Airbrush setup and connections

[sbertucio]

Thanks everybody for the quick replies. I went out and bought 3 female connectors a male connectore and a male QD to female threaded connector last night.

Henry I looked at my hose and the end connected to the pressure regulator was straight. If I measures the diameter of the fitting do you think that I could email/call badger's customer service and find out which models connect to that size?

Thanks,

Shawn

[PennCentral99]

As others have stated, the fittings from the compressor to the moisture trap, to the hose, to your quick connect air chuck are usually universal and you should be able to get them at any hardware store.

As far as the connection to the hose for your air brush.....the connections vary depending on the manufacturer. When I started using and air brush 10+ years ago, I got a single action air brush from Hobby Lobby. 5 years ago, I dropped it on the concrete garage floor and bent the tip and needle. I went to Harbor Freight and spent $20 on their double action air brush. Although the HB air brush worked fine, I decided it was time to upgrade, so I bought a Master Air Brush (seen here).

The hose connections didn't fit any that I had for the compressor, and no one in town had one. So, I purchased this adapter set, figuring one of them had to work. For $4.49 and free shipping, how could I go wrong?

Also, I've seen some air hoses for air brushes that have a different adapter for your compressor that are different than the one in the picture of the air hose.

Terry

[BigDaddy]

sbertucio

Here is my hose which has a pressure guage/adjustment on one side and the airbrush fitting on the other:Airbrush fitting on hosepressure gauge fitting I can take more pictures or measurements if needed. I do not know what airbrush went with the hose.

That looks exactly like my Badger hose.  The other side of my hose has the same size fitting as in your pic but it is straight.  Screwed to that is a brass fitting off a Badger compressor.  That is attached to a male - male quick disconnect.  The hose is plenty long enough but I don't think it fits Paasche or Iwata airbrushes.  I use a combined gauge and water trap I bought off Amazon and that has a male quick disconnect that plugs directly into the compressor.  The other side of the gauge has a female quick disconnect.  As I recall, my research into airbrush attachments was complicated by the fact that some use British threads.

I do not remember the size of the Badger connection.  Their customer service is excellent. 

 

[hon30critter]

Hi sbertucio:

First, I assume that you have tested the compressor.

You will have to buy a few fittings to make things work but it should be simple enough. The easiest way to get the right parts would be to take what you have to a local supplier that sells compressor accessories. Hopefully you will be able to find a sales person who knows enough to hook you up.

Here is what you will need:

- The fittings that go into the water trap

- A male quick connect to go between the water trap and the existing female quick connect

- Adaptors to connect the output side of the water trap to your hose/pressure valve. That will put the valve right at the compressor which will limit how far you can reach with the existing hose.

- Sealing tape for the threaded joints.

 

Here are some things that you might want to add to the setup to make things easier:

- A longer regular sized hose so the compressor doesn't have to be right beside you when you are airbrushing

- The fittings to connect the larger hose to the pressure regulator, ideally using a quick connect there as well.

- Something to mount the pressure regulator on.

- Another quick connect system on the output side of the water trap so the water trap can stay attached to the compressor if you want to disconnect the hose.

- A small reserve air tank. This will give you more even pressure at the air brush. The tank must have some sort of automatic pressure release or power shut off to prevent the pressure from going too high. An automatic power shut off is the best way to do that.

Here are some pictures of my setup. In my case the compressor came with an automatic adjustable pressure regulator/shut off valve:

Here is how I mounted the second pressure control valve. I put the second valve in place so I don't have to go back to the compressor on the other side of the garage to make adjustments:

You can use any airbrush you want, but the hose fitting that goes onto the bottom of the airbrush will not fit all brushes. The easiest way around that would be to buy an airbrush kit that includes the right hose. I would choose a hose for the airbrush, not an airbrush for the hose, if that makes any sense.

As to which airbrush is best, there have been a number of threads on the subject. Here is one:

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/257291/2882312.aspx#2882312

If you look down the side of the page you will see a "Search Community" line. Better still, just google 'airbrush'.

Dave

[mlehman]

I think you're missing a fitting for the quick disconnect on the water trap. From there does everything fit? I wasn't clear about the gauge though, although if it were me I'd place it after the water trap and before the hose.

Basically, you need fittings rated for air pressure and that fit your needs. for hooking this up. A hardware store or big box home despot-type place will have what you need. If you put a matching QD fitting on it, it will be easy to take apart for storage apart from the compressor. But not all QD's are the same, so you need to figure out what it is to find it's mate.

[sbertucio]

I am interested in using an airbrush but am not sure if I have the right parts/equipment or how to connect the equipment I have together. I also have a hose but dont have the airbrush. My compressor is set up with a quick disconnect but nothing else has a quick disconnect.

Here is my compressor:

Here is my water trap both sides are the same:

Here is my hose which has a pressure guage/adjustment on one side and the airbrush fitting on the other:

I can take more pictures or measurements if needed. I do not know what airbrush went with the hose.