Am considering airbrushing; its applications. Would like suggestion/recommendations/tips re type of airbrush. Also, would like similar recommendations/tips re solvent-based paints vs acrylic/water-based paints and their respective and appropriate applications. Thanks [:)]
G’man
I know I’ll get flamed for this opinion but I’d recommend checking out Harbor Freight Tools for both airbrushes and compressors. They offer a clone of the Badger 350 single action airbrush for around $10. While it doesn’t include all the extras that come with the genuine Badger unit it works rather well if kept clean. HFT also offers a nice all-metal dual action airbrush for under $20. This airbrush is better suited to fine detail work and has the advantage of being able to spray very small batches of paint using the color cup. I own both units and do all my general spray painting and detailing with them. Best of all, I could screw up several and still not pay as much for a brand name unit. If nothing else, buy these to learn how to airbrush and also which type you prefer. THEN go out and buy the name brand version you decide upon.
HFT regularly offers small contractor style compressors with storage tanks for as little as $40. Sure, they’re a little noisy but a long air hose can allow you to locate the compressor in an empty room while you paint in another room. They also sell airbrush style compressors for far less than name brand units as well as a kit including a dual action airbrush and airbrush style compressor for under $100. Yes, you’ll here from plenty claiming it is all junk but, based on the success I have enjoyed with these products, I suspect the nay-sayers never quite understood how to use them properly and would have similar problems with name brand stuff.
Keep in mind that you will have to experiment with any airbrush/compressor/paint combination until you find what works for each type of paint, thinner and painting project. Whatever paint is sprayed, it will need to be thinned to the consistency of water. Otherwise, it will just clog the airbrush. I like to use acrylic paints because they dry quickly and are fairly easy to clean up. I generally use around
For the general type of airbrush, I would recommend a double action, internal mix, gravity feed type. It has a paint cup on the top that you add the paint to. This type of brush is the easiest to clean in my opinion because it doesn’t HAVE to be taken apart for cleaning every time you use it. You can flush it out with cleaner right from the cup. As long as there is wet paint in the cup, there is wet paint in the chamber of the airbrush so it won’t dry out if you happen to leave it sit for a while.
As for paints, acrylics are the easiest to clean up after. However, the needle and tip needs to be a large size. Most brands of airbrushes have different size tips and needles. Just get the largest set they have.
A good cleaning fluid for an airbrush that uses acrylic paint is a cheap window cleaner with ammonia. After using the ammonia type cleaner, be sure to wash the airbrush out with water as this type of cleaner may etch the metal after a while.
I used to use rattle cans for painting all the plastic cars and locos for years. I got a great deal on a brass PRR loco that was un- painted. I decided to finally get an air brush. I bought a Paasche Millennium air brush set and absolutely love it. I power it with my old pancake compressor.
Since it is a brass model I painted it with Scalecoat 1 paint. Scalecoat 1 is intended to be baked on. After painting I set the oven for 200 degrees and baked it for 2 hours. It dried very glossy and really really nice. The gloss finish allowed me to decal without a gloss over coat. I have not finished the decals yet but I do have the clear flat also from Scalecoat. I have sprayed some Pollyscale paint through it and it also comes out great.
Get a cheap Chinese airbrush if you want to but I had researched this for awhile before buying the Paasche. There are quite a few unsatisfied people that had tried the cheap brush. I figure if I want a good finish I might as well have a decent brush. Google airbrush sites and you will see. My Paasche was bought off E-bay from a reputable dealer with lots of positive feedback. I payed $57 with free shipping and had it in 3 days at my door.
Pete
Another (fairly) cheap starter set is the Ultimate Airbrush Set with Compressor from Testors. MSRP is $270, but you can find it on line for a little more than half that.
Compressor is no great shakes, but I got several good years out of mine.
I love the ergonomic design and detachable paint cups of the Aztek models, so much so that when I replaced this starter one, I replaced it with a high-end A470.
And it comes with a cleaning station.
I only use acrylics, so I can’t comment on the solvent based paints, but this one worked well with all the supplied nozzles.
G’man.
There are a lot of good air brush sets out there. As mentioned, Harbor Freight has some good starter sets. The $20 deluxe set is a good start. You are going to need a small compressor and a regulator. Your can spray lacquer based paint(like Floquit or Scalecoat) at 15-20 lbs of pressure. Acrylics need about 18-25 lbs. Make sure you mix the paint with the correct thinner to a consistency of ‘milk’. Badger acrylic is ‘air brush’ ready, most others will depend on the color/pigments.
I have been converting over to acrylic and I have found that the ‘mix’ is much more important. And you must clean out the air brush immediately!
Jim
I’m with the other guys here! I looked at the Badger $200 models and looked at harbor freights $20 “Kit”. I bought the Harbor Freight $20 betting that if it was terrible I was only out $20. I can’t find any reason to buy the overpriced badger guns! Other than you just want to be able to say you have one.
I’ve been a custom painter since 1974. I have gravity feed double action brushes, straight Passche H’s, a couple of real nice Badger XFs, about 10 altogether. I’ve gotten pretty good with them too![;)] Each one is set up to do one job, and one job only.
The brush that I have used most often the past 5 years is the $20 one from HF. I’ve never had any difficulty with it at all, and I even read the article where the painter said he “had” to rebuild it to get it to function properly. I still don’t understand why he went thru so much trouble on a $20 tool. If it presented so much trouble to him, he should have returned it, and got another. Sometimes even a new Mercedes is a lemon.
The biggest mistake that I have seen in the use of the airbrush, is that most people are trying to do too much with one based on their skill level. Here’s a pic of a brass loco I painted with it several years ago. Even did all the light weathering on it with it.
As my Dad, who was a carpenter said, its not the tool, but the idiot behind it that causes the problems. They rarely do it on their own.