I am looking to buy a complete setup airbrush and compressor. I carve my own fishing lures and I am looking for a good setup to paint my little projects. I could also be using this brush for painting helmets, , models, and small automotive details. I am looking to get into a good quality setup, my father use to own a Paashe airbrush many years ago ,but he picked his up from his father and it’s the only brand he has experience with.
What kind of gun should I be looking for? I don’t mind starting out with a general purpose brush and eventually working my way towards specialized brushes for finer details.
I found a set up on ebay for $60 with Dual Action Brush, fittings, hose, filter, and compressor. It’s a Powercat, has anyone heard of these before?
Also I live an apartment complex so I need a quiet compressor. Any help is appreciated. Thank You.
Don’t buy those “deals” you see on Ebay.
They are junk and you will just have to buy again if you purchase them.
A good silent compressor is going to set you back over $300 alone.
I have a Badger 180-1 Cyclone compressor, and compared to an industrial type compressor it is reasonably quiet. It’s quieter than a vacuum cleaner and most dishwashers, but it’s loud enough that you wouldn’t want to listen to the thing if your trying to sleep.
As for an airbrush to buy, it sounds as though you have a lot of varied uses in mind. My recommedation would be for the Paasche H Set. The H Set includes everything you need, aside from the compressor. It’s single action, easy to use and easy to clean. While it can’t go down to extreme fine lines as a really top notch dual action brush, with the small #1 tip you can still get down to under an eighth of an inch which is easily adequate for most modeling uses including free hand camo on 1/35 armor or 1/48 airplanes. The nice thing about it is that the H Set alos includes larger #3 and #5 tips with a large siphon bottle. The #5 tip with the large bottle is well suited to large projects such as varnishing furniture. If you later decided to buy a double action brush for really fine details, I think that you would still find the H to be useful for larger stuff.
I was reseaching airbrushes and compressors for quite awhile before I made my decision. I wanted to start off with a setup to do similar as you - models, helmets, automotive, motorcycle, snowmobile, T-shirts, almost anything. I tried a few different AB’s at a custom work bodyshop, the owner was a great help.
I already have a large garage compressor, so I wanted a really quiet hobby compressor for in the house. I ended up getting an Iwata Eclipse HP-BCS as that seemed to be a good choice for an all-around AB to start with. The Iwata Eclipse HP-CS wouldn’t be a bad choice either. I just liked the idea of the paint bottles.
The level of detail you want will probably be easier with a double action brush, but I think you will want to consider a gravity feed over a siphon feed. There is even a Badger that can do both, if you want the larger capacity of a siphon feed.
And yes, it is worth the money for a tank. It makes it easier on the compressor, it removes all pulsation from the air supply to the brush, and it reduces moisture problems in the line.
And shop around for the best prices—it takes time but can save you a lot of shekels.
Airbrush artists use both so it depends on your preference.
I would say gravity-feed models are more popular for automotive graphics but helmet painters use both.
With a gravity-feed you will be able to spray at lower pressures for really tight work in close, but that is up to you. My preference would be an Omni 4000 or a Badger 100LG
Ross - (sorry to hijack the thread by the way) … you just sent me down memory lane… I had to think back to my time in Haifa and Tel Aviv, Israel… everything was “how many shekels” when we were on the town … I even found myself bartering with the guys in the ships store (I was in the Navy) after we left there because they were “trying to rip me off” and “take my shekels” haha…
(note: it does no good to barter in a US Navy ship store, although they were in the mood to after leaving there as well)
Andrew, I’ve seen both types of airbrushes used. It all depends on what you get used to working with and how fine of detail the airbrush can produce. Some people will have many airbrushes, each for different aspects of the project. Usually siphon-feeds for the larger projects that use a lot of paint and large areas. A gravity-feed for intricate detail work.
I think a double action would serve all your purposes better.
Most definitely! [;)]
You can shop around, especially for the airbrush. But you’ll have a hard time beating the price of the compressor - inexpensive, lots of pressure and quiet compared to many others for 3 times as much. I settled on that compressor and checked for a deal on my Iwata. After adding all the items up - AB, paint bottles, hose, S&H, etc… it was a bit cheaper buying the kit.
Ken Schlotfeldt, the owner and President of Badger is a friend of mine and I am an art consultant for Badger Airbrush Company relating to modeling. They sent me many of them to try out and give my input on them to people who asked about them on this forum and elsewhere.
I do not represent the company nor am I paid anything, I just like to tell others about products that I use myself .