Which airbrush?

[Blind Bruce]

wHILE BROWSING THE VARIOUS AIRBRUSHES, i NOTICED THAT ALL OF THEM SEEM TO FAVOR A LARGER TYPE OF COVERAGE THAN IS NECESSARY FOR MODEL RAILROADING. eXCEPT FOR BACKDROPS, i THINK THAT A SMALLER PAINT LINE WOULD BE PREFERRABLE? Excuse me that darn caps lock again.
What is a good first unit to buy?
THanks much.
BB

[AntonioFP45]

I've had a Paasche VL kit since the late 1980s. Comes with three different sized needles and corresponding air caps. The VL is still sold. It will likely meet your needs.
The quality is good, just keep it CLEAN and don't ever drop one on the floor. Everything inside is a precision fit.

I'm going to give the Badger series airbrushes a try as over the years I've been hearing many good things about them. I'll either get the 150 or 200.

Quick Tip:

If you have a friend or relative that's an Auto Body Tech, have him or her inquire the paint supply store their shop buys from and see how much the specific airbrush you want sells for. You'll likely save quite a few bucks on Badger, Iwata, and some of the other reputable brands. A hobby store is going to be more expensive in most cases.

Cheers!

[BentnoseWillie]

I started with a Badger 250 but very quickly outgrew it and went to a 350, which served me well for nearly 15 years before I upgraded to the 200. I certainly recommend the 350 as a beginner's airbrush - it's a simple, single action external mix bru***hat's a snap to clean and maintain, and the medium tip adjusts readily to any spray pattern a modeller may need.

[Bikerdad]

Badger Anthem 155 would be a good general purpose (for model railroading) brush. Otherwise, there's some very nice (and fairly expensive) Iwata brushes.

[cjcrescent]

I would highly recommend, that for a beginner, a good quality single action airbrush is the best. They are the easiest to use, the easiest to learn on and probably the most important aspect, easiest to maintain. Trying to learn on a double action can be difficult for some people, much less trying to take it apart to correct an internal problem.

Passche's H series and Badgers similer series will do you well as a start. I say this after over 30 yrs. of custom painting.

[Anonymous]

I would second testing the waters with a single action Paasche Model H. I have had mine for almost 20 years without problem. Recently upgraded to an Iwata Eclipse top feed, but the "H" still gets used.

[wjstix]

I've owned several fairly expensive internal mix double-action airbrushes, all of which became useless over a short period of use with acrylic paints. Several years ago I bought the cheapest external-mix Badger and that worked fine, now using similarly cheap-o external one from Testors. Plus when I can I use spray cans, especially for primer gray, and glosscote/dullcote finishes. If you practice you can get a very good coverage with a can or a cheap airbrush, might not be as good for weathering.

[bikerraypa]

I have a nice little Badger airbru***hat was on sale at Michael's for about $30. It works great!

Also, I didn't waste money on a compressor. I got one of those portable air tanks that are meant to be used on flat tires. Fill 'er up to 90 pounds or so and add a cheap pressure regulator, and you're ready to roll. It lasts a long time, and can be "recharged" from the big compressor in the garage, or down at the gas station for a quarter.


Ray out.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bikerraypa
[
Also, I didn't waste money on a compressor. I got one of those portable air tanks that are meant to be used on flat tires. Fill 'er up to 90 pounds or so and add a cheap pressure regulator, and you're ready to roll. It lasts a long time, and can be "recharged" from the big compressor in the garage, or down at the gas station for a quarter.

That's one of the most backward suggestions that I have ever heard re using an airbrush! For $75-100 you can get a home compresssor with a tank that is always available, always has an unlimited supply of air. Using a refillable tank means lugging it back and forth regularly to get it filled. Run out of air when there are no outside services available? What do you do - wait until the next day?

The only way I can see this is practical is if you live in an apartment and the possibility of the noise from a compressor being a problem.

A compressor is as an important item to own as an airbrush.

Bob Boudreau.

[Anonymous]

My first airbrush, was an Aztek unit, didn't care for it, seems like I was frequently maintaining it, the plastic parts weren't very sturdy.

So I finally broke down, and bought a Badger 200, works quite well, and isn't very hard to clean. The needle upfront has ruptured, so I'll be replacing that.

For an air supply, I use a small 2-gallon compressor, works great, and doesn't produce much noise.

Alvie.

[bikerraypa]

QUOTE: Originally posted by FundyNorthern

QUOTE: Originally posted by bikerraypa
[
Also, I didn't waste money on a compressor. I got one of those portable air tanks that are meant to be used on flat tires. Fill 'er up to 90 pounds or so and add a cheap pressure regulator, and you're ready to roll. It lasts a long time, and can be "recharged" from the big compressor in the garage, or down at the gas station for a quarter.

That's one of the most backward suggestions that I have ever heard re using an airbrush! For $75-100 you can get a home compresssor with a tank that is always available, always has an unlimited supply of air. Using a refillable tank means lugging it back and forth regularly to get it filled. Run out of air when there are no outside services available? What do you do - wait until the next day?

The only way I can see this is practical is if you live in an apartment and the possibility of the noise from a compressor being a problem.

A compressor is as an important item to own as an airbrush.

Bob Boudreau.

Precisely. I can't run a compressor in the house, thank you for asking. Perhaps I should be more forward thinking and not use the airbrush at all? Excuse me for making do with my situation.


Ray

[Anonymous]

There are alot of good qaulity brushes to choose from. I started out with a cheap internal mix brush from Harbour Freight . It looked like a badger copy for less than 20 bucks. I had pretty good luck with it but an O-Rring wore out and I couldn't find one the same size. So I went out and bought a Testers Aztek-I have 9 different tips for it and they are color coded. It feels kinda cheap in the hands, but I really like the way it works. And I really liked how easy it was to clean.

[Anonymous]

Bruce,
I bought a Testors airbrush at Wallyworld (Wal-Mart) for about $30.00.It came with a llazy-susan with about 20 bottles of Testors model paint. I couldn't use much of the paint, but for the money that has turned out to be a pretty good airbrush. I'll have to find it and get the model#, ETC. I'll be back in touch with you shortly.
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