Tamiya XF3 Yellow flaking in the cup, rough finish - to old?

[David2703]

Hi all,

 

I am trying to airbrush a yellow cowling on a P47, using Tamiya XF03 1:1 thinned with Mr Color leveling thinner, on top of a coat of Mr Surfacer 1500. The same combination works excellently on a bottle of Tamiya green I recently bought. Pressure around 15 PSI.
 

But with this bottle of yellow, there are flakes or small bits of paint that do not dissolve, be it in the mixing cup or during airbrushing, resulting in a rough, splattered finish. 
 

No idea what I am doing wrong here, except for the fact that this particular pot of XF03 is a few years old. 

I shake the bottle and mix the yellow paint in a separate cup with the thinner. But even before pouring into the airbrush I can already see the flakes.

 

I have ordered a new bottle, will be interesting to see if this fixes it. I had not thought that Tamiya had issues with shelf life like that, albeit this particular bottle was stored in rather rough conditions. 

Any tips or ideas what I could be doing better? 
 

Many thanks,

David 

Edited May 25, 2021 by David2703

[dogsbody]

Have you tried straining it, using a coffee filter or some such material? 

 

 

 

Chris