Thinking about an airbrush.

Martino

Martino

Photography, The GWR, Aviation, Travel, Cars.
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I've always shied away from buying an airbrush and do all my painting with brushes. However, I've just acquired a compressor for the workshop, so thought I might dip my toe in the water, or paint, so to speak.

So, recommendations for a starter airbrush please folks.

Simple, effective, hopefully not too expensive.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.
 
I've just done the same thing.
The man in the model shop recommended Badger, which they didn't sell. So I hunted around and found a single action bottom feed starter kit. I can't remember the number, but it's 200 something. Comes with a little tutorial booklet.
 
Like most things you get what you pay for, i have some cheap Badger ones, £20-30 ideal for general panel work but i also have a 30 year old Devillbiss £100 + now i use for light edge weathering and fine lines truth is the cheaper they are the less detail you will get and be harder to get a good finish. Try these http://www.everythingairbrush.com ...to practise stupid thing to say but :thumbup:
 
I got a Badger 200 and didn't get on with it, it's ok for a paint job but not weathering or delicate painting. My double action brush that I have now wasn't expensive (£50ish) but works a treat.
 
Double Action and lots and lots of practice. Clarkes el Cheapo double action works quite well....... after a fashion.
 
Oh yes double action is the way to go cover all aspects (pun not intended). It is more difficult to master but it does give you full control over the effect that you are going for.
Having said that a cheap single action bottom feeder brush can give really good results by using different techniques like bouncing the spray to give the more subtle results for weathering etc.

As has been said before, no matter what brush you use, just practice like mad on an old piece of kit and ALWAYS clean the brush after use...some cheaper ones may need cleaning during use
 
I can thoroughly recommend this one as an excellent compromise between quality and price. An internet search may find it at an even lower price. The advantage of a top (gravity) feed is that the pressure supplied by your compressor is less crucial.

https://airbrushes.com/product_info.php?osCsid=a60ef7cb919bcef03f3b0d073a986c38&products_id=21056 < Link To https://airbrushes.com/pr...&products_id=21056

Personally, I swear by using Tamiya acrylics too. Much easier to thin and clean, plus pretty much 100% reliable when it comes to drying matt etc.

I still use aerosols for overall painting, using the airbrush for detailed work and weathering. But that's really down to personal preference.
 
Thank you all.

I'll study your suggestions.

It's another skill to learn as I enter my dotage!
 
its a bit of a minefield,,, single / double bottom feed top feed etc

i bought a testors aztek kit which is a bit of a jack of all trades

and is easy to clean and can be used to paint lots of diferent things

i bought the metal version, its well made and is convertible between single

and double action,,,,, which could be usefull

but having sprayed a few cars it comes down to practice and if you have the

touch of a kak handed knuckle dragger it wont matter what gun you buy

not used it yet,,,,,,, but seen excellent results from other people,,

i would see whats on ebay and maby pick up a cheep used bargain

and then practice,,,,
 
You have to clean them well and get the paint mix right. A £300 airbrush with a dirty needle and too thick paint will be worse than a clean £30 airbrush with the right mix.
 
there is so many different paints,laquers, paint effects, sizes of models
lining , weathering, etc etc,,, bonkers,,

it really takes some research to know everything

but i supose getting a gun and putting down paint is the only way to go
 
Double-action with a small top feed cup works best for me for most things. Double-action for control and variation in thickness/quantity: top feed cup as I tend to use small amounts of paint for models so can simply add a few drops at a time via a pippette.

I've got three airbrushes, one's a Badger single-action bottom feed, one's a Paasche and I forget the brand of the other one (it was given to me a long time ago). The Badger only gets used for broad scenic work.

I was taught keep the paint quite thin, about the consistency of skimmed milk.
 
If you get a bottom feeder (as I have) make sure you can get the screw-cap jars for the paint for a couple of reasons:
1) Like Mel I use tamiya acrylics and their jars screw straight on and can be re-used when empty (you will always need to dilute the paint initially).
2) Excess paint can be stored and used again.
Like all things, quality costs but is cheaper in the long run (groan).

Whatever you do, DO NOT practice in the kitchen - you would be surprised at the coverage :rolf:
 
good knowledge there nick,,,,,

im gonna have to pick brains in the near future,,,

have a gp9 to paint in cp red and an f3 to convert to an fp7 and paint in cp red too

and thats just the tip of the iceberg,,,,,,, eak etc
 
Had to dig my airbrush out to see what brand it is. Still using an extremely vintage Paasche Model H that still works with a careful paint mix.
 
Thank you everyone. Much good advice there, as always.

M
 
I have a Badger bottom feed but after talking to the plastic model guys at work I going to get a double action cup fed one. There is one going real cheap at an auto parts chain here that is a good starter one.
Advantages are less paint wastage and better control.
As for thinning paint I have used methylated spirit and craft paint in a 50/50 mix to paint a loco, as recommended by them and it worked a treat, it was cheap and easy to clean up afterwards.
They have also recommended using a lacquer thinner, again at 50/50 ratio I tried it and it works real well at thinning acrylics, it "flashes off" very quickly to give an excellent finish.
 
I'm not a skilled user. End of that story; maybe I should do a course but I envy those who can spray flames and other interesting designs using an airbrush. I do have a very fine gravity feed spray gun though with a 50mm wide fan that I use to spray models with. I have a tip to help with cleaning. Find a large plastic jar and put a hole in the lid and a hole in the side just big enough to get the nozzel into, put cleaning solution into the spray pot, push nozzel into its hole and spray the cleaner through aiming tangentially into the jar. You create a small cyclone in the jar the cleaning fluid falls to the bottom the air escapes out the hole in the lid. Then put the whole thing into a small ultrasonic cleaner for 10 mins, comes out like new....
The cleaner has other good uses too like cleaning out motors, bearings and any intricate cleaning....

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mini-Ult...n_15&hash=item4853007c27&_uhb=1#ht_6871wt_934
 
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