Fade technique?
 

A while back I posted up some pictures of a shell I'd painted, and comment was made that I should improve the fade when using a small dot mask.
I would be grateful if someone could give me any pointers on how to achieve said fade?
Is it a matter of several thin coats? Or do I need to be using the airbrush trigger to reduce the paint flow? Do I spray across the fade? Or along the fade?
Sorry for all the questions, but any advice would be gratefully received.
Thank you

Airbrush control.

Pull back on the trigger the minimum amount. Wherever you want it to fade out, just before lift the airbrush upwards away from the shell, keeping the trigger the same. Repeat a few passes.

Spray horizontal, not vertically.

Also Tim, use the lowest pressure you can, and if that means going a bit thinner then try it.
I have to say, I've found it easier since I switched from a 0.35mm nozzle to 0.5mm.
I know that this is a "fix" rather than developing the skill to do it very fine, but it works for me 😀

Ok. Thanks chaps.
I'd like to fade along the top of the side pods of the body, using the small polka dot mask. I'm worried about paint over spray past the edge of the mask... Should I be using another mask (a piece of paper etc) to protect the rest of the body, and restrict the area available?
I'm not planning to liquid mask the entire shell, as I'm using a vinyl mask for the rest of the detail....

Cheap roll of wide paper masking tape is perfect for that. Sometimes I also tape a piece of a4 paper to prevent overspray

Post-it notes - great for masking!

When doing the mesh fade I tend to fade a line first and make sure it's FULLY cured and cool before I continue, then apply the mesh mask and at am angle sp the direction of spray is away from the masked line I turn the psi down to about 20 psi and ever so faintly build a gradual fade from the first fade line I cured before. Less is more with this effect so be careful not to overdo it. Also use a day light lamp or an led lit spray booth as I do and you can see everything so much clearer than in normal electric light and it becomes clearer how much you're laying down. When using liquid mask removing the mesh mask can be problematic if you're not careful. Always pull it in the direction away from any points or it will pull the liquid mask up.

De-tack the dotty mask by sticking the glue side on the palms of your hands a few times before laying down on the body. Greatly reduces the possibility of pulling up the liquid mask.