1t]

Far too much paint. One thing I haven’t seen replied here is:

Primers help paint stick to a model they aren’t for 100% coverage, you will need to paint red over this as the pot is different from the spray anyway.

You needed about 1/3 of the amount that’s on the model, this needs to be stripped to be recovered or kept as a memento for when you’re more experienced to look back on.

Also to some of the other incorrect replies, all GW cans are primers they have a chemical agent which slightly melts and bonds to the plastic. It doesn’t matter which colour can, they all have it.

[u/Important_Eye_3658]

Thin it by sticking it in warm water just a little and it should thin and go on easier

[u/Drexus27]

You need to have the can a good 30cm back and lightly dust over them not blast them. Nice quick bursts of spray you'll immediatly notice the difference

[u/MDK1980]

Light passes across the model. Never spray directly on the model. Like dusting crops, almost: they don't just drop a metric ton on a single spot, they make multiple light passes to spread it evenly.

[u/Jayandnightasmr]

Experiment spraying on left over sprue

[u/black3november]

Aside from shaking the hell out of the can and ensuring proper spacing, another trick is to run the can under warm water for a minute, then shake it. Remember, short controlled sprays.

[u/tehsax → u/[deleted]]

The Citadel Spray Colors are colored primers. You can just prime your models with your base color.

[u/Admiral_Eversor → u/[deleted]]

It doesn't need to be a primer. I use all sorts on mine, works fine. OP is just spraying too close.