Air Brush system

[VicGor]

What is a reliable air brush system for ship modeling with a price around $50 that you could recommend?

 

[kurtvd19]

System?  Do you mean an airbrush, compressor, hose, etc.?  Or just an airbrush?

[Bob Cleek]

Kurt's the airbrush maven in here, but I'd be inclined to say that no such animal exists!

 

[Jim Rogers]

Badger has one : airbrush, hose with adapter, can of aerosol.

[tkay11]

I believe the Badger kit with the aerosol can referred to is ok but for larger areas. Feedback on Amazon suggests it's hard to use for fine lines. This may be all you want if you want to spray, for example, everything below the waterline or other large areas. Some people on YouTube have adapted it to be used with compressors, so it's worth a look.

 

Tony

[jwvolz]

The cans get VERY expensive, very quickly.

 

I've had a no name compressor for about 12 years now and it is still going strong, and I've used it a whole lot in that time. It looks like every no name one you see on Amazon. They run $85-$100 and most generally have very good reviews. 

 

Airbrushes themselves are a whole different story; you get what you pay for. The one value exception is the Iwata Neo. It's a phenomenal value and I think does just as well as it's expensive big brothers, and I've owned a fair number of Iwata airbrushes. 

[kurtvd19]

1 hour ago, tkay11 said:

I believe the Badger kit with the aerosol can referred to is ok but for larger areas. Feedback on Amazon suggests it's hard to use for fine lines. This may be all you want if you want to spray, for example, everything below the waterline or other large areas. Some people on YouTube have adapted it to be used with compressors, so it's worth a look.

The 350 airbrush is adequate for most -BUT stay away from the air cans - expensive and they always run out just before the job is done.  I started with an earlier version of this brush in 1960 (Christmas of my 8th grade year) with the air cans - and I never got to be any good until I got a compressor.  This was the brush I used for a long time and still use it occasionally.  I know of 3 models that took gold medals in the advanced class at the WI Maritime Museum's competition that were painted with this brush (Steve Wheeler and I - can't remember the other guy but I do remember the model).

As to fine lines - how often does one need to do a fine line on a ship model?  Almost never.  I can do a pretty fine line with it - but there are other brushes better at that.

Kurt

 

The 350 is a good first airbrush - I got my Grandson started with one when he was about 10.

 

Both of these are available from MSW sponsor USA Airbrush Supply

This is the 350 set with the air can adapter - $39.60

 

 

This is the set for use with any compressor - $44.00

 

[tkay11]

Thanks, Kurt. That's valuable knowledge and very helpful. Any advice about the compressor and paints that go best with this setup? I've been thinking about airbrushing for a while, but have been put off by the expense. I agree about the lack of fine line painting not being an obstacle: I was only mentioning in case it's a problem for others.

 

Tony

[No Idea]

If you cannot afford a compressor the air cans are a waste of money.  Instead get the spare wheel out of your car and inflate it to a nice high pressure.  Then just connect your airbrush to the valve - job done.

[tkay11]

That's for those of us who still have cars with spare wheels. Then there's carrying the spare wheel into our flat and finding space. All the same, a nice idea. I don't intend to buy the cans.

 

Tony

[kurtvd19]

6 hours ago, tkay11 said:

Any advice about the compressor and paints that go best with this setup

Compressors are not all that expensive.  Unless you need the absolute smallest compressor - which the "airbrush" compressors sold by Badger, Iwata, etc are .

There are many sold by Home Depot, Menard's and some chain auto parts stores that are quiet and will also pump up a car or bike tire that are less expensive than the small airbrush compressors.

  

 

I have even used an air tank that one fills with a gas station compressor - completely silent and adequate for most model jobs.

 

As to paints as long as it is a hobby paint with finely ground pigments, not house paint, most any hobby paint works.  I use badger Modelflex Marine paints myself.  Do a search for other posts I have made about these paints.

 

Hope this helped,

Kurt 

[wefalck]

When choosing an airbrush and a compressor, one should also think about the likely size of the area that one will be spraying and how often per year you are going to use it. In many cases one should get away with a rather smallish outfit. It may take longer, but it is easier to work on larger areas with an airbrush with a fine nozzle than the other way around.

 

Working with solvent-based paints in an air-brush is messy and probably not very healthy unless you have a suitable extraction fan at your workplace. Solvents cannot be disposed off in the sink, therefore the airbrush has to be cleaned over a collecting vessel. In consequence, you may not clean it as thorough as you should. Equipment failure may be the result.

 

For this reason, I only use acrylics. The airbrush can be thorough cleaned under running water.

 

It depends on the use of the model and how it will be handled, but for static models that disappear inside a display cabinet once completed, I use paints pre-thinned for airbrushing from reputable artist supply houses/paint manufacturers, e.g. Vallejo (Spain), Schmincke (Germany). They never let me down and I don't have issues with clogging etc.

[Roger Pellett]

I am on my second Badger 350 and find it to be great for spray painting a model with acrylic paints.  (I don’t represent the company.). It is foolproof and easy for a ham handed person like me to clean without damage.

 

I use this with a small air compressor with air tank.  The air tank allows the compressor to maintain a constant pressure at to the airbrush.  As posted above, one of these at a big box home improvement store will cost slightly less than $100.  The air brush uses a surprising amount of air and I second the comments about the “canned air.”

 

In my opinion, a secret to using an air brush is having a good supply of air at a CONSTANT CONTROLLED PRESSURE.  My compressor stores air at 125psi but the airbrush works at about 25psi.  It is therefore important that the compressor include a regulator valve to control pressure to the air brush.

 

The body of the Badger air brush is made from cast resin and the nipple connecting the air supply is machined brass pressed into the body.  Overpressuring the air brush will eject the nipple from the body and require buying a new one (CA or Epoxy doesn’t seem to stick to the resin body.).  

 

Over the years, I’ve tried all sorts of poor boy paint spraying setups and this is the only one that works reliably.

 

Roger

 

 

[Cleat]

I recently started to learn the airbrush, I got a Badger Patriot 105 ($75), a California Air 1P1060 compressor ($100), plus $25 for a 6-pack of paint.  I'm no expert but from my research this is a decent basic system.  So far I've mastered full on (like a spray can); I'm doing some line exercises to learn finer control. 

[kurtvd19]

You picked a good brush.  Practice and you will soon be doing good enough to feel confident to lay paint down on a model.

Good luck

Kurt