Air Brushing - Starting points

[cteno4]

Ken,

 

I picked up this little senco compressor last year to use inside the house for air brushing and other air tool work.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Senco-PC1010-1-Horsepower-1-Gallon-Compressor/dp/B0000AQK78/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384059026&sr=8-1&keywords=senco+air+compressor

 

Very quiet for a pretty powerful compressor. About as loud as a cordless drill when it goes off it not at all shocking. Fine for small brad nailer as well. Also very light and easy to carry around.

 

Jeff

Edited November 10, 2013 by cteno4

[KenS]

Thanks. What you're using looks a lot like what I'd been thinking of: 0.2mm and 0.3mm nozzles and gravity feed (I'm ignoring the Oh My God brush for now, as I'm not ready for that kind of work myself).  Both have fairly large cups by those photos.  Do you find you need that?

 

I hadn't really considered two different brushes for priming and painting though, perhaps I should.

 

What kind of paint do you use for the resin kits? What do you thin it with? I ask since I think the kind of paint affects the choice of nozzle size.

 

For a compressor, I'm currently waffling between the Paasche DC600R, which meets my minimum requirements at a good price, and the Iwata IS-975, which commands a premium price, but may run quieter and definitely holds more air in its tank between the compressor set points, so it runs less often. It looks similar to your 16A (except for having two regulators, which I don't need but there's nothing cheaper from them with the same specs). Unfortunately nobody in the US sells the 16A as far as I can tell.

[KenS]

Jeff, interesting.  I'd expected tool compressors to be fairly loud. Perhaps I'll need to rethink that.

 

Looks like a good compressor with 1 cfm @ 40psi and 30 lbs between the set points at 100 lbs, it shouldn't have to run that often in normal use. How often does it refill the tank when airbrushing?

[the_weird_one]

I do tend to find that I need the bigger cups for my figure work but then my figures range from 1/8 to 1/2 scale and I've finally just tracked down a 1/3 scale Belldandy kit so thats going to take some serious paint. I also find that the cups don't get in the way but I've been airbrushing for a long time now so I don't do what I used to and have to have my eyes in direct line of the tips to know where the paint's going to go.

 

The cup on the Tamiya I linked is deffo bigger than anything you've linked but the one on the Wave is the same as the Badger or HP-C+, but at least on mine its removable so you can swap it for a smaller Iwata cup at a later date if you feel that you need a smaller one.

 

For the most part I'm not sure you'd need to prime for weathering as the models are already painted so should have a fairly good key already for light paint work, though I really would recommend a top coat/sealer in any case because it'll protect all the paint both weathering and factory from damage when moved by fingers. However if you do decide that you need to prime, getting a brush with a bigger hopper is advantageous as your not stopping to fill it as often.

 

I use a mixture of Mr. Surfacer 1000 and 1200 for my primer thinned with Mr. Thinner about 7-1 thinners to surfacer, though that does vary on time of year and humidity levels. For the paints I use Tamiya acrylics with the Tamiya X-20 thinners in about a 5-1 thinners to surfacer ratio but again does vary depending on weather and the like, unfortunately there's no hard and fast rule.

 

Rather than the DC600R compressor I'd go for this http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/d3000.html from Paasche, its noise pressure rating is 10db lower and believe me you'll notice the difference when using a compressor for any period of time. Unfortunately http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/batcasproco.html is out of stock cause that seems to be the same as the 16A, at least from the general spec's in my literature, and from a quick look seems to be fairly well received review wise. The one that Jeff linked looks fairly good value for money though but you will need to buy a moisture trap as well since it seems to be designed primarily for air tools rather than painting.

[KenS]

Thanks, all good info. You're definitely steering me towards a larger cup than I'd thought I'd need, although the idea of interchangeable cups is interesting: I'll need to see which models provide that.

 

My main use is priming and then painting structures (either kit or pre-painted ones I want to repaint), so larger volumes of paint will be needed for that.  Later I think I want to get into more sophisticated use, such as weathering. And as you note, a sealer of dull-coat or similar over weathering is a good idea, and would be another large-volume use. I could always buy a second brush in the future for more detail-oriented work (like your 0.2mm model).  That all tells me I should be looking at models with a 0.3mm nozzle with a larger (9ml+) cup.

 

There are also replaceable-nozzle ones (like the H&S two-in-one), but I think I'd rather have two brushes than be doing conversions.

 

For compressors, I'd thought I knew what I wanted, but I need to do some rethinking here. In addition to Jeff's comments on the Senco, perhaps I need to give Badger more thought, since it's very similar to your 16A and had been on my list except for the noise issue.

 

The Badger TC910 is easy to find; my local art store (the one still selling airbrushes) carries them. Per one spec I found the Badger puts out 60dB though, which is why I avoided it (an undated copy of their manual does claim 47db). Typical values are around 50 - 55 dB, and in my circumstances I'm going to aim for the low end of the range, as long as the compressor otherwise meets my needs.  The DC600R is rated at either 47dB or 55dB depending on source (I think 55 is correct). The IS-975 is also 55dB, but runs less often than some of the others (bigger tank, higher pressure). It's possible these are all actually the same, and just measured differently, or that they've changed ratings over the years and I'm seeing a mix of current and historical information. Trying to pin down actual sound levels is very frustrating.

 

The Harder & Steenbeck 16A, which interestingly they describe as the Sparmax TC610H, puts out 48dB per their website (another site says 53dB), so it would be a great choice. Unfortunately it's not available in the U.S., and I don't think it's the same as the Badger TC-910, although I could be wrong. Aside from dB the specs are identical. And aside from the potential noise issue the Badger would be a great choice. I suppose I could always get one and return it if it's too loud (the store allows returns without a restocking fee if unused, the only question is if I could run it to test the sound level without making it look used).

 

Most of these "airbrush" compressors are similar, but they're not identical. Iwata and some others including Sparmax are or were made by a well-regarded company in Taiwan, while Badger apparently gets theirs from somewhere in mainland China. Paasche used to use a Taiwanese company, but by one report switched some production to the mainland.

 

That doesn't guarantee lesser quality, as much depends on what the named company asked for and how well they quality-control it, and both Badger and Paasche have a reputation for quality I'd expect them to guard. But it does help explain Iwata's higher costs to an extent. And changing the manufacturer could explain why some of these compressors have two different reported noise levels.

 

The Paasche D3000R is well-regarded online, but it has a lower maximum pressure in the tank than others: 50 psi (3.4 bar) vs 60psi (4.1 bar) or higher, with airbrush pressure varying from 20-40psi depending on the brush.  More important is the low end of the auto shutoff range, which isn't documented for the Paasche, but is usually 10-15 psi below the high end (and several sources rate the Paasche as operating at 30psi, which is reasonable if the tank runs 35-50psi). From what I've read, some model hobbyists uses need 35psi (2.4bar), and a few use 40, although I'm not sure what kind of paint a hobbyist could use that would require that much. In other words, it probably works just fine for most uses, but it's just enough lower than the Badger and others to make me want to avoid it.

 

The Sparmax TC620 is available in the U.S., although it costs a bit more than the Badger TC910. I never found a sound rating for it, although one reviewer said it refilled faster than the Badger and ran quieter. It also has its high/low compressor setpoints further apart, which means it should run a brush longer with the compressor off than the Badger.

 

I'd been leaning to the Paasche DC600R because it was slightly cheaper than the Sparmax TC620, better reviewed than the Badger TC910 and apparently quieter, and ran at a higher tank pressure than either, which should translate to less frequent operation of the compressor.

 

And there's the Iwata IS-975, which continues to pull at me despite the ridiculous price. It out-specs them in every criteria (except sound, where it appears to be a bit high, but still below 60dB), so I know I'm not going to end up short on functionality at some point if I buy one. It's not a very sensible use of money though.

 

Decisions, decisions.

[Martijn Meerts]

I have one of those H&S ones with replaceable nozzle, and it takes very little time to actually replace them. In fact, every time you clean it you're pretty much halfway done replacing it as well. A nice thing about the one I have, is that it has a little conversion kit for bottom feeding the paint as well, which is nice if you have a ton of small jars with often-used pre-mixed colours. It's also nice for large surfaces since you can use the paint straight from the bottle rather than having to refill the cup multiple times. I'm still thinking about getting a cheap-ish single action airbrush for priming and clear coating, but that'll have to wait.

 

For compresser I have a fairly simple one, which was recommended to me by the store as it's meant for modelling stuff. It has a 1.5 liter compressed air tank, which is plenty for the shorter bursts normally used  on models, but even for longer burst it can keep the pressure up quite well, even if the tank is empty. Noise wise it's okay.

[the_weird_one]

Given the size of the work your going to be doing (unless its the Skytree) you don't need a massive tank, you get a lot of pressurized air in a small tank and the compressor itself will keep that tank topped up when it drops below about 1/3 used or I guess thats about where mine kicks back in.

 

I prefer the 2 brush option over changing the needles but thats because I regularly use my 0.2 and 0.18 on the same model at the same time, but as Martijn said to clean the brush's properly your basically stripping them between paint colours anyway.

 

As to the compressor you may find your local art store may have one of the Badgers you can listen to before buying them. I know when I was buying mine I got 8-9 different compressors out in the same price bracket before I ended up on my one. Though if you want truly silent a Bamboo oil filled would be the way to go but then your looking at a compressor that costs more than the Iwata.

 

The Sparmax TC620 looks like a good contender though as something between the Badger and Iwata.

 

All I can say is welcome to the nightmare that is airbrushing, its like trains your never quite happy with what you end up buying and always want to find something else.

 

However here's a basic list for your needs I'd go with from C.A.B. feel free to ignore me totally:

Airbrush:

http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/hato381aich2.html

 

Reason being this has nozzel kits for 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 avalible so you can use the one brush for large area to fine detail - will save you money over buying 2 also at that price is a bargain, their nice brushes esp with the nozzle preset control if your new to duel action controls

 

Compressor:

http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/sptcaico.html or http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/batcasproco.html

 

See if you can hear the Badger one before you splash out on the Sparmax, if its as good as I'm thinking it will be you'll be pleasantly surprised. But if you can no matter what compressor you get see if you can find a way to suspend it in the air with bungee cords the vibrations off the compressor make most of the noise getting rid of a hard surface to vibrate against makes a big difference.

 

Quick Release MAV Control:

http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/qucowg1matha.html

 

Fine tune the air pressure going to your brush, the control on the compressor is a good start but adding that makes a world of difference when you get to detail works, and the quick release just makes life so much easier when your finished for the day with the brush as you can leave the hose connected to the compressor and don't have to faf about with unscrewing it from the brush. Also will help if you end up with two brushes or more in the future in swapping at speed between them.

 

Air Hose:

http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/ba10brho1.html

 

Should get you started but you may want to investigate different air hoses - I have mine made for me by an airbrush supplier in the UK cause I need about 12' of hose and they come made at 10' and 20'. But a high quality hose will last you a long time. DON'T get a coiled one they won't last long.

 

Cleaning station:

http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/iwtaclst.html

First stop for cleaning your brush is to empty the paint out of the system into one of these then run some water if your using acrylics or thinner if anything else straight through after it. Air brush cleaner is ok but I find it expensive when you do a lot of work.

 

Optional:

http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/grggerslaigr.html

Makes holding an airbrush for any period of time really comfortable but I don't know if it'll work with an external MAV.

 

Cleaning not avalible from C.A.S. - a small ultrasonic cleaner - strip your brush put in the cleaner in normal tap water 3 minutes later your brush is factory clean again, saves a fortune in the long run over air brush cleaner.

[cteno4]

When I've looked at compressors both larger tool ones and a few airbrush ones I found the db measurements did not bear out to real life. Measuring db is a tricky business, distance, humidity, temperature, surroundings all have effects. I got the senco as a friend had one and it really is quiet and very portable. Because of this I did a lot of research then when replacing my shop compressor as well and was able to find one not much louder but with greater output and more tank for the larger nailers.

 

Nice little double moisture trap runs bout 20 bucks, always use then on air tools as well as moisture in them ain't good.

 

I've only used the senco so far with the cheapo capillary airbrush that I use for rough scenery stuff. That's the harbor freight that has the interchangeable bottles and just uses capillary action of air stream going over the nipple to spray the paint. It's crude but great to use with cheap craft acrylics for scenery bits, but I'm tempted to even try it for large painting on structures. Puts down a interesting texture with the craft acrylics. Great with scenery as you can keep swapping bottles to blend and keep on doing different things with no cleaning between. Its a step up from using spray cans! This is pretty high volume air use compared to the single and double action detail brushes I have (badger and no name) and the senco compressor only goes off maybe every 10 minutes with pretty constant use.

 

Also really agree a little ultrasonic cleaner is a must to clean parts out well, any gunk in the air brush just gets worse and worse!

 

Also if you go for nice air brushes do go for the ones with the most removable parts to better clean, replace and have variations!

 

I've gotten to play with a few really nice air brushes that a friend owns who is a great painter. I could see what they can do in the hands of someone with great talent, but I realized I didn't have that, so I've never spent the bucks on air brushes as the low to medium units have done well for my skill level. At some point i do want to try to find a class or someone who will work with me to get finer scale in my airbrush abilities with some better equipment. I have kind of hit the max on just learning by experiment an looking at YouTube videos!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

Edited November 11, 2013 by cteno4

[Lawrence]

I do have a reasonable budget kit at home, compressor has a tank and water trap etc, etc my issues have always been getting paint viscosity right and trying to work out what the best pressure for spraying is.  The tank is big enough so I don't noticeably lose pressure even when spraying for some time and the compressor kicks in quickly to keep it steady.  But getting the right amount of paint on where I want it to go is some kind of dark art :icon_scratch:

[cteno4]

Watching a friend who is an artist and just plays at airbrushing is amazing. Really looks like magic. There is a lot of art in there along with the science and mechanics!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

Edited November 11, 2013 by cteno4

[the_weird_one]

Paint for airbrushing from gravity feed should be the consistency of semi skimmed milk, there's no hard set rule though for how much thinner to use with the paint though, as environmental air pressure and humidity affect the paint as its sprayed.

 

Also mix by stirring rather than shaking, one of the things I learned early on for some reason the mixing doesn't work as well if you shake it and I've yet to work out why, also don't try and skimp on the thinners by using generic, that doesn't produce as gooder result as using the paint manufacturers dedicated thinner.

 

I've yet to have a need for a double moisture trap though as I find having the air tank mitigates the need for 2, when I did start air brushing anything I had the one on the compressor unit and then an inline one and the inline one never had any moisture in it after the end of an hour long session of painting. I suspect though if you live in a humid environment that a duel stage moisture trap could be quite helpful.

[cteno4]

yep i find the double trap is necessary in the summers here in dc in the shop in the garage, i get a significant amount of water in the second bell in the very swampy summers here when using the compressor a lot. inside the house with the ac even in the basement (very dry basement) the second trap pretty much has no moisture ever in it. but also the inside compressor rarely gets long and high volume use like the shop one will and fast and prolonged expansion is where you get the most moisture coming out fast ive found.

 

i just always slap on the double traps as they are not that much money and simple place to help keep moisture out of the machines and paint!

 

making sure to drain your tanks often also helps both your tanks and keeps things much dryer. one of those things you need to keep whacking yourself to do as its easy to forget (dont see it like the moisture in the traps) to do!

 

for my low brow airbrushing with the capillary gun ive found the craft paints thin well with the water based house paint thinner. big bottle for $7 will last a very long time! just begun to experiment with using the cheap water based craft paints on structures. i like the texture and the fact its super cheap to play and experiment with. texture and finish is very similar to paint on the tomytecs as well so i think it will help blend in the green max with the tomytecs.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[the_weird_one]

Ah yes, general maintenance of the compressor, so easy to forget to drain the tanks, I ended up sticking a big label on by the power switch to remind me to drain the tank every time I've finished using it.

 

I've never used a siphon feed brush so haven't got a comparable experience as you have with non brand matched thinners in that sense, while I have used them in the past to try saving a couple of £ in my gravity feeds I've found I've never been happy with the finished paint job compared to the branded thinners, having said that I've not tried a none branded thinner for a few years so maybe things have got better and I should look at them again.

 

And yeah I can imagine the need for the double trap during Summers in DC, only time I've visited there was in the hight of summer and I felt like I was drinking the air, more so than visiting Tokyo during the summer.

[KenS]

All good info, thanks.

 

BTW, I found a site with some good tips and a lot of in-depth airbrush reviews, worth a look if anyone else is looking for a new brush:

 

https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/

[cteno4]

ha, going to have to do that trick of putting the warning on the switch, but then again i need to put a switch on the shop door to remind me to turn off the compressor as well as i wont see the trap sign if i dont turn the compressor off! at least my senco and the new pacific (bigger one in the shop) dont make you jump out of your skin when they go off!

 

the very low brow interchangeable brushes i use with the craft acrylic paints works fine with the water based house paint thinner. these are super super simple brushes that require practically no cleaning just the paint can and its top nipple. ive popped a rubber nipple over the end of them and stored for a few weeks and then reused. gun comes with 5 containers so you can keep changing w/o any cleaning to the gun. its crude but works pretty well for fiddling around and super cheap all the way around.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/quick-change-airbrush-kit-93506.html

 

i have a pressure valve on the bench that i can help regulate the volume better.

 

like i said its very low brow air brushing, but find it great for scenery stuff where i want lots of different colors to play around.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[the_weird_one]

Don't think I've ever seen anything quite like that brush in the UK Jeff, and I don't remember seeing anything like it in Yodabashi either, though I brought my current airbrush line up from HLJ when I visited them in 2009.

 

Site looks good for people new to or looking to upgrade their brush's.

 

Though at the end of the day people get attached to their brush's like they do with their camera's (Canon vs Nikon rivalry) they all do roughly the same thing in roughly the same way, sure you can notice a big difference between the no names and the brand's but between the brands as long as its not Aztec most people unless their serious artists wouldn't notice too much of a difference in them. The thinning of the paint is where most people go wrong.

[cteno4]

i have not seen this kind of brush anywhere else as well. its rather odd, but effective and ultra simple. not for everything at all! 

 

harbor freight is a cheapo tool shop, but at times has some interesting things and for some simple things its a great value. their $22 double action brush is pretty nice. even has a limiting air valve on the back of it. pretty sturdy built and ive not mucked it up badly yet when i was experimenting with the craft paints in this gun. i didnt want to experiment with my nicer badger double action. the pigment chunks are pretty big in the craft paints and you really cant get a very fine spray in a double action gun and then i tried the other interchangalbe gun to do the craft paint stuff and it worked well w/o having to clean much! like you said its a decent enough brush for $22 and fine for starting on a budget. i can tell my badger does a better job of fine spraying and the nozzle and pin seem finer tome.

 

cheers

 

jeff