Airbrush Question


N

nsconductor

Member
Thinking on getting an airbrush in the near future. I dont have an air compressor or anything. What all do I need an what "approx" could I expect to spend on a decent brush and compressor. Decent as in not top of the line....but will do what I want on painting, weathering, etc. Heard that Paasche is a good brand. Only thing I'd want a compressor to be besides run the airbrush,is be able to pump up a tire. I've read that I'll need a moisture trap or two also.
 
You can buy a small compressor from harbor freight for $60-100. Some have a regulator so all you would need is a moisture trap. A decent airbrush, dual action is approx $75-100. Not top of the line but sufficent to do decent work for several years.
 
I started off not knowing a thing about airbrushes & wasted a lot of money on various different brushes, jars etc.. And by far, the best airbrush is a double action gravity fed airbrush, which looks like it has a little bowl fixed on top of the brush. They are far superior to the 'Badger' type airbrushes that have a small jar at the bottom and have to drag the paint upwards..

The double action brushes are a little dearer, but like anything, you get what you pay for, so what ever your budget is, get the best you can afford..

Something else to look out for when buying is adjustable or interchangeable needles, this will allow you to use a single airbrush to spray the finest of lines or a broad spray for model/scenery painting by just changing the needles instead of having to buy several different airbrushes.. Although having a few airbrushes 2-4 is quite handy lol...
 
For getting started, I would recommend the dual action airbrush sold by Harbor freight tools for $20. It's a clone of a $100 Badger Airbrush and works great. I have a couple and they work great!

http://www.harborfreight.com/deluxe-airbrush-kit-95810.html

Harbor Freight also has some ok compressors that will work like this,

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-8-eighth-hp-40-psi-oilless-airbrush-compressor-93657.html

But you can find better deals on E-bay if you look around. Here are a few current auctions.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MILLER-MODE...129?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item48427e6991

http://www.ebay.com/itm/airbrush-compressor-/170714161000?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27bf5b5f68

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Paasche-D50...998?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45fdf6989e
 
nsconductor said:
What type would be recommended for MR applications? Single or double action? Internal or external mix?
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Did you read through the airbrush tips link I posted?
It is very well worth reading and will answer the many questions you have and even questions you didn't know you have.
 
waltr said:
Did you read through the airbrush tips link I posted?
It is very well worth reading and will answer the many questions you have and even questions you didn't know you have.
Click to expand...

I didn't read every page, but read a couple pages and browsed through a couple. Planning to read some more on there tonight.
 
Scordicus said:
Something else to look out for when buying is adjustable or interchangeable needles, this will allow you to use a single airbrush to spray the finest of lines or a broad spray for model/scenery painting by just changing the needles instead of having to buy several different airbrushes.. Although having a few airbrushes 2-4 is quite handy lol...
Click to expand...

I would agree that the gravity feeders are in general more precise, and easier to clean. As for multiple needles & nozzles...naaah :). A good quality airbrush will have the necessary range without changing needles and nozzles. My iwata Eclipse will do a 3/4" pattern down to a fine line (about what you can get out of a .03 mechanical pencil) with the same needle & nozzle. Everyone does their own thing their own way though. As for me, I like to keep it simple, and I prefer not having to change these parts out, or having to deal with losing them or mixing them up.
 
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funnelfan said:
For getting started, I would recommend the dual action airbrush sold by Harbor freight tools for $20. It's a clone of a $100 Badger Airbrush and works great. I have a couple and they work great!

But you can find better deals on E-bay if you look around. Here are a few current auctions.
Click to expand...

The Harbor freight cheapie has a number of fans here, but I'm not one of them. It looks like a Badger Anthem, but there are internal differences, and the quality of the machining is generally poor. Overall quality can be spotty (I've talked to a number of folks on airbrush forums who have had problems with them)

I would agree with BMK that you're better off buying quality equipment. You'll only buy it once. If you have to buy at the cheapest price points (and some of us do) I'd look on e-bay for good quality used equipment rather than the throw away stuff out of Harbor Freight. Just my $2.00 worth.
 
The Harbor Freight air was reviewed in the Link I posted above. Worth reading if anyone thinks of buying one.
 
waltr said:
The Harbor Freight air was reviewed in the Link I posted above. Worth reading if anyone thinks of buying one.
Click to expand...


I read the review on the Harbor Freight airbrush on Don's page. Doesn't sound as bad as I would think for something from there. I'm thinking on picking it up tomorrow and trying it out. I went in there yesterday and looked at it since I only live 10 minutes from a Harbor Freight store. They have a kit, currently on sell for $90, has the compressor and airbrush. I don't plan on trying to do any professional airbrushing, and will even be a while before I decide to try painting a car or locomotive. By then I'll likely have a better model. I just want something for a little weathering and misc applications.

Read reviews on the compressor, some good and some bad. I'm actually more concerned about that than the actual airbrush. As I said, they have a kit available with both the airbrush and the compressor for $90. http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/air-compressors/1-5-hp-58-psi-compressor-and-airbrush-kit-95630.html


Then they have a larger compressor.....here
http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/air-compressors/1-3-hp-3-gallon-100-psi-oilless-air-compressor-97080.html

Wonder how it would do..... It's $60 and if I bought it and the airbrush, it would only be $80 and I'd have a larger compressor. Thoughts?
 
i have the harbour freight double action brush and love it. Only problems I have are when I dont thin my paint properly then it cloggs the brush. Other then that nothing to gripe about. I do want to upgrade to a much better one. I can't remember the name, but their airbrushes are green and almost have a gun trigger to it.
 
About the harbor freight air compressors. I originally bought the 3 gallon pancake compressor for about $60. While rather noisy, it did do the job. It lasted for a few years until the electric motor brushes wore out, and it's been hell trying to get replacement parts. So I picked up the smaller 1/8HP compressor off e-bay for cheap ($30 including shipping), and it also works good. But don't run it for extended periods as it will get rather hot before the thermal overload kicks in. The compressors on E-bay are much cheaper than the ones in the store, so I would purchase from there. The smaller compressor is much quieter than the larger ones, and I kinda prefer that.
 
funnelfan said:
About the harbor freight air compressors. I originally bought the 3 gallon pancake compressor for about $60. While rather noisy, it did do the job. It lasted for a few years until the electric motor brushes wore out, and it's been hell trying to get replacement parts. So I picked up the smaller 1/8HP compressor off e-bay for cheap ($30 including shipping), and it also works good. But don't run it for extended periods as it will get rather hot before the thermal overload kicks in. The compressors on E-bay are much cheaper than the ones in the store, so I would purchase from there. The smaller compressor is much quieter than the larger ones, and I kinda prefer that.
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You should look for a cooling fan on any compressor you are thinking of buying. Quality compressors have them. Junkers don't. It's all a matter of judgement I guess. You can buy the good one once, or the cheapie over and over again if you want. If you look at the long haul, you aren't saving anything on the cheap stuff. I deal in this equipment, and had some cheapies for a while. Nothing but unhappy customers by and large. I don't carry them any more. Not worth the trouble. I also custom paint, and I won't put up with iffy quality when it comes to my guns or my compressors. High quality stuff you'll only ever buy once won't cost you any more than a good locomotive (includes compressors)
 
I have the Harbor Freight small compressor and love it. Jury is still out on the airbrush that came with it, I have yet to do any large projects with it. I have so far only used it for weathering, but works like a champ.
 
Being a former rescue and recovery scuba diver, I started using my old scuba tanks as an air source when I got a paint booth and started painting in the house. They hold 80 cubic feet of air @ 3000 psi. They are heavy and cumbersome and take up a little more space. I have to make a trip to the fire department about every six months or so for a re-fill depending on how much I'm painting. The other plus is that the air is super-clean and dry so I dont have to worry about contamination. I know this set-up isnt for everybody but though this was a good way to make use of old gear and eleminate a couple of headaches. If you have the resources, USE THEM!
 
I believe I can help you with that decision. I'm an airbrush artist so I know what's good and what's not. Do yourself a favor and DO NOT buy any airbrush or compressor from Harbor freight. They are junk. Check this place out and you'll find many good brushes and compressors. http://www.tcpglobal.com/airbrushdepot/ I personally use the Iwata HP/C
and the DeVilBiss DAGR. both are great work horses and can also do fine detail. They're dual action and gravity feed. Badger also has some very good brushes. And Paasche as well.
as for compressors regardless of what brand you choose get one with a tank otherwise you'll burn up the small ones in no time. You can go to any home improvement store and
buy a good compressor. For doing model railroading you can get away with a pancake style compressor. Most importantly get a water trap and install it right after your regulator. And to help keep moisture to a minimum use about a 50 foot hose keeping most of it coiled up. This will help cool the air before reaching your brush. When choosing an airbrush you ALWAYS want to go with a name brand especially when needing parts for it. Iwata brushes are great however parts are very expensive for them.
Personally I would recommend getting a Badger dual action brush. http://www.tcpglobal.com/airbrushdepot/b-renegade-sets.aspx The Renegade series is by far the best brushes Badger makes. If you check them out you can get all 3 for around $300 The Velocity is only $103. Where as Iwata is around $180- $200. The Dagr
is also a very good brush but I'm told it's becoming a thing of the past no longer being marketed. Just remember that you get what you pay for. If it's cheap then most likely it's junk. Finally Do Not under any circumstance buy the NEO which is an Iwata knock off
made in china. It is totally junk.
 
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