Looking for airbrush recommendations

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gr33n

New member
I'm looking for now, to just basecoat models quickly and cleanly. My only stipulation is that the coat is smooth as can be. No grainy finishes etc. It would be nice if there were room to upgrade the setup to higher quality but only if price allows. My budget is around 200 for everything but without knowing anything about airbrushing I have this thought in my mind that getting a quality compressor and a cheaper brush would be easier to upgrade for later. Obviously I know nothing and I could be wrong lol

Also, If 300 bucks would get me a REALLY quality setup that would allow for fine detail shading etc, I would prob save and get that instead

the primary goal though is to make basecoating easier for infantry/tanks followed by shading tanks and shading infantry. order of importance
 
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airhead

airhead

Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
My gun of choice is an Iwata.
The eclipse is a nice gun, but may be out of your price point.
Look and see what you can get an Iwata Neo for.

Other guns worth considering would be the Badger Anthem, Paashe VL (in single or double action), and lastly the Aztec.

Compressors are not all the same either. How much noise can you put up with and what else would you use the compressor for?
For the price of a somewhat quiet diaphragm airbrush compressor (1/5 HP +/-) you can get a lightweight industrial compressor that will allow you do air up the car, shoot nails, etc. but it will be much louder.
 
Skandabcn

Skandabcn

New member
My sugestion:
Any double action (gravity for me) is enough for the purpose you told...cheaper ones is over 20€...as Airhead told you, the point is the air compressor.
That cheap airbrushes has a 0,3mm of minimum of line.Compresor must work over 3 to 5 bars to have a good pressure (I use it at 4bars),best with pressure regulator,but airbrush special compressors usually works at that ranges...
I hope to help some...sorry for my english!
 
G

gr33n

New member
I wouldn't use it for anything else. Pref the least noise possibly but wouldnt sacrifice for performance
 
Zab

Zab

New member
Get a cheap double action Chinese AB to start from ebay or amazon and spend the money on a good compressor. You will need a PSI regulator and a moisture trap as well. Also, likely adapters for the hose connections. You can always upgrade you brush later when you have more money
 
G

gr33n

New member
Zab said:
Get a cheap double action Chinese AB to start from ebay or amazon and spend the money on a good compressor. You will need a PSI regulator and a moisture trap as well. Also, likely adapters for the hose connections. You can always upgrade you brush later when you have more money
Click to expand...

sounds like good advice. I don't know what a PSI regulator and moisture trap are but what do you reckon a full getup will cost me? we talking 200 or 250 for everthing? more?
 
Zab

Zab

New member
Depends what brand and where you are buying. I still have my old testors single piston compressor. No tank, no idle - when its on it runs, turn it off to stop it. I have had that for years as a hand me down from my father who had it for decades before. Was at micheals and saw a similar one for about $250 (don;t forget to get a cupon if you are getting it a micheals)

Here it is: http://www.michaels.com/10093751.html#q=airbrush&start=13

I recommend badger because they are easy to get parts for and fairly common. There is nothing worse than having you ab break or losing a part and having to wait for weeks to order a part from a company that isn;t stocked locally at brick and mortar stores :)
 
airhead

airhead

Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
Zab said:
Depends what brand and where you are buying. I still have my old testors single piston compressor. No tank, no idle - when its on it runs, turn it off to stop it. I have had that for years as a hand me down from my father who had it for decades before. Was at micheals and saw a similar one for about $250 (don;t forget to get a cupon if you are getting it a micheals)

Here it is: http://www.michaels.com/10093751.html#q=airbrush&start=13

I recommend badger because they are easy to get parts for and fairly common. There is nothing worse than having you ab break or losing a part and having to wait for weeks to order a part from a company that isn;t stocked locally at brick and mortar stores :)
Click to expand...

Zab, that is a diaphragm compressor. I've taken mine apart a few times to clean the valves. Been working for over 30 years now and I bought it second hand at a garage sale.
 
Zab

Zab

New member
Thanks Airhead! See? Even after years I'm still a bit of a noob :) Hmmm, sounds like I should maybe do some maintenance on mine. Sometimes takes a couple of seconds before the sucker starts up. Got any good tuts or links to help me with that?
 
airhead

airhead

Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
Zab said:
Thanks Airhead! See? Even after years I'm still a bit of a noob :) Hmmm, sounds like I should maybe do some maintenance on mine. Sometimes takes a couple of seconds before the sucker starts up. Got any good tuts or links to help me with that?
Click to expand...
Hard time starting from cold or with a load?
With a load is normal. It is only 1/10 HP.
One thing that helps those small compressors a lot is a storage tank. Doesn't have to be large, just a place to push air when it starts. I use a large size moisture trap (industrial type from Home Depot/Lowes/etc.).
That also smooths out the air from the compressor - reducing the "pulse" you can sometimes see on very fine work.

Sorry for the pic, but it is buried in my airbrush station.
View attachment 40470

As far as service, take the 4 screws off the top. You'll see the diaphragm and you'll find 2 metal reed valves. If the unit won't put out 30-40 psi, remove those reeds and clean them. Reassemble and you should be good for another year or 10.
 
Zab

Zab

New member
Thanks man! Yep, just with load, sometimes it takes 30 sec with low slow rumble and then kicks in. Still good on psi so i won't tinker yet :) I may go get a bigger moisture trap, though mine is decetna dn i don;t notice the pulsing people talk about with these compressors. Also sorry for hijacking the thread gr33n o_O
 
J

Jaster

New member
If you are just looking to be using it for base coating, I would suggest that you go to your local hobby or RC shop and have a look at what deals they have going on compressor and brush setups. Stick with a gravity feed airbrush, they generally need less psi to operate smoothly. Then once you feel like you are wanting to start using it for detail, I too highy recomend getting a Badger airbrush. I manged to pick up my Krome Renegade along with the full range of Minitare Paints from webairbrushes.com using a coupon code that saved me 40% off total order.
 
MagmaPainter

MagmaPainter

Member
Badger 105 patriot about 75 bucks.
Airbrush depot TC-20T Compressor about 99 bucks, for a compressor you want one with a tank so your compressor doesn't have to work so hard, and the pressure stays constant.
this one will still get pretty hot after a while so i give it a rest about every 45 min or so.
Grab your self a hose and prob a adapter and there you go, not a bad set up for prob under 250, is what i did and it works great the patrot is good for base coating and some detail work.
I plan on getting the Badger Sotar 2020-2f soon for that extra fine work. I prefer Badger because they are a American company and you can find parts in most art craft stores.
 
Zab

Zab

New member
I have the Badger renegade velocity for fine work. Just when you think you have your thinning ratios down o_O I should have known it wasn't going to cooperate easily with a name like renegade -_-
 
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