Hi Aaron, I’ve been a subscriber for as long as I can remember. I’m now 73, had a terrible bout with illness and had to stop modeling for a couple of years. I have an awesome family and they stacked me with more models than I can have room for if I were to build all of them. Mind you that might take me way past my life line. One of the gift I received last year Were two hand held air brushes, the ones you charge and a brush on top of it. I followed your Video but when I cleaned the airbrush and put it together, right when I turned it back on the darn thing started to shoot paint out and made a horrible mess. Paint was shooting out the small hole on top of the cup and out the paintbrush. I never used an airbrush before and would love to get better at it, but right now I’m hesitant to try and use it! Please sir, what have I done wrong and am I beyond help. Thanking you in advance Aaron. “Help”
I have 2 of the battery powered airbrushes & have had no problem with either one. I think the 1st thing I’d suggest would be to take it outside & see what happens when you have plain water in your airbrush. If it still blows out of the hold, there’s something blocking the nozzle or where the paint flows out of the cup. Disassemble the airbrush & thoroughly clean all the pieces. Reassemble & try the water again. If that doesn’t solve the problem, talk to someone at a local hobby shop or see if there’s an IPMS chapter in your area. Club members are generally happy to help solve problems.
Hi Anthony,
I agree with nicksr1125. It sounds like something is blocking the nozzle and preventing paint moving freely. My experience with the battery-powered compressors is that they operated at a relatively low max pressure and that can make it hard to blow out residue left from cleaning. Clean the parts thorougly, especially the tip of the nozzle and see if that helps.
Aaron
Thanks Aaron & especially nicksr1125; I took the airbrush apart again and Aaron, I viewed your DVD again and what I had done wrong I found was that I hadn’t instilled the trigger right and the needle wasn’t in far enough. My bad! This is my first experience with airbrushing and I’m sure with practice and lots of patience and keep watching your video’s I’ll get better as time goes on. Thank you both, I really appreciate your input. Happy modeling.
Anthony
Hi Nicksr1125. I’m starting to feel more confident in taking the airbrush apart and practicing with colored water to make sure I put it all back together so that it works correctly.
I sure hope. I’m using the AB for so many uses now. First time using it to paint my figures. What a huge difference! Can’t wait to use non my plane builds.
I bought the no-name battery power air brush partly on the review by FSM. I then bought a 2nd airbrush so I could tryout different needles. My luck has been spotty but has gotten me interested in moving to a ‘real’ compressor. Do you have any recommendations? I’d like to get a middle of the road compressor since I’m still learning and prices are moving up.
I have a Paasche D3000R compressor that is very quiet. I would not have purchased it myself. It was a birthday present. Cost is $200.75 on amazon but no free shipping. The nice thing about it, other than it being quiet, is it does include a moisture trap. Check around, you may find something similar at a better price.
I picked up the Master Airbrush Compressor w/tank, regulator, and moisture trap. I think it’s about $135 on Amazon. I’ve been using it for about 5 years without issue. I consider Master Airbrush a middle of the road provider. I have a couple of their airbrushes and they are reliable.
An even cheaper option for the compressor+tank is Timbertech. All the same options but under $90. I’ve never used their stuff, but it looks to be a fairly popular introductory level brand.
I have the Master Airbrush TC-40T which is basically the same as the ones recommended by @PhoenixG. It came with the regulator and moisture trap. It also has a 3-liter tank which will remove any pulsation in your air supply.
I’ve had it for almost 10 years? Maybe less. Used enough that it’s gotten a little loud when it reaches higher PSI’s so I’ve been thinking it’s going to be time to replace soon, but it still works and being loud is subjective because I have it on a wooden floor under a desk so that could be making it loud. Who knows?
I admit to ignorance regarding this product. It’s a straight compressor no tank which, just like the battery powered one, means two things.
It runs constantly while in use. Two, it will max out around 25-27 PSI meaning you’ll very likely have to upgrade again if you’re considering the use of a siphon feed brush.
Is there a particular price point and feature set you are looking for? There’s lots of experience in this forum. There’s a pretty good chance someone may have experience with or know of a product that fits the bill. I don’t mind continuing to toss suggestions out, but I figured it might be nicer if we can share info that’s more relevant to your needs/expectations.
@Arbitro95 Hi Bob! I don’t know how close you are to a Harbor Freight, but they have the Avanti airbrush and compressor combo kit for $100. The airbrush is nothing special, but the compressor works well, and for that price, you can spend a bit on a decent airbrush.
If specifics help, I don’t have a space that I can dedicate to airbrushing with a hood and such. I need to basically break everything down after use and put it away. I don’t see that changing any time in the future. So small and portable are a must. I limit my paint to acrylics so as to limit the smell. I also never paint for more that an hour or so and most of that is prep and tear down time. From what I’ve been told, the 25-27 range would suffice for ship and plane models. Most of the recommendations I see are for modelers who have more space and use more often not to mention money to dedicate to airbrushing. I understand if these constraints might mean airbrushing is not a viable option for me and I should just work on brush painting, but I’ve enjoyed the little airbrushing I’ve done.
Again thanks for the advice already given and any that might come along.
Hey Bob, thanks for the additional information. If you don’t plan to have at least a home-made paint booth, you’ll probably want to take the airbrush work outside. The airbrush puts tiny particles of paint in the air which eventually land on something. That could be your heating system or your counter or your furniture. I’m not home right now to show you a picture of my filter in my paint booth but the filter is full of paint from the airbrushing I do a couple of nights per week. I would hate to see my floor without a paint booth.
Thanks for sharing your issue with us. I appreciate the opportunity to brainstorm ideas with you. I hope our comments lead you to the best choice for you and your situation.
I think what you’re describing is absolutely possible.
I only paint with acrylics. My paint booth is nothing more than a cardboard box.
Here’s a couple of pics of my setup.
The ruler sitting at the bottom of the box is standard 12". I put it there to help with scale. I think the box is around 18" across at the opening. My air filter is an old canister vacuum cleaner. I stuck the end of the hose at the back and bottom of the paint box . The vacuum cleaner bag acts as the filter. I change the bag periodically when the paint buildup inside the bag starts to restrict airflow too much.
And this is my compressor with it’s 3L tank.
The view makes it look bigger than the box which is why I put the ruler on top of it. As you can see I could pretty much put everything in that box when I was done if I wanted.
The size of my compressor+tank is pretty much the average of any similarly styled one.
So I think your goal of portable and packable is completely achievable.
FSM reviewed a mid-range compressor that came with an airbrush.
I believe that is the same as the Timbertech Professional Airbrush Kit with Multi-Functional Compressor AS-207K on Amazon.
It offers similar functionality to the Gaalheri you mentioned at a lower price point.
Most of mine are as broke as I am.
