You folks helped me with an issue awile back on the nominal width of a city street and I really appreciated the information. Now I’m back with another question–what brand and model of compressor would you recommend for someone just learning how to use an airbrush. I don’t think I want to buy a top-of-the-line unit and then find out airbrushing is just something I can’t or don’t want to do. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jim
Until you decide whether or not an airbrush is right for you, why not use cans of compressed air instead of buying a compressor? One member of our train club used to use a spare tire as a portable air source for his airbrush, and would then pump it back up with a larger compressor at his house. I don’t know what he would have done if he had a flat tire on his way back home, though. Another possibility would be to buy an inner tube for a car tire, and inflate it. After you experiment with these temporary air sources, then you can start looking for an air compressor if you decide that you like the airbrush. One thing I would never try to use for an airbrush, though, is one of those emergency air compressors that run off of a car’s cigarette lighter socket, because they have no air reservoir or filter, and don’t give you a constant, even pressure,
Jim,
Before buying a smaller shop compressor, I got real tired of dragging my nail gun one down to the basement, I would fill an air tank for air brushing. This particular tank is like the service station type. I would fill it to 120 lb - this would last for about 2-3 complete spray jobs. I still use it for various paint jobs where setting up a compressor is too much work. Of coarse using the small shop one is a pleasure- flip a switch and paint away. The tire or tube method is a waste of time. You can gain only volume with very little pressure in no time the pressure will start to equilize w/ the regulated/ spraying pressure causing the airbru***o perform poorly.
Bob K.
If you’re willing to spend the additional bucks, the best multi-use compressor for the small shop is something along the lines of a Makita “hot dog.” However, there is one significant drawback to using a purpose built “shop/construction” compressor as opposed to an airbrush compressor - the shop compressor is a lot noisier. You can get one for anywhere from about $100 to about $200, and use them for filling air toys, inflating bicycle tires and bouncy balls, keeping your car and motorcycle tires properly inflated, airbrushing and touch-up painting, blowing off your worksurfaces. They’re portable, very durable if properly cared for, tough, and can be resold if need be to a much larger market than an airbrush compressor.
But they are noisier.
Go with a larger compressor an you can run a lot more airtools with it, but along with larger comes reduced portability. Take a look at compressors at your local Borg (big box, aka Home Depot/Lowes/Menards/???) or Sears.
I might be out thinking my brain but if you use a air tool type compressor, how are you regulating or reducing the pressure to suit the airbrush?
Jim. Some smaller general purpose compressors ( air tool type) are not much more $ than air bru***ype and have alot more uses. They have an air supply tank so they do not run constantly, I use one for my air brush. My compressor (smaller type with wheels so it can be moved if need be even taken outside) is in a work shop behind my garage, my modeling room is on the opposite side of the house. Air hose can be purchased wather cheeply at Harbor Freight, i ran air hose to my hobby room which is by my train room. I have a regulator & moisture filter at the compressor, i use a regulator at my paint booth to cut down the air pressure. From there i can run another hose to the train room to use it in there and no compressor noise.
Larry
I also use a small air tank. You can get a regulator and filter for them cheap. They last quite awhile between fills, and are completely silent. Instead of using a dedicated compressor,you can get a small regular type compressor, and still use it to inflate basketballs and tires when needed.
Perhaps someone could answer this to stop my confusion. Alot of the compressors at Wal-Mart, Home Depot etc (the ones with the tanks and really good price points) are oil lubricated. I’ve noticed that all the hobby ones seem to be oilless. Is there a danger of oil getting into the airline if you use the former for airbrushing models? Or is the lube being done somewhere other than the pistons? Or is there an oil trap somewhere in the line? I know silly question, but the thought of throwing a drop of oil (even if it is only one in a thousand chance) has me leaning towards getting one of the hobby compressors.
Jim,
Any of these compressors that you contemplate buying will have some type of regulator. I use a filter/ drier in line and have never had any problems. If the compressor doesn’t have even the separator bowl (glass or plastic) just add one. Even the Emglow or Hitachi compressors that I use professionally, those plastic or weak regulators are always changed out in no time with more reliable/ durable ones at reasonable cost.
Bob K.
If you go the shop (general use) compressor route, be aware that some compressors have an oil sump while others are oil free. You want to stick with the oiless designs. They can still be used with most air tools if they have the capacity. Since hobby spray painting is relatively low pressure and low flow, any size compressor witha tank will suffice.
Leon,
What are the disadvantages of an oil sump? Will some oil work its way into the air supply? Would a moisture trap or filter stop that? Seems that any risk of throwing oil onto a paint job would be too much.
Moisture/ water droplets are far more a problem than oil for fouling a paint job. Even under severe contiuous CFM use blowguns, body work DA or air files would you encounter oil beginning to mix with the moisture. A regulator and filter/ drier would prevent this. Pick the compressor of choice- oil less is nice but not nec.
Bob K.
Bob K.
Thanks for the information. I’ve seen those compressors at Wal-Mart, Target etc. and always wondered if they would work. Gosh darn it, guess I’m going to spend some money this weekend!!
Dave
I work as an industrial maintenance tech and we have air compressors up to 350 horsepower. I however do not have any experience with air brushes , but do have some with automotive painting. Most of what we as modelers/ homeowners will be doing can be more than well done using a small compressor from Wal-mart/lowe’s/ homedepot. You can buy oil/water seperators and pressure regulators at most any big box or auto parts store. I am in the building /planning stage of my layout, and have a 3 horsepower compressor from lowes with a 15 gallon tank that will power my airbrush when the time comes, and if water or oil become a problem i’ll get a filter/seperator at that time. It doesn’t have to be fancy it just has to work for me. I guess what my long winded speech is saying is for my money get something universal, you’ll never regret having more air than you need as you will find more ways to use it in the long run.
As before, you folks have been extremely helpful and I appreciate it. As it happens, I do have a compressor for use with air tools, airing up my truck and tractor tires, etc. I just didn’t know if it could be used for airbrushing because of it’s size. Now that I have been educated a bit more, it seems I need to acquire a moisture trap and filter and start practicing. One more question–about how much paint is normally used in painting ,say, an HO scale box car one color? Again, many thanks for all of your help.[:)]
Just an FYI, if anyone is looking for a compressor – I was in WalMart over the weekend, and they’ve reduced the price of the Campbell Hausfeld oil-less compressor w/2 gallon tank to about $64. Of course I got one, and I’m glad I did! It’s much easier to control the airbrush with constant/regulated air than it was from the propellant cans.
What is the proper PSI to run the compressor at for the airbru***o work properly? i have a craftsman compressor and want to use it for my badger airbrush. Any help would be great. Thanks
This is for the old farts reading this thread - old farts (or nearing old fart status) like me. I like the small compressors for one very important reason. I have to move mine around a lot. I do most of my air brushing outside - I have no inside specialized area for air brushing; by the way, most do their air brushing outside for the same reason. If I have described you - an old fart and air brushing outside - you might prefer the smaller compressors because if you have ever worked with the “real” compressors, they’re a young man’s tool; their weight is just too cumbersome. Now I know some 99 year old is going to come on here and say he handles a 60 pound air compressor with no problems, but he’s the exception that proves the rule.
Don’t know what it is for solvent-based lacquers like Floquil, but for acrylic paints like PollyS the recommendation is 20-30psi. If memory serves from watching the Kalmbach Airbrush & Scenery DVD, they said this is higher than for solvent-based paints, so I’m guessing for those it would be 15psi or so.
rsn48:
Infomation from a 58 year old fart to another. I just purchased a $90 Duralux Air Compressor kit from Target that included a pneumatic nailer. It weighs 80 pounds but has wheels and a handle. Since I want to use from paint spraying, I purchased an inline moisture separator from Walmart for $12.00