I received an Iwata HP-CS Airbrush fron Santa. Now I need to buy a hose and a water trap and anything else you guys can suggest. As with most things there are different kinds of all these things such as braided or plastic covered airhoses, so I am looking for recomendations. I will be using any one of four different compressors depending on what one(s) my friends or family is borrowing from me at the time.[banghead]
As always thanks.
I’d use the braided air hose. Less prone to kinking, and will take a little more abuse (i.e.: when you happen to step on it).
And if you will be using different compressors, a quick disconnect of some sort would be handy.
My airbrush setup is an economical one from Harbor Freight and a small compressor from Walmart. Braided hose is a must, it’s just far more durable. Quick disconnects are also great to have…they will save you time and frustration as you accessories grow. One complement to my airbrush…a godsend actually is an air eraser. I recommend one of those. It can enable you…with dialed down air pressure and some careful masking to remove a single letter or number from a painted car or locomotive without removing the paint underneath. I used this to renumber Bachmann cabooses without the need to repaint the cars.
Mark H
Brent,
See if you can find a Braided hose with the moisture trap built into the hose they are cylindrical in size that are part of the hose. From my experience, they work the best. I know Paasche has them and that is what I use. And they have a drain valve built in to release the moisture. You can still have one on the compressor if you so desire, just always drain the tank also.
Frank
Thanks Guys.
Frank I went to that site and loaded up the shopping cart. Their shipping was through the roof and made everything much more expensive than the local stores. Thanks for the link anyway, it was worth a shot.[:)]
Brent,
I can imagine that they are expensive, but very reliable. Anyway I more or less used it for a reference as to what I was referring to. Also the couplings and so forth that you will probably need.
Frank
BTW: I also keep forgetting you live in Canada and have to consider shipping charges.
Although I made my own out of a copper reducing coupling and 350 mesh stainless steel screen, I find that STRAINING the paint prior to filling the color cup or jar essential.
http://www.micromark.com/strainer-funnels-set-of-3,8343.html
Micromark used to have disposable strainers that fit the suction tube but I don’t see them anymore but these strainer funnels look similar to the ones I made. There’s nothing worse than having the tip clog with a tiny piece of glop that was in the jar. Especially true with water based acryllics which seem to accumulate more goop than solvent based paints. Either way, a small investment in some kind of strainer will help keep the tip from clogging.
Take care, Ed
Hi Brent:
Santa was pretty nice to you. You will have a lot of fun with that airbrush.
I’m not sure if you have a spray booth or are planning on buying one, but one thing I did with my setup was to put a second pressure gauge right on top of my booth so I can fine tune the pressure without having to go to the compressor:
The booth was scratch built using a 16" square box fan, furnace filters of the same size and plywood. There is a light inside:
Don’t forget to vent it properly.
Dave
Well I found a place that has really good prices on all the stuff I wanted and ordered last night.
Free shipping to boot. I have already had three tracking updates from Canada Post.
Ed, I already have a bunch of paint strainers left over from my R/C airplane days, so I am good to go on that front. Even when using a regular brush to paint I hated getting globs on the brush.
Dave, I kept an old stove hood with a spray booth in mind. It has five speeds so should hopefully work reasonably well.
One of the first things I want to paint with the airbrush is my track. I have the Rusty Rails painter that I think works great on the rails and highly recommend it if the rails is all you want to do. However when I take photo’s, the unpainted ties jump out at me and are a sore spot. As I go along on the layout I find my self at times having to decide if I want something to look good to the eye or for the camera. Sometimes you can’t have it both way’s.[sigh]