Also what about Compressors?
Can you use a big compressor or does it have to be a small one built just for Airbrushes?
I have a 2 Gallon (No Oil) from Harbor Freight I use to inflate my Tires and for some small Air Tools.
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Just my thoughts, without any actual experience, I would try to stay with a name brand air brush, they may not be āCheapā, but they arenāt in the thousands of dollars range.
I would be skeptical of the quality of the nozzles on cheap air brushes, where precision can make a difference in the results, and in something like painting model railroad equipment, it could make a difference in the results.
A hammer or screwdriver from HF, isnāt going to matter, something like an air brush???
Just me, I would opt for the better tool, YMMV
I donāt think a larger compressor should be a problem, the pressure regulator is where you want to watch your quality, make sure that it has the right pressure range, and is consistent in regulating the pressure.
As to the oil lubricated vs oilless, I would expect oilless to be desirable, but I canāt say for certain that it matters, and imagine that a suitable filter is likely available for less cost than a new dedicated compressor, if you already have a large compressor
Just my thoughts, someone else might know better than I
Doug
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As long as it can deliver required cfm at desired psi use anything you want, oiless is preferred.
A regulator should be employed.
Iāve used cheap airbrushes before, dual action should be a higher quality because the cheap ones donāt seem to have smooth action on the trigger as the better ones. Single action on the other hand, the cheaper the better.
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Iāve been using a Badger 350 single action for over 40 years. I bought a dual action at some point, but rarely use it. Too much of a hassle to clean the thing. If I had to buy a new one, Iād go for a 350ā¦ A lifetime investment.
Simon
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OIlless compressor, definitely. You donāt mention a reservoir but drawing air from a pressurized tank, even one as small as 2 to 5 gallons, will give smoother and more consistent results. My experiences with no-name cheap airbrushes have been poor. Connections may leak, spray tips may be poorly formed, triggers can have loose, unpredictable action. Spare parts like O-rings may not be obtainable.
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Can you examine these parts you mention with a āNo-Nameā airbrush and visually
inspect that the airbrush is poor quality & no good? Or do you just have to depend on
and trust a proven name brand?
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In my 21 years of HO scale modeling, I never had a need for an airbrush until just over a year ago when I wanted to paint some silver colored Walthers Mainline passenger cars into six red and gray and six black and gold Monon passenger cars.
I got a lot of advice on this forum and finally decided to buy a Central Pneumatic compressor from Harbor Freight to go along with a Central Pneumatic airbrush that was gifted to me by a fellow modeler.
The Central Pneumatic airbrush and compressor were definitely what modelers would call ācheapiesā. But I would rate this cheapy tools as excellent. As someone who had never airbrushed before, my experience was highly satisfactory.
Harbor Freight no longer carries the Central Pneumatic airbrush and compressor, but HF does sell an Avanti kit. I wouldnāt hesitate to purchase it based upon my experience with the Central Pneumatic.
As far as cleaning the airbrush, I found it simple to do. After every spray of every different color, I would tear down the airbrush and clean every part. Took me less than 5 minutes each time. I have never had a problem.
Rich
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No, just visually inspecting an airbrush or a compressor is not going to tell you the quality level of either tool. However, Harbor Freight has a 90-day return policy if you are not satisfied, and I believe that you can rely on that return policy, if necessary.
Rich
Echoing what Simon says, I used a good double-action / internal mix airbrush back when you used like Floquil or Scalecoat with paint thinner. A hassle to clean up, but it workedā¦until acrylic paints came along. They gummed up the airbrush so bad I gave up and bought a ābottom of the lineā Badger single-action / external mix that worked well enough for my needs.
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Are you saying the acrylics gummed up the airbrush?
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I will echo that question because thinned acrylics are all that I use, and I have absolutely no problem with thinned paint gumming up the airbrush.
I have had very limited experience with my HF airbrush/compressor combo but so far so good. Itās been a good starter set for sure. Iād recommend it.
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Besides the Harbor Freight Airbrush at about $30, (on sale now for $23)
https://www.harborfreight.com/03-mm-gravity-feed-dual-action-airbrush-59292.html
Walmart has a few low cost Airbrushes, some come with multiple nozzle parts from around $40.
SORRY-"No LinkāWalmart wonāt let me post the Link here and keeps asking if I am a Robot.
Does anyone here know if the Walmart ones are as good or better than the Harbor Freight airbrush?
Thanks
BBF
Yes. The early ones like Badger were thinned with water; they didnāt have special thinners like they do now. If you say left a jar out with the lid off, it would dry into sort of a rubber mass. I never had trouble cleaning up the airbrushes after using thinner-based paint like Floquil, but apparently could never quite get all the Badger paint out of the airbrushes and they quit working.
I tried switching to a cheap external mix airbrush and it worked pretty good, but eventually 100% switched to hobby spray can paint like Tamiya. With their fine-spray nozzle the result was (IMHO) better than the cheap airbrush.