Making good Masking

[doctorwayne]

Basically-

Fluted Area- Chrome

Flat Area- Stainless Steel

Window band- Black/Dark Gray

The Whole car- GLoss Black base Coat

My mistake GEC: I didn't realise that the smooth area also needed to have the gloss black applied first.
You said that the Alclad is very well-thinned - perhaps you could paint the entire car gloss black, then paint the stainless steel colour on the flat area without masking. You could hold a paper or cardstock mask over the majority of the fluted area to prevent too much overspray. When the stainless steel paint is fully cured, mask over it, then apply another coat of gloss black over the fluted area in order to cover any overspray of the stainless steel paint from the previous step. When that's dry, apply the chrome paint to the fluted area. After that's cured and the masking tape removed, you'll need only to mask the flat area in order to paint the black area around the front windows - no masking at all on the fluted areas.

The main area of concern appears to be the part # 41-027. At the end of this part, where the tip assemly screws in, there are two holes. One large centered hole where the pin fits through, and then one much smaller hole offset to the left that appears to be where the paint is sucked in from. I have not managed to be able to effectively work a pipe cleaner or other implement all the way through this hole, but I strongly suspect there is paint stuck in there.

Regardless, I'm going to check the airbrush again. I may be missing something.

Okay, the large centred hole will accept a pipe cleaner, so it's probably the smaller one that's causing the problem. Use a small diameter brass wire (Detail Associates offers soft brass wire in various diameters) to gently probe the smaller hole. If it's the cause of the trouble, the other end of that passageway should also be visible somewhere on the body of the airbrush and you may be able to attack from both ends. I'd suggest avoiding the use of steel wire unless you can't make progress with the softer brass, which is less likely to scar the inside of the passage. If you have to resort to steel, use piano (music) wire - it's flexible enough to go around turns without becoming permanently bent. If you discover a blockage in this manner, remember to give that area special attention every time you clean your airbrush.

Wayne