Looking for an Airbrush

I got a Badger 150 off eBay. Got it for a good deal, but found it had a large tip. When I switched it to a medium tip it worked a lot better. Still a good deal, but spent a lot of time in frustration until the good people at Badger figured out the problem.

QUOTE: Originally posted by mjekot Good Morning from Denver, I am ready to make a purchase for my first airbrush. Any recommendations on the purchase of a new or used one. All appreciated! Mark

Mark: Head on over to MR's sister magazine's Finescale Modeler's forum. There is a great section there on for help with painting and airbrushing "stuff."

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=18

Well, you could go to Wal-Mart and buy Testors' Mighty Mini Airbrush w/compressor for $60. I bought it, but I haven't used it yet, so I can't tell you if it's good or not yet. Testors also makes an airbru***hat runs on canned air for $40, but the canned air is $9 a can, so buying the brush w/compressor will probably pay off in the future, if you plan to do that.

I would suggest buying a double action airbrush which is gravity fed and holds about 1/3 oz paint with a removable cap. I like this style of airbrush better than the suction style which draws from a bottle attached to the bottom of the airbrush. The bottle and draw tube are time consuming to clean.

I have been airbrushing model cars for several years and have two Iwata Eclipse airbrushes. My 1/3rd oz gravity fed airbrush is the one I use the most and will use it for any of my HO rolling stock, scenery detail etc. It has a cap for the paint reservoir which keeps it from spilling when tipped. I also use an 1/16oz airbrush for small jobs and have a 1.5oz bottle fed Richpen airbrush awaiting a big project.

Don't forget to buy a set of cleaning brushes because you will need to disassemble the paint delivery section of the airbrush after each use.

[:D]

Mark--

Take time before you buy to check out the different styles. Decide on one, and then determine which brand will work best for you.

Personally, I decided on a Paasche single action air brush, which sucks the paint from a cup. While it's true that you have to clean the cup, you'll find that you have to clean the used parts of any airbrush.

I decided on the single action for 2 reasons. First, I did not feel like having to adjust my finger to press with one pressure and pull back with another when using a dual action air brush. Too much coordination for two different things. The single action has an external adjustment for the amount of paint. Air is controlled by how much you press the button. The second reason is that I didn't want to take apart the whole inside of the air bru***o clean the needle of a dual action mechanism. With the single action brush, only the air goes through the instrument itself--not the paint. The paint has to be cleaned only off the tip and cups (or bottles).

Finescale Modeler is a good place to look, and I'm sure there's plenty of information online.

Good luck. [8D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by joeh19012 Mark-- Take time before you buy to check out the different styles. Decide on one, and then determine which brand will work best for you. Personally, I decided on a Paasche single action air brush, which sucks the paint from a cup. While it's true that you have to clean the cup, you'll find that you have to clean the used parts of any airbrush. I decided on the single action for 2 reasons. First, I did not feel like having to adjust my finger to press with one pressure and pull back with another when using a dual action air brush. Too much coordination for two different things. The single action has an external adjustment for the amount of paint. Air is controlled by how much you press the button. The second reason is that I didn't want to take apart the whole inside of the air bru***o clean the needle of a dual action mechanism. With the single action brush, only the air goes through the instrument itself--not the paint. The paint has to be cleaned only off the tip and cups (or bottles). Finescale Modeler is a good place to look, and I'm sure there's plenty of information online. Good luck. [8D]

Great point I never thought of that. I got a VL Paasche on clearence, double action, and after your post wish I would have gotten the single action.
Live and learn!

If there is a Michaels Art & Craft Store nearby wait until Labor Day Weekend. Every major holiday they put a coupon in the paper for 50% off one item. That's how I got my Badger on New Years. Dave

I use a Badger Crescendo 175 that I bought at least 15 years ago.
It came with a nice braided hose, and 3 sizes of tip, all for about $85 (then!).
I think these are still available, but cost at least twice that now.

I LOVE this airbrush. It is a double-action, meaning that when you press down the trigger,
you can regulate both how much air pressure you let flow through AND how much paint
you let flow through. Some people say that double-actions are harder for a newbie to master, but I disagree. I am no pro. This is the only brush I've ever owned, but I found right away that
the ability to spray almost no paint and lots of air, or the other way around, was a big plus, and was very easy to do.

I've sprayed both solvent-based Floquil and Scalecoat with it, and water-based paints like Poly S with it. Works great. I have used it mostly for N-Scale rolling stock, locomotives, and some structures, and I couldn't be happier with the results.

I use an old small car-tire compressor for it (got it for free!). I went to a home supply store like Lowe's, and bought the necessary brass adapter fittings and some quick-release fittings, which allow me to snap the airbrush hose on/off the compressor with ease. At the same store, I bought a filter/water trap/pressure regulator made by Jet. I HIGHLY recommend this. It will keep dirt and water out of your paint, and the regulator with with the pressure guage is a dream for gaining control of your paint. I find that about 15 lbs works nicely, but anything from 12-20 seems to work just fine.

You might want to check out www.airbrushcity.com they have a lot of good information on airbrushing, even a decent tutorial as well as some high quality airbrushes.

I just went to an airbrush class yesterday. The LHS was demoing the Paasche H-SET Airbrush set - they also sold Badger and others. They indicated this was a good beginners set. I've never owned an airbrush but I would recommend one of these demo classes (they're usually free). Learned about the pro's and cons of single vs. double and got to see what the cleanup is all about.

Another good web site to learn and purchase is http://www.airbrush-depot.com/scripts/depot.exe?pgm=brushgate.bbx.

I had never air brushed until this year but had used cup guns and spec'd tons of paint equipment. I bought 3 of the www.airbrushcity.com guns mentioned earlier for under $50 on eBay. I practiced on a piece of cardboard until I found the best way to thin the paint and to get a feel for application. I have since used it on 1 model and won 1st place in a local competition (although to be fair, there were only 3 entries). I was pretty impressed with the outcome. They claim to have a lifetime warranty also. For the price I'd say you need to look at them pretty hard.

QUOTE: Originally posted by mjekot

Good Morning from Denver,

I am ready to make a purchase for my first airbrush. Any recommendations on the purchase of a new or used one.

In Denver go to "Harbor Freight Tools" and get their "Central Pneumatic" AIR BRUSH KIT for $4.99. It is a simple external mix, single action brush. You'll have to buy some cans of air for it. But play with it for a while and for a very small investment you will better understand what you want in a more expensive brush.
There is a Harbor Freight just south of Westminister Mall on Sheridan, and one just west of I225 on Alameda.

I had a Paasche double action which I dropped and broke. It isn't repairable. So for a couple years I used a simple badger. Then my wife bought me an Aztek double action for Christmas. Unfortunately it has turned out to be an expensive piece of junk. It is sitting waiting for me to mail it back for repair. In the mean time I use the badger (very similar to the harbor freight one). My next new brush will be another Paasche or Thayer.

EDIT - Finding this post in this old thread makes me want to comment further.  The air brushes from Harbor tools as mentoned above have very little quality control.  I purchased one for each of my daughters.   Two of them worked fine, two did not.   Thinking they were using them wrong I tried for myself.  I discovered the brushes splattered regardless of how used.  I think the tip of the venturi is not smooth and sharp as it should be on 50% of the units.   I can no longer recommend this brush regardless of price. 

I would suggest a Badger 360 universal, it is more money, but well worth. It will do pencil thin lines, and I swear you could paint a house with this thing. It doesn't require any special tools to take apart, if you use Polly Scale water based pain you don't have to take it apart and clean it every time, if you run plenty of water through when you finish. It will just about spray peanut butter too, so any paint is good, well maybe not peanut butter, but pretty thick stuff. I got mine on E-bay. Whatever you do, just make sure it is double action, and is not just a gravity feed. Don't buy one of these little hobby compressors, these don't give a steady stream of air needed for a good paint job, just get a cheap compressor with a regulator, and a tank. I don't know about a water trap, I live in a high desert environment, so I don't need one. If you get any real humidity make sure you have one.

Happy painting

Another vendor for air brushes and supplies is: www.dixieart.com/Dixie_Art_Supplies_Airbrush_Main_Page