Hey guys;
I need some help from the experts. I’m new to the modeling game and want get away from painting with a can. I received this sprayer "thing"form a well-meaning family member. I say “thing” because it’s not an airbrush. It’s made by Testors and comes with an aerosol can for an air source. It also comes with 6 2-oz. jars of thinned paint and an adaptor-nozzle that screws right on to those jars. I don’t know what the model number is. There is no way to control the air pressure. The air just comes blasting out of the thing. It works well enough for laying down the base color and maybe one or two more colors for a simple camo pattern. Would it be possible to fit it with a regulator somehow? Would an airtank with a regulator do the job? I would only paint one model at a time since my modeling time is limited. Can’t stringmore than an hour or two together at any one time.
Ideas on my ideas?
I use an airtank I bought at walmart for less than 20 dollars, slapped on a regulator and a moisture trap, also from walmart.
1 stop at the air hose at the local service station and Im good to go for 3 or 4 sessions
Another option. I noticed that a few days ago that Walmart has a 2 gallon 100 psi Campbell Hausfeld compressor for $68.00 and a filter for around $11.00 more. The compressor takes a standard ¼ inch fitting. You may need a fitting for your airbrush but I think that with Testers you should be okay.
If your time and money is limited go with Box-stock’s advice but keep the fitting size in mind. Fittings can be found at any hardware store, not a big deal.
Thanks Vinman;
There is a small black rubber/vinyl hose the screws on the propellant can. You hold the paint jar with the sprayer button on the top. It looks like a clear spray can of paint with a hose connected to it.
Iroc
Finally went to Wal-mart and got the air tank (7.5 gal.), moisture trap and regulator. Is the tank big enough, or will I be making trip after trip to the station?
Steve
How often you have to refill is going to depend on the pressure at the service station where you fill it and the pressure you use when painting. Some gas stations have relatively low air pressure whereas some have pretty high pressure. Get it as hig as you can without exceeding the rating of your tank or fittings (MAKE SURE you don’t exceed those ratings!!) and then paint at low pressure and your tank will last longer.
My compressor has a 5 gallon tank and I usually let it fill and then turn it off and just paint from the air in the tank. I can get 30-45 minutes of spraying without any problems.
I think I’ve got the same basic tank, it’s a Campbell Hausfield, 7 gallon, has a tire chuck on it to fill it from a service station air supply. I use the air output, connect that to my air compressor, and fill it that way. I can get about 3-4 airbrush sessions out of mine, but I rarely paint for more than a half an hour or so.
Oh yeah, mine is rated to 120 PSI, and has a safety pressure relief valve on it. I fill it to about 100 PSI, and paint at around 10-20 PSI.
The moisture trap is the exact one that I use. I think that the air adjusting valve isn’t the one you want, though–although it works great for air tools. If it’s the one I’m thinking of, it is small, brass, has a guage on it, with a little thumbwheel about the size of a dime. If you look through it, it is just an air restricting valve. It won’t keep the pressure on the low side constant–in other words, when you let go of the trigger on the airbrush, the pressure on the input to the airbrush will shoot up to tank pressure. When you press the trigger, the air will come out at high pressure, until that air in the hose is down to the valve’s pressure. I’ve got one, and it works great for air tools, but not so well for airbrushes. The air takes too long to go down the right pressure with the small CFM that an airbrush uses.
I’d suggest doing one of two things: Take the valve back, get a real regulator (the MP5148 is probably the one to get), or take both back, and get an integrated air filter/regulator. You can get one at harbor freight for about $20 (which is the one I’m using currently on my airbrush–the other stuff is for the tools). However, I’ve thought that the C-H stuff is better built than the harbor freight one–I was just feeling cheap that day [:)]. If I had to do it over again, I’d get the C-H stuff. The regulator is about $20, the moisture trap’s about $10 IIRC. Oh, while you are there, get a couple of quick-disconnects, and some teflon tape. If you ever decide to get more airbrushes, or use the tank to fill your tires, they come in handy.
I think he might mean one of those compressors you can get that have a tire-style connector on them. 1337 is correct in that using a regulator is the way to do it, however the problem is finding connectors that will fit it. Also, those compressors are not designed for long-term use or heavy duty use. They are designed for occasionally inflating a tire and using them as an airbrush compressors will probably cause it to fail pretty quickly unless you give it frequent breaks.
If I’m wrong about the type of compressor, let us know and we’ll try and steer you in the right direction.
Sorry been out of town for a while.
That sounds like the same tank I bought.
Holds 120lbs of pressure.
if you have a good regulator and moisture trap then your good to go.
The stations usually will only put between 60-80lbs of pressure in it, good for a couple of sessions.
Where I work we have a compressor that actually allows me to fill it to the 120lb capacity, but I limit it at 100lbs.
Thats good enough for several sessions.
So far I’ve been happy with it since I can fill it at work, but I’m still trying to get my hands on a compressor for home.
Can never seem to win an ebay auction.
music, what about badger braided airhoses with moisture trap built in? you can use an adaptor for it, to attach to a tire, it will regulate, and you can put quick connects on it for your airbrush, if it is a different brand, but why would you need another brand with badger around? [:)]