What is a good psi to airbrush water base paint ? One compressor i have puts out 20 max and no luck.Must i mix the paint to atleast 50/50?
Badger says the optimal PSI for the 350 is 30psi, but the acceptable range is 15 to 50. There are a few threads you might find in 'search the community' that discuss various approaches to airbrushing.
To use a lower pressure, you need the paint to flow more readily and atomize a bit easier. I'd advise thinning to 'what works' for your 20psi, and perhaps using a little wetting agent to reduce the paint-particle surface tension.
There are threads on selecting a good compressor and building the necessary paraphernalia (e.g. good water separation; adequate tank capacity to reduce compressor pulsation) to go with it. I'd find something that can be regulated to 30psi and conduct my formula experiments around that pressure to start, if you can afford it.
You normally use a regulator to set your air brush pressure. There's a little twisty handle and a pressure gauge.
Of course, it can't be higher than your "tank" pressure, which is what the compressor is pumping the tank up to.
The above post cites a compressor that will pump up to 100 psi. Your regulator will bring it down to whatever you set (NOT the tank pressure--your air brush pressure).
What's good about that 100 psi is that it's storing a LOT of air for your air brush. You might find that your compressor never even starts running, after you've filled your tank.
My little compressor will go up to 50 psi for the tank. But when I use it at 20 psi, the compressor runs all the time anyway. And gets too hot to touch. I've only used it once, for about an hour, but it does the job. It came with a tank, regulator, and air cleaner/filter/water separator). And it's pretty quiet. About $150.
Ed
I agree with the previous posts. In my experience the paint determines the correct air pressure regardless the brush manufacturors recommendations. They have no idea what paints you're shooting. I shoot model cars more than r.r. stuff and need a nice smooth glossy finish. Thinning the paint, wether solvent or water based, is essential imo. Sometimes as much as 50:50. I never shoot higher than 20 psi. Trying to paint with too high a pressure dries the paint before it can flow out on the part. I have had good success with real automotive laquer and water based paints as well as good ole Testers enamel from the little bottle.
FWIW: I shoot a double action Paasche and use a filter/regulator on my hobby compressor.
OvermodThere are threads on selecting a good compressor and building the necessary paraphernalia (e.g. good water separation; adequate tank capacity to reduce compressor pulsation) to go with it. I'd find something that can be regulated to 30psi and conduct my formula experiments around that pressure to start, if you can afford it.
I have no experience at all with Badger airbrushes, but find that both water-based and lacquer-based paints seem to work well for my Paasche VL, at around 20psi.
I use a rotary compressor (it seems to have a maximum output of under 50psi but I use it only for airbrushing....
While I have a water trap on the compessor and another in the airbrush hose, I don't ever get water in either, nor do I get oil in the paint, despite the fact that the twin screws within the compressor run in an oil bath. There appears to be an oil separator that returns oil to the screws.Compressor operation is continuous, with no pulsation whatsoever. If I pause with the airbrush, the compressor vents excess air.
I don't fully understand some of the added-on accessories, but it's been trouble free for me for over 40 years, and quite a few years before that, when my father used it. He built the add-ons to the compressor, which was built by Wagner.
Wayne
dh28473What is a good psi to airbrush water base paint ? One compressor i have puts out 20 max and no luck.Must i mix the paint to atleast 50/50?
You did not say what brand of water soluable paint you are using, or how much you thinned it before painting.
I have very little experience with water soluable paints in my airbrushes. However, when I did try them, they required significantly more pressure than solvent based paints did.
When I spray Scalecoat 2 or Model Master, I thin the paint to like-water consistency, and use 12-14 PSI. When I tried water soluable paints, thinned to a similar property, I found I needed 22-24 PSI. Double the pressure.
I no longer have a Badger 350, but it performed very similar to my current Paasche model H.
You need a regulator. There is no such thing as a compressor too big for an airbrush, so get one that will fill tires and run small tools as well.
My air compressor was less than $200.00 from Home Depot, and my regulator/dryer and gauges were around $75.00 from Grainger.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Hello All,
dh28473Have to check home depo[SIC].
Another resource for regulators and fittings is Harbor Freight.
They also sell an airbrush kit complete with a small air compressor.
I added a regulator between the water trap and the hose.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
I had a Badger "kit" with airbrush and compressor. It was a little thing, the footprint was smaller than my size 12 shoe. There was no adjustment for pressure, it pumped what it put out. It would frequently spit water.
When I got back into MR, I bought a 6 gal pancake compressor from Home Depot. It comes with a regulator, but I bought a water trap combo regulator off Amazon. The trap started leaking in a month or two. It never trapped any water and have not had any water spitting with or without it. I also enjoy the quiet of a compressor that isn't constantly running.
All this was while living in Maryland where we have plenty of humidity. The compressor does collect water in the tank and you need to drain it or it will rust out the tank.
Nothing to add about pressures. It is something that comes with experience. Always test you airbrush on something other than the model you want to paint.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
You say "Water Based" paint -
Modelflex - 25-30 PSI is "ideal" for them. (I've occasionally needed as high as 35 PSI for them.)
Vallejo - If the "air" line, it is as low as 15-20 PSI. Regular line needs thinned. (I've always needed to bump it up to 25-ish PSI though.)
Craft Store Paint - Needs thinned big time, I use Golden brand Airbrush Medium, with a bit of distilled water with Liquitex Flow-aid added in, and it gets thinned to the consistency of skim milk. Sprays at 22-28 PSI that way. ("Splatter Patterns" for weathering at 35-40 PSI)
MicroLux - Same as old PolyScale line, 20-25-ish PSI. (I've not tried it myself yet.)
Other brand??? Check manufacturer's websites for PSI requirements.
Laquer based paints are lowest PSI, when properly thinned, followed by TruColor (acetone-water based) and Vallejo Air, followed by other brands water based acrylics, at the highest required PSI.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Ricky,
Thank you for all that great information in your post.
I'll bet that helps the OP a lot, and it sure gave me a bunch of new information as well.
Based on my experience the air pressure you should airbrush at for perfect results is the lowest pressure possible that still allows you to get a smooth and properly atomised paint flow from your airbrush, and typically ranges from between 10 psi to 25 psi depending on various factors.
sprayingtools Based on my experience the air pressure you should airbrush at for perfect results is the lowest pressure possible that still allows you to get a smooth and properly atomised paint flow from your airbrush, and typically ranges from between 10 psi to 25 psi depending on various factors.
Until you hit the "water based" part the OP stated....
I've never gotten water based model paint, or any water based paint, to spray at anything at or below 20PSI. Most require 25-35PSI range if water based. (Never tried watercolors, but we don't typically paint models with those...)
Lacquer based? Sure, that range, properly thinned, will work.
But who still makes Lacquer based model paints? ModelMaster line is gone, Floquil is gone. Is there one I missed?
But that range will not work for water based. Not at all. That's why ModelFlex states on their website a higher PSI range. Badger ModelFlex instructions from Badger state 25-30PSI recquired. (Second page of PDF linked here: http://www.badgerairbrush.com/PDF/ModelFlex%20032613.pdf )
TruColor website (Look under FAQ's >What Pressure do you recommend?) states this: "The optimum pressure, we find, is between 28-35 PSI."
Other brands also state their ideal or optimum pressure.
Edited - Corrected typo.
I've been using the Badger 350 for the last 15 years, with acrylics only. I've used it with Polly Scale, Badger, Model Master, Rapido and cheapo craft paints. For all of these, I have used a pressure of 30 to 40 psi, rarely lower, with good results. A colleague at the club said that airbrushes with a gravity cup need less pressure. Not sure if this is true.
Simon
snjroy A colleague at the club said that airbrushes with a gravity cup need less pressure. Not sure if this is true. Simon
A colleague at the club said that airbrushes with a gravity cup need less pressure. Not sure if this is true.