Avoid these 5 airbrushing mistakes on non-absorbent surfaces.

Over the past few days, I’ve received several questions about problems that occurred while airbrushing on non-absorbent surfaces. From these questions, some clear patterns emerged, and I encouraged those who reached out to pay close attention to a few fundamental aspects.

Getting into airbrushing and starting with small practice jobs means very little if there is no solid working method behind it. Even if you’re a hobbyist.

There are five mistakes you simply cannot afford to make, because they almost guarantee a poor result.

1) Don’t even start if you don’t know what type of surface you’re working on

I’m often sent photos of airbrushing jobs showing defects that appeared during the process and completely compromised the final outcome.

My very first question is always:

“What material is the surface made of?”

Many people don’t actually know, because they assume that once they’ve learned how to use an airbrush, the same approach works on every surface.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Laminate kitchen

Do not start any job if you don’t clearly understand the nature of the substrate.

Others reply vaguely:

“It’s a white cabinet.”

And I ask again:

“But made of what? Metal? And if so, is it painted or bare?

If it’s not metal, what is it? Wood? And if it’s wood, is it painted, veneered, or covered with a plastic laminate—the material commonly referred to as Formica?”

Because beginner airbrushers are usually in a hurry, while I’m still asking these questions to provide the right guidance, the adventurous newcomer has already finished the job, and is now dealing, unfortunately, with consequences which, as you can imagine, are almost always disastrous.

Acrylic enamel

Knowing exactly what the surface is made of allows you to define the correct preparation process, choose the right workflow, and select the appropriate products.

There is no room for compromise here, unless you’re willing to accept poor-quality results, visible defects, and a complete waste of time and money.

If the cabinet is made of metal, the first thing to check is whether it has already been painted.

If it has, you then need to determine whether it was coated with nitrocellulose paint or powder coating.

In the first case, you can scuff the surface, degrease it, and proceed with airbrushing.

In the second case, the approach must be completely different.

Powder coating, unlike liquid coatings (water-based or solvent-based), is applied dry using synthetic resin powders sprayed with an electrostatic gun.

After application, the object is baked in an oven, where the powder melts and polymerizes, forming a thick, extremely durable coating.

On a powder-coated surface, you cannot airbrush directly, even after scuffing and degreasing, or the paint will eventually lift and peel.

The surface must first be isolated using a dedicated two-component epoxy primer.

Formica cabinet

What if the cabinet is laminated, perhaps with Formica?

That introduces another issue: you need to know what Formica actually is before doing anything.

Formica is the patented name of a plastic laminate produced by hot-pressing layers of paper impregnated with phenolic or melamine resins.

Because of its resistance to heat, chemicals, and abrasion, it is widely used in furniture and for coating wood-based panels such as particleboard, MDF, honeycomb panels, and similar materials.

Formica can be repainted, but only if suitable products are used—for example, a high-quality solvent-based enamel that ensures proper adhesion once fully cured.

This kind of preliminary assessment is essential for any project:

from helmets and fuel tanks to computer cases, phone covers, and more.

2) Don’t use paints that are unsuitable for the job

If you don’t know what material you’re decorating, you cannot choose the correct paint.

The Formica-covered cabinet is a perfect example: walking into a DIY store and buying a water-based enamel to paint Formica means creating a plastic film that will peel off the moment you apply masking tape.Formica simply does not allow this type of paint to bond properly.

The results are obvious. Whenever you purchase a product, always check its technical data sheet, which clearly states:

• compatible substrates

• application methods

• thinning ratios (and which thinner to use)

• drying and curing times

  
  

3) Don’t use paints that are unsuitable for airbrush spraying

f you browse specialized airbrush paint suppliers, you may have noticed that airbrush-specific paints are often more expensive than paints intended for other techniques, such as brush painting or palette knife work.

The reason is simple: pigments in airbrush paints are ground much finer.Standard paints are milled for brush application and are not suitable for airbrushes with nozzle sizes smaller than 0.5–0.6 mm.

Some paints come in paste form, such as Maimeri Polycolor, and people sometimes assume they can solve the problem by thinning them with water. But if the pigment particles are still too large for the nozzle, thinning won’t help—the paint still won’t spray correctly.

The same applies to many water-based paints.

If you own paints like these, don’t attempt to spray them through nozzles smaller than 0.5–0.6 mm, and only after proper pre-thinning.

4) Scuffing does not mean stripping the surface to bare material

All non-absorbent surfaces must be prepared so that the airbrushed paint film can anchor properly and remain stable over time.This preparation is a superficial mechanical process known as scuffing.

It should never be confused with paint finish.

For example, when buying spray paint, you’re asked whether you want a gloss or matte finish.Finish refers to how the paint reflects light—not to how the surface is prepared.

Maimeri Polycolor

Both gloss and matte surfaces, when intended for airbrush decoration, must be mechanically scuffed using fine-grit sandpaper or gray Scotch-Brite pads.

Scuffing should be minimal.

The goal is only to remove a very thin surface layer, creating a satin texture that allows subsequent paint layers to bond correctly.

You should never strip the surface down to bare material. If that happens, you’ll need to reapply primer, because working directly on raw material (for example, bare metal on a fuel tank) is never acceptable.

5) Apply a primer layer when necessary

When should you apply a primer or an adhesion promoter?

If the material is raw and uncoated, primer is always required. You must select the correct primer based on the substrate, plastic primer, metal primer, and so on, preferably from a manufacturer that provides clear technical documentation.

If the surface is already painted, primer is usually not necessary. In this case, scuffing, cleaning, degreasing, and then decorating are sufficient—provided the existing base color works with your design.

If, however, the base color is unsuitable for the subject you intend to paint, primer becomes essential.

For example:if you need to paint a seascape with a blue sky and white clouds on a helmet that’s painted black, applying a white primer base is unavoidable—and it will make the entire painting process far easier and more controllable.