Clear gloss is tricky stuff

Since I was at my workbench anyway, the last thing I did with the airbrush was try some more gloss-coating the submarine. I sprayed it 1) thinned with the dedicated thinner, 2) straight from the bottle and 3) thinned with water.

I'm not sure if there was residue from the previous paint or just something iffy, but the first minute it sprayed light and decent (would need 4 coats to cover, but I can live with that), but then it started acting up again. Thinning with water was too runny. It's all dried up now and there's a big dry blob on the bottom of the nose, where it all pooled up.

Nothing a little sanding won't fix, I hope. Anyway, I know now that there's a "sweet" spot for thinning clear gloss (NOT with water) that I have to aim for and if it starts spraying a milky white sheen, I have to stop immediately.

I guess I can officially declare this sub a test-kit, because I doubt I'll ever get it the way I want it. Since all my kits have to be clearcoated at some point, best to keep practicing on the same model until I get it right.