Airbrush hose

Hi,

so here  is my gear:

A cheap compressor / tank unit. Comes with a regulator and will keep going on and off while you are working.
One burst of the compressor will take 15 seconds and is quite noisy but will deliver enough preassurized air to the tank for another 2-3 minutes of work.
This unit is roughly $40 or 10 Big Mac's in Sweden.

From the compressor to the AB:

The compressor is delivered with a standard 1/2" pneumatick quick release.
So first in line is the male QR, a cheap moisture trap @ $10 or 3 Big Mac's.

The hoose and 1/8" smal tool QR with air flow regulator, this was @ $18 (gott ripped off) and then we move on to the male 1/8" QR (bag of pommes) assembed to the NoName AB @ $30 or 8 Big Mac's. 

At the delivery end I can easily switch to a Sparemax 3 or a HS Duo with the same male 1/8"connector.

I can regulate the pressure at the compressor, the airflow at the delivering end of the hoose and I am changing AB easily with the standard QR.

Keep safe, keep sane and happy modeling!

Svenne

goldhammer

We run those on some air tools.  Call them cheater valves.  Downside is no gauge. 

You can get the 1/8 to 1/4 fitting at Napa.  Get a 1/4 female to 1/8 male and you're good to go for running a setup similar to mine or any other regular compressor/hose setup.

 

Manual?  What's that?

 

True. I can see where it would be handy for an on the fly adjustment at the expense of repeatability.

Haha. They come in handy for me when I need to put a bike tranny back together or for torque specs on soft/fragile Italian metal...

We run those on some air tools.  Call them cheater valves.  Downside is no gauge. 

You can get the 1/8 to 1/4 fitting at Napa.  Get a 1/4 female to 1/8 male and you're good to go for running a setup similar to mine or any other regular compressor/hose setup.

Manual?  What's that?

Thanks. Forgot to mention that I ended up ordering the Iwata hose and QD, after there was a problem with my order for the adapter to use with my Badger hose. Once they come in I'll check into getting a water trap, regulator, and the associated adapter I need to hook it up to my Porter & Cable comp.

I came across this while looking for a regulator to use at the airbrush. https://www.iwata-airbrush.com/external-mac-valve.html
Looks to be the same principle as the airbrushes that have them built into the body.

I work on my own vehicles, but I don't think I'd ever want to try doing bodywork. Give me a manual and I'll tear into an engine. Bodywork? No way. 

This one is a 0-200 with marks every 5lbs.  Need to get one with a smaller overall range and finer tuning, but it does the job for me.  I run a test spray on paper or a box as I paint, so I go more by look of the pattern than anything else.  But been painting 1:1 vehicles for years. 

I am going to say that virtually everyone will be putting their's at the compressor end of the hose, just because of the weight and un-wieldeness of having something that big and clunky at the AB trying to move around painting nooks and crannies. 

Thanks goldhammer. I was hoping to see a pic of the regulator at the airbrush that someone else mentioned.

I use Imgur now to post pics, but it's definitely not as easy/intuitive to use as Photobucket.

Here is the pic I said I'd pull up.

Actually the water trap is downstream from the gauge.  The tip of blue under the gaugeis the 1/4 QD, then a 1/4 brass nipple, the filter and a brass adapter to the Iwata hose.

Some issue with geting the pic to post here from imageshak.

My bad, got it figured out.

I have my final regulator at the opposite end of the AB hose from the AB.

It is in this order...1/4 male QD, pumpkin water trap, regulator adapter to Iwata hose, and Iwata QD to the Iwata NEO.

I can disconnect the AB for cleaning and storage, then coil up the hose assembly to put it all in a 50 cal plastic ammo can.

Will dig up a pic tomorrow.

The ammo can holds two AB's, a quart of cleaner and some mixing jars.

I can definitely see the benefit of having the regulator at the airbrush, but it doesn't make the airbrush too cumbersome and/or heavy? Would anyone care to post a pic of their setup?

btw thanks to everyone for all the info provided.

I got a small 30 PSI guage off of Amazon which I installed in the final regulator before the airbrush.   Most gauges found at box stores, even from a local compressed air tool store were 180 to 200 PSI full range.   These gauges can be off by +\- 10%.    

The finer gauge allows me to dial in my sweet spot better.  15 on a 30 +\- 3 gauge is easier to achieve than it is on a 180 +\-18 gauge

My two cents...

I also use my shop compressor to supply my airbrush QD fittings. The shortest "full size" air hose I have is 25', so I use a second regulator at the airbrush connection; the one I have reads from 0-100# with the largest part of the dial in the lower pressure range. I find it very helpful to be able to the working pressure right at the airbrush, since a few pounds one way or the other makes a big differance.

Cool. I'm used to the QD fittings on my air tools for the house, and the air tools in my garage leaking slightly. Maybe they're just worn out?

That's the exact reason why I was thinking about getting an Iwata hose. Larger volume due to the larger ID. My compressor already has a regulator on it, so I would just need a water trap/separator and the QD fittings. I also disconnect everything when I'm done using my home compressor. I also empty the tank. I don't want to leave everything pressurized.

This is the quick disconnect I've been using.  Its strange how the product information now lists Paasche as one of the "Does not fit".  It fits my ancient Paasche H airbrush just fine.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MKGOUM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The QD's are air tight both connected and disconnected.  I went to Harbor freight and picked up an adjustable pressure gauge and one of the pumpkin orange water traps for less than$10.  They are 1/4 npt fittings.  Put 1/4 QD on the compressor and filter/gauge.  Any brass fittings can usually be sourced at a local auto parts store.

Put the female side of the QD on compressor or the AB end of hose.  I run at both ends so I can use at work or at home with my 3 gal compressor I have there.

Forgot to ask. Do they bleed air at the junction of the quick connect? Most quick disconnects I've used have, unless it's meant for fluid.

Wingman_kz

I'm too late, I see you already ordered the adaptor. I would have used a quick disconnect and a male end for each brush. Even if you don't plan on switching between brushes it would allow the brush to swivel on the hose and you can just pop it off when its cleaning time or if you want to put it away.

 

It's not too late. I could still easily cancel the order, with the way things have slowed down with what is going on. But I want to start a build, and get an idea of what works for me and what annoys me with the Badger compressor and hose. I may end up using my Porter & Cable compressor with the Iwata, which means I'll need a hose and water separator. btw I didn't even know that quick disconnects were available until I came across them by accident while checking for the adapter. I definitely plan on getting one or two once I have an idea of what I want :) 

Wingman_kz

I'm too late, I see you already ordered the adaptor. I would have used a quick disconnect and a male end for each brush. Even if you don't plan on switching between brushes it would allow the brush to swivel on the hose and you can just pop it off when its cleaning time or if you want to put it away.

 

Yup.  A quick disconnect is a life saver.  It makes everything so much easier with airbrushing.

Thanks Don. I ended up ordering the adapter to use the Iwata airbrush and the Badger hose for now. My current hose has a water filter on it. Plus I've read in some other threads about using a small home improvement compressor, which I have, instead of a small hobby compressor. I need to do more research on it before I decide, and I'd also need to get a water filter/separator for it anyway. 

Badger has a unique thread size on their airbrushes.  The Iwatas are the more standard 1/8 inch.  You could get either an adapter for the Iwata or a new hose and an adapter for your Badger.  The new hose would fit you compressor.

Don