Looking for some recommendations on what make and type of airbrush to purchase, I have never used one. Looking to do just some basic painting, mainly landscaping and also some weathering on trains. Also I am a woodworker and use a compressor for my nail guns and staplers, can I use the same compressor for an airbush?
I believe that if you put the word airbrush in the forum search box you’ll get a bunch of hits regarding somebody’s favorite airbrush, from the Harbor Freight cheapies to the more expensive name brands.
Concerning your existing compressor, yes you can use that assuming it has an air tank and you connect a moisture trap/filter and suitable regulator to get you down to air brush pressure range (less than 30 psig).
I am very happy with my Badger 150. I bought it 3 years ago. I’m using a Husky air compressor, (with a 20-ish gal vertical tank). I use a second regulator and moisture trap for the airbrush; I turn the pressure down to about 60 psi on the tank and spray at about 15 psi. (I find paint goes into corners better).
I use a shop air compressor also. I added a second air brush regulator off the output of the tank regulator. This second regulator was attached to my workbench by the paint booth. Then I ran an air hose from the tank regulator to the AB regulator and plugged it in when air brushing.
My air brush of choice is an internal mix gravity fed type.
An ‘air brush’ is only part of the cost to air brushing models. You will need a small compressor that than put out 20-30 lbs of air pressure, a regulator and a hose for starters. If you just want to get your feet ‘wet’, the Harbor Tools dual action air brush is a good value. They have a decent dual action internal mix air brush for around $20-25. They sell a compressor/regulator/hose & dual action air brush for under $100 as a package deal.
There are better air brushes out there. I have a pair of Badgers. You can spend over $100 real easy and that is just the air brush. My Badgers have better control, and can spray a fine/tight pin stripe, but for laying down paint on a model - That Harbor Freight air brush will do just fine.
Now - How do you use/clean the air brush? That is where most folks go wrong. You need to ‘thin’ your paint with an appropriate thinner to the consistency of 2% milk. Paint can vary from color to color due to the various pigments. Each color will need to be thinned. Note that Badger acrylic paint is mixed to be ‘air brush ready’ - Other may not be. Floquil(both solvent and acrylic based) paints will need to be thinned as they vary with the color pigments used. Floguil solvent based paints can be thinned with lacquer thinner. Their Polly Scale acrylics can be thinned with either water or 71% alcohol. If you go the water route, used distilled or purified water(like bottled or from the fridge). This will get rid of any mineral spotting when painting.
Now the most important part of using an air brush - Cleaning it! Clean it out with the correct thinner as soon as you get done painting(not after you have pulled masking tape/gone to the fridge for a soda/etc…). The paint wil