I know this has been covered before but can someone suggest a reasonable priced air brush product complete with an air compresor. Some that I have seen are well too expensive for what I want to do. I have tried using the canned propellant with little success and dont like the results.
On the general discussion page of these forums there is a recent thread about airbrushes. I’m not sure where you are, but I posted to that yesterday this same suggestion. In our area there is a chain arts and crafts store called Michaels. They had an ad in the Sunday paper with a coupon for 40% off one item. I think this is a good deal, as you could get a kit for almost half price. Or if you were going to spend say, 50.00 on the airbrush, now you could buy like an 80.00 model for the same 50.00. Now, that doesn’t help for the compressor, but you still save some money and it soften’s the blow. I have a small “husky” compressor that I bought at home depot that I am going to use. I will be going to Michaels today to look for an airbrush, I will keep you posted
Good Luck z
I was using a Badger Model 350 which is a single action airbrush with success. I finally just wore it out. They price out at about 60.00 to 70.00 dollers. I also have a Badger compressor that works well. The only issue that I have with that is that there is no shutoff switch. One you plug it in it runs.
I currently have a double action Badger Anthem 155 that sells for slightly higher as a set, but is a double action brush. The set includes bottles as well as hosing for connection to the compressor. Prior to that I had a Testers Aztek that I did not care for. It was constantly plugging up. I also had plastic parts. I have gone to Michels in my town to look at airbrushes and found them to be no cheaper than the LHS. I keep checking the Sunday ads and never see them on sale as stated above by Z. However,their sale prices may be regional.
You can also try Dick Blick Art Supplies (www.dickblick.com). They have a wide selection of brushes as well as compressors. The prices are good, but most places including Dick Blick are nailing you high shipping charges as well as adding your state tax to the cost.
well i just picked up the badger 200 deluxe set at Michaels. it was retail for 99.99, with the coupon after tax it cost me 67.00 and change. This was kind of middle of the road. They had sets from 159.00 down to 25.00. The 200 deluxe model is a single action, with internal mix. came with a couple extra jars and a can of propellant.
Camaro- if you see a sale flier from Michael’s, they usually have a coupon at the bottom of the page. This was not listed as a sale item. Check in the store, as they sometimes have the fliers at the entrance way.
Hope this helps.
Bob. Not z that must have been a typo.
Bob,
Thanks for the tip.
Larry
I’ve a Badger 200 G, GRAVITY FEED.
It’s easy to clean. And with the small cup you have not much to clean.
Wolfgang
Check out Harbor Freight Tools. They offer several airbrush packages ranging from $9.99 for a Badger 350 clone up to a set of six dual action airbrushes for about the same price as an Aztec. They also offer airbrush compressors for as little as $40 (on sale). They recently added an airbrush and compressoer package but I can’t remember the price (I believe it was around $70). I own one of their Badger 350 clones ($5.99 on sale) and one of their deluxe dual action air brushes ($14.99 on sale). Both work quiet well. I use the single action for general purpose painting and the dual action for fine details. I was able to paint consistent 1/16" wide lines with the dual action the first time I used it. While the 350 clone has a plastic body, the dual action is all metal. Best of all, if I drop or otherwise damage one of these airbrushes, I can go buy a few more and still not pay as much as for one name brand unit.
I have been airbrushing custom cars & motorcycles for over 30 years and you can’t beat the deals you’ll find in Michael’s or AC Moore. the other poster is right they have the 40% off coupons every week and once in a while they come out with 50% ones too. I recently picked up a Theyer & Chandler two stage gun in there for about $50 with the coupon. It sprays just as nice as some of my Iwata guns that sell for $250 to $300.
One thing that I ask is what are you using it for? If your just using it to spray scenery and large surfaces then all you need is a single stage airbrush which you shouldn’t pay more then $20 to $25 for if your looking to paint rolling stock or locomotives and possibly use it for weathering then a two stage is a must. More flexibility and better control of your spray pattern. You can actually paint a line as thin as you would make it with a pencil point.
Basically there are three options for an airbrush.
The cheapest and easy to use (and clean) is a single-action external-mix airbrush. Testors makes a good one for around $20. Single-action means you control the air by use of the trigger, and need to manually set the amount of paint with a set-screw or some other way. External-mix means the paint is mixed outside of the airbrush when it’s sprayed…which makes it less precise, but easier to clean (especially with acrylics).
A single-action internal-mix would be the next one. It’s still single-action so the trigger only controls the air flow, but now the paint is mixed inside the brush. This usually gets better results where a precise spray is required, but can allow your airbrush to get gummed up if you don’t thoroughly clean it immediately after use.
A double-action internal mix is the third. You mix paint inside the brush but now the trigger controls both the air and the paint flow. Often pushing down on the trigger starts the air, and then pulling back on the trigger starts the paint to flow. The farther down you press, the more air - the farther back you pull, the more paint. This allows very precise painting and is great for weathering where you want to make just a dusting of paint.
AFAIK no one makes a double-action external-mix airbrush, but I suppose it’s possible someone does or did??
Here is a very useful link to a site that should answer every question you have about air brushing and all the accessories etc. associated with it. One thing that is paramount is practice, practice, practice,
I used to go into a local train store and constantly get bagged and berated by one of the old farts who worked there because I would buy up all the “junk” used rolling stock they had on their consignment/used table. Most of the time not spending more then a $5.00 but mostly around a buck. I would use these for practicing new techniques and especially for experimenting when it came to using my air brush for weathering. So if you screw it up which I did and you will whats the harm to your wallet a dollar as apposed to a $20 or $40 piece of rolling stock. Who’s the dummy?
I would think that is a good idea, my lhs has a used bin as well. I’ve started on some old rolling stock cars to practice on myself. If you don’t like the outcome, your not out any money.
Also the up side of it is if you do have a car that comes out nice and is not necessarily a goo drunner you can alway do what I do and park them on a siding in some industry.