Been having a somewhat frustrating time since last night, trying to spray the Dark Earth.
After spending over an hour masking the underside demarcation, I prepped the airbrush in my usual fashion, spraying neat thinners to ensure everything worked, and that the spray pattern was how I wanted it, and then mixed the paint and thinners, ready for spraying.
The first couple of passes, on the rudder, where fine, and then the airbrush refused to spray.
Empty the paint cup, strip down, clean and check and carry on spraying.
Same result, and I figured that the clutch, or the needle locking nut was slipping, or both, as the 'brush was really struggling.
So, having had enough, I gave up for the night, cleaned up, stripped, cleaned and re-assembled the 'brush, and went to bed.
Tried again today, mixing a new batch of paint and thinners, and had the same problem - the 'brush was really struggling, rather like trying to push a length of string uphill. More stripping, cleaning and adjusting, and it would spray, unevenly, and then struggle once again, and at one point, I could feel air escaping from somewhere, although only lightly, and moisture collecting in the in-line water trap / filter.
Having checked all the connections, I knew these were fine, so perhaps the braided hose is worn, and letting in moisture from the air. (no problem, I have another couple of brand new hoses).
I persevered for a while ( a while = around two hours !) managing to get a rather patchy, thin coat on the fuselage and the port wing, with the 'action' of the 'brush being constantly adjusted to cope, and then I noticed that the trigger was getting rather stiff, finally packing up altogether.
And to cap it all, as I went to replace the lid on the paint tin, I knocked it over, spilling half the contents of a brand new tin of Dark Earth !
Needless to say, the component parts of the airbrush are now spread around various parts of the room, having bounced off at least two of the walls at a fair rate of knots !!!
Fortunately, this was a cheap, temporary replacement I got nearly two years ago, after being burgled when, among other things, my compressor and other airbrushes were stolen, so no major loss, and I guess that after two years' use, I've had my money's worth.
So, I've ordered another 'brush, which hopefully will be with me by early next week (why does this sort of thing always seem to happen on a weekend ??!!), but it means that this stage of the build has temporarily stalled, although I suppose I can get on with the prop and undercart.
The pics below show the situation to date, with the (still wet) paint looking patchy. The two small patches on the starboard aileron give some idea of how poorly the paint was spraying.