Im looking at getting into doing some air brush painting. I have some brass and pot metal (Bowser and Mantua) locomotives that I would like to paint along with doing some weathering and painting of structures and rolling stock. Ive never used an air brush before but have painted cars with a spray gun, albeit the paint job wasnt very good, I do know where I went wrong. At any respect, what are some good mid level brushes that could be bought for a reasonable price ( $65 - $100)? I realize that there are different nozzle sizes and whatnot also. To add to it I plan on occasionally using this airbrush for painting other things, such as some simple graphics on guitars or perhaps some simple things onto some wood working things that I make. I have learned the hard way from my music equipment that buying the cheap stuff will just leave you frustrated and do a poor job. Any suggestions of brushes?
What about single vs dual acting? Right now Im sort of leaning towards single acting because it would be simpler to use, but if there is a big advantage to dual acting, then I would definitely consider one. Thanks.
I just bought my first airbrush - a Badger 150 from thier site on special. Affordavble and good quality. You’ll find a zillion airbrush threads on this site (I asked the exact same question a month ago); all have good info. Try the Search box at right - there’s an encyclopedia of useful information on this topic right here in the forums.
Good luck with your search and let us all know how it turned out!
I own two air brushes. One is a Badger single action and the other is a Paashe double action and I can say that I definetly prefer the double action over the single action air brush. With the double action even though it takes some practice to get used to, the amount of paint is controllable where as the single action, the paint just comes out with no control.
My set up is a 2 gallon compressor that you can get from Walmart for around $80. Then it goes to a pressure regulator w/ moisture knock out bottle which I paid about $40 for (I bought it when i bought my first Badger air brush) and then to an inline paper cartridge to further catch any dust and /or moisture from the compressor. I believe it was $15. Finally to the Paasche air brush about $135. (I believe I paid $80 for the Badger but that was 20 years ago) I have about $270 in the entire rig if i don’t count the Badger air brush which i don’t use very often anymore. The moisture traps and regulator are a must. Nothing can ruin a great paint job like water in the paint coming from the compressor…chuck
I have 2 Badger’s , one a single action and one a double action. Got the double action at Micheals, the Sunday paper here often has coupoens for 40% a single item , which i how i got mine… I like them both , took a while to get used to the double action , but it has lots of advantages
Anyone who spend more than $15 on an airbrush is just wasting money.
Harbor Freight sells a very high quality, double action airbrush for $15. I tried posting links, but the new forum software redirected the links to the forum log-in…(???)
For another few bucks you can pick up a great air compressor for $59 there and still not spend $75. How can you beat that? An air compressor that will run tools and fill your car tires and an air brush that is as good or better than most made, all for $75 plus tax.
I found the Paashe H series airbrush to be very nice. As a first time user I suggest an external mix brush which is easier to clean. And yes the paint flow is adjustable. Jeff
Actually for the price range you’re listing, you can get some very good, well performing airbrushes.
I use the Badger 360 and the Paasche’ VL. Going against the grain, I prefer the Paasche hands down. It’s double action and “scroll lock” feature in which you can lock the trigger/fan position at one setting if you wish won me over. The VL set comes with 3 different needle and air cap combination sizes (fine, medium, and large). For model railroading, you’d stick mostly to the fine and medium sizes.
My first Paasche VL lasted me two decades!. I purchased my 2nd one just last year. Ironically I paid the same price that I did over 20 years ago, about $80.
Don’t feel intimidated. I was a rattlecan modeler for years. Once I tried the airbrush, the rattle cans started collecting dust on the shelf. I still have a can of Dullcote that I bought back in 1989 that’s still nearly full!
As the saying goes, you must read the manual and be a little patient. Once you get used to it, you might catch the fever and start airbrushing items left and right.
CAUTION: Regardless which brand you purchase, you must clean it properly just as a musician cleans his instrument. Flush out with lacquer thinner after using solvent based paints. Flush with distilled water or a mix of distilled water & alcohol after finishing your job(s). Take a moment to remove the aircap and needle and wipe them clean. Take care of that quality airbrush and you’ll enjoy years of good service.
Now for the air compressor. There are plenty of opinions, but I’m extremely happy with the “suitcase compressor” that I purchased at Home Depot for about $100. Puts the little hobby compressors to shame. Here’s the link to show you
First off, I should have amended my comment. Many Artists use high end air-brushes, just like many artists use VERY expensive paint brushes. In this hobby I can’t see spending over $100 for a tool that works fine @ $15, for what it was intended. Just like the $5.99 5-pack of brushes at Wally*World work as good as they need to, but you can go to Dick Blick or Michaels and spend hundreds on just a few paint brushes too. But why?
All those mentioned are great brushes. I don’t think any of them would do the fine line work that you do, but I don’t have a need to paint hairlines consistently.
Spares?
The brush takes the Badger 51-048 needle as an exact replacement. It also uses Badger replacement bottles in all sizes.
Go ahead and pay designer prices for a mid-level tool. $15 vs. $150 seals the deal for me. BTW, I’ve had my Harbor Freight brush for about 4 years now and never had to replace a thing. I do take care of my tools though.
If I were a professional artist, I might look at something more expensive, but if you read the OP, I think getting totally set up for $75 is a pretty good deal, given what he was looking for.
Since I only use my air brush for the hobby, this one is outstanding. I don’t think that they have too many Harbor Freight stores in Sweden, so that you could compare, but it is what it is.
At Harbour Freight I bought a 4-gallon tank compressor for about $60, and it has been just great. Shuts off when tank gets to 100 psi and very adequate for airbrushing. Of course, I added a water filter in the air line. It isn’t all that noisey when running. I use a Badger 200 air brush which is moderate priced and works fine.
Well, I picked up a Badger 200 airbrush kit. It is single action, so it should be relatively easy to use at first, but it is internal mix, so although its hard to clean should produce a nice result and be able to do fine stuff. It looks like alot of you like Paasche. Perhaps after I get more comfortable with these I’ll look into one.
I did pick up a pressure regulator / water separator and I already have a 10 gallon air compressor that I use for a myriad of other things (can we say trim nail gun anyone?). I appreciate the help and will keep the Paasche in mind for down the road.
I have also heard many good things about the Harbor Freight airbrush. I appears to be the exact same airbrush as the Badger Anthem model. I plan to get the HF unit as well. Especially since the Badger parts will work for this brush. If it works like the more expensive counterpart. I dont see why not save a chunk of change.
definitly try the harder and steenbeck evolution i insist it is one of the best if not the best airbrush you will find[:D]
btw this is the 2 in 1 version which includes an extra needle/nozzle an color cup it is more expensive i know this airbrush is over your budget but please think about going over this airbrush will last a log time is well worth the money you will not be dissapointd
definitly try the harder and steenbeck evolution i insist it is one of the best if not the best airbrush you will find[:D]