Why does my spray paint not look right?

[dariang]

Hey all, I've been working on an Iron Man Mk7 suit this past year, 3d printed on ABS, and I'm finally on the painting stage, but am having issues getting my spray paint to look like it does on the caps of the bottles. Can anyone please help with some tips?

As you can see in the photo, I'm testing it out on see-through spoons. I painted the backs of the spoons and the left one shows what it looks from the other side of the spoon, and you can see how it's supposed to look there. But the right spoon shows you what it looks like on the surface. I've tried various techniques, distances, multiple layers vs single layers, but I feel like I'm missing something key, or some combination of methods. Any help?!

- Am I spraying too close?
- Am I spraying too far away?
- Am I doing too many layers? Too few?
- I only sanded it to about 220 grit before putting grey primer paint on, and didn't sand anything after the primer. Should I sand at like 600-1000 grit over the primer?

Thank you everyone!

 

[Axlotl]

You probably should sand your primer, and spray on a base coat of something glossy, like black or white, so you can see if it needs more sanding.
Multiple layers of light misting will give your finish a dusty texture. That's what it looks like is happening here. Little paint blobs will stick to other little paint blobs, and you get that orange peel texture. Practice laying down one good solid coat, without overspraying and causing runs. It can be done, but takes practice.
Also, metallic paints rarely look like they're depicted on the caps.

 

[JPH]

Spray slower.

Take a deep breath and watch as you spray.
If your target looks like a bunch of islands of paint on your sea of background, you are sweeping too fast.

Start high and work down. If you start low and put down too much paint, you will get layers of tears (crying). If you can paint your target upside down, I find that helps.

I go through the same thing everytime I come back to spray painting.

Now we request photos. Photos no less, nudge nudge

 

[dariang]

You probably should sand your primer, and spray on a base coat of something glossy, like black or white, so you can see if it needs more sanding.
Multiple layers of light misting will give your finish a dusty texture. That's what it looks like is happening here. Little paint blobs will stick to other little paint blobs, and you get that orange peel texture. Practice laying down one good solid coat, without overspraying and causing runs. It can be done, but takes practice.
Also, metallic paints rarely look like they're depicted on the caps.

Thank you! I'll try this out on some more spoons.

Spray slower.

Take a deep breath and watch as you spray.
If your target looks like a bunch of islands of paint on your sea of background, you are sweeping too fast.

Start high and work down. If you start low and put down too much paint, you will get layers of tears (crying). If you can paint your target upside down, I find that helps.

I go through the same thing everytime I come back to spray painting.

Now we request photos. Photos no less, nudge nudge

Thank you for the tips. Here are some current photos.

This is him right now. Everything is 100% scaled except for the helmet which is 110% because I have a fat head. He's about 6'2"ish.
Printed on gold ABS, and primed with grey paint.

Just gotta print and build the hands although I'm having a hard time finding the best files for them.

 

[dariang]

You probably should sand your primer, and spray on a base coat of something glossy, like black or white, so you can see if it needs more sanding.

Is the glossy paint undercoat just to see if it needs more sanding? Or will a glossy undercoat also make the final layer of paint apply better?

 

[Axlotl]

Is the glossy paint undercoat just to see if it needs more sanding? Or will a glossy undercoat also make the final layer of paint apply better?

Mostly just to be sure you have a perfectly smooth surface - essential for a good finish with metallic paints.

 

[renaissance_man]

Preparation of your surface is key to a great paint finish.
Paint wont hide imperfections it will highlight them.