jaBearDo yourself a BIG favour and buy something similar to this. (You probably will need to buy extra fittings.)
Good advice from ja Bear. And, while you have your credit card out get a decent lower-range pressure gauge.
https://tinyurl.com/y2drkksr
I was fortunate that in my past employment I was able to salvage many top-quality gauges of various ranges and styles.
Similar to Danno, above, mine are wall mounted with the regulator and trap.
IMG_2526 by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
dh28473The compressor used on tires ifill the tank to its max 100psi and open the drain on the tank a few times before air brushing .Is that good enough i dont have a water filter on it.
I, too, would suggest a moisture trap, but spraying models at 100psi is not the best solution. If you don't already have one, get a regulator with a gauge. Set it at 20 or 25psi and see how it works, then adjust the pressure, up and/or down, and see if it improves or gets worse.
While I have a moisture trap on my compressor, I've never got any water out of it, which, I believe, is due to it being a rotary-type, with no storage tank required. It does have an oil separator, but almost nothing to be drained from that either....perhaps a drop or two every few years.
Wayne
.
I just ran another line to use for my airbrush. I used a 1/4" NPT brass ball valve on the filling so I could shut off the dryer/regulator when I am using it for filling car tires or blowing out the garage.
You really need a good regulator and air dryer. You do not need to go as expensive as I did. Mine are professional grade from Grainger, but I get a significant discount through my corporate Grainger account.
Speedaire makes excellent dryers that remove all the moisture. You cannot tell how good a dryer is just by looking at the outside. A dryer that is 95% efficient should be good enough for most hobby work. I live in South Florida where the humidity is near 100% six months of the year.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Do yourself a BIG favour and buy something similar to this. (You probably will need to buy extra fittings.)
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Airbrush-Compressor-AIR-PRESSURE-REGULATOR-Gauge-Water-Trap-Moisture-Filter-Hose/39104724
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I keep a filter and regulator mounted on my paint bench with the airbrush attached rather than on my portable compressor. Leaves the compressor free to run my air tools, fill tires etc.
I play with the air pressure before every painting session. Every paint brand and/or thinner requires tweaking the psi. But in all cases I found the lowest pressure I can use the better the finish. This was especially effective painting model cars to get a nice gloss. Pressure too high seemed to dry the paint before it hit the part and never flowed to a smooth finish. I usually set my regulator at 20 PSI or less.
RR_Mel For best results painting with an air brush the compressor needs to be clean dry air with a regulator adjustable from about 15 pounds to 40 pounds preferably with a small 2 to 4 gallon tank to smooth out the compressor strokes. Most quality model paint comes ready to paint with minimal thinning, Crafters Acrylic paints need thinning and filtering to get perfect results. I’ve never needed to thin True Color Paint, it is ready to go out of the bottle at 30 pounds using my Harbor Fright airbrushes. My norm is 25 to 30 pounds, Acrylics take a bit more pressure than solvent based paint. I have a couple of higher priced airbrushes but I get very good results using the Harbor Freight cheapo ($10) airbrushes with a good hose. I went with quick disconnect hose connectors for easy swapping things around. I made a five connector manifold so that I could use multiple airbrushes when using more than one color at a time with multiple aribrushes. The only decals are the Shasta and engine number, the deep V is done with an HF airbrush. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Beautiful.
Lion uses Walmart paint and a brush.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
doctorwayneEDIT: Here's a LINK to Badger's advice on using their paint. In a quick skim through it, I didn't notice anything about thinning it, but did notice their suggestion to use a slightly higher spray pressure. There's also no mention of it being pre-thinned or ready-to-airbush, and no mention of those last two terms on the one bottle of it which I still have. Wayne
Deano
mbinsewi...Maybe read about the Model Flex Badger paints, and see what they recommend, and follow their instructions....
Great suggestion, Mike, and it mirrors my experience with Pollyscale.As for Badger's Model Flex, I tried it only once, with not very satisfactory results, and once I solved the mystery of Pollyscale, never tried it again. Perhaps I'll re-visit it when my Pollyscale runs out.
EDIT: Here's a LINK to Badger's advice on using their paint. In a quick skim through it, I didn't notice anything about thinning it, but did notice their suggestion to use a slightly higher spray pressure. There's also no mention of it being pre-thinned or ready-to-airbush, and no mention of those last two terms on the one bottle of it which I still have.
SeeYou190What exactly is going wrong?
Not an insignificant question.
I used to use a little badger compressor. No idea what the pressure was, but it spit water from time to time, in the humid mid-Atlantic area.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
OK, well in your initial post, you said:
dh28473 I use about 40 psi what am i doing wrong?
So, now you say your compressor sprays at 20 lbs? You lost me....
Maybe read about the Model Flex Badger paints, and see what they recommend, and follow their instructions.
Mike.
My You Tube
Yeah, a little more information would be helpful, especially more about the brand of paint and the type of thinner you're using.
A long-time user of Floquil, when I first tried to airbrush Pollyscale acryclic paint, I followed the recommendations of several people, both on this Forum and others, using alcohol of various types, Windex, windshield washer fluid, etc. as thinners, along with fairly high spray pressures, all 40psi or higher. I was never able to successfully spray anything - the paint continued to clog in the tip, after only a spatter or two on a test surface.
In desperation, I finally decided to go to the Floquil/Pollyscale website (sometimes things take a while to sink in) and discovered that I could use their own brand of thinner or...wait for it....distilled water. Oh, and the recommended spray pressure was 15-25psi.
I immediately went to the grocery store and bought a gallon of distilled water, and when I got home, painted, without incident, 48 boxcars, changing colours on-the-fly.Pollyscale, in that one event, became my go-to paint for both airbrushing and brush-painting, and I truly regret its discontinuance. I've not found another paint comparable to it.
For water soluable paints I used 25 PSI.
What exactly is going wrong?
I don't think I've ever exceeded 30lbs, maybe your not thinning the paint enough. It needs to be the consistance of 2% milk, or even skim milk.
I usually spray between 20 and 30 lbs.
If your using the craft type acrylic paints, you may have to even thin it more, and strain the paint. I have no idea what your using.
Just my experience.
How much pressure is required to paint with a badger 350 AND WATER BASED PAINT? I use about 40 psi what am i doing wrong?