Using a 5gal compressor for airbrushing?

For a few dollars more you can get the quite TCP compressor, (dont buy the name brands) adapter for your airbrush etc. I dont understand what you need? None of the compressers at Canadian Tire are quite. Ive had that little compressor for almost 8 years. I use my Paasche & Badger airbrushes.

OldSalty 

Not cost effective, trust me! I recently added a 1 gal tank to my Iwata smart jet, and the cost of all the parts, hoses, regulator etc... About equalled a new compressor with a built in tank. I even got all the parts on Ebay cheap. Problem I ran into was the cheap eBay regulators came with very crappy psi gauges, that were marked in 10 or 20 psi increments- not sutable for airbrushing, so I was forced to buy the regulator from Iwata for 60$$

after a bunch of running around trying to fit my existing airbrush hose to the coupler in the compressor... it was determined that replacing the hose would be simpler and more cost effective.

So with a new air line, new brush air hose and a coupler - total cost out of pocket was $54.00 Cdn

It's -42C outside (with windchill), and -5C in the garage where the compressor is... I think I'll wait a few days for it to warm up before trying it.

Bringing the compressor in the house is grounds for divorce!

Cheers.

Heres something you might be interested in? Even at a canadian price its still good. They are very low noise, I live in an appartment now..no problem.  

http://www.tcpglobal.com/Airbrushing-Supplies/Compressors_4/

OldSalty

Actually, that compressor would work straight out of the box, except for a water trap that might not be absolutely necessary depending on your location. In any case, water traps are pretty cheap- maybe ten to twenty bucks.

Noise would be a problem if you have it in your workshop.

For many years I used a large general purpose compressor. I kept it in the garage, so the noise didn't bother me.  I owned my home, and my basement workshop was close to my garage in planform, so I ran plumbing pipe from compressor to workshop.  I connected the compressor hose to the piping by a quick disconnect so I could use it for other purposes easily.

I mounted a dryer and regulator in my workshop so I could adjust airbrushing pressure without continually running upstairs to the garage.  I eventually tired of having to run upstairs to turn the compressor on, so ended up with a quiet airbrush compressor in my shop, but used the previous arrangement for well over a decade.