Is an air tank on compressor essential for good finishes?

You can do it with the no-tank airbrush compressors. Although it's even possible without having an adjusting regulator, a regulator sure does give you the best chance of getting the paint right on the first shots. I just got a hardware compressor with a tank in August of last year, so everything I did from 1995 to 2004 was done with a diaphragm compressor and no regulator. It was more of a challenge and inconvenience to go 9 years like that, but it did the job most of the time.

My Sears compressor has a built in regulator knob. I've never used a tank and have used a Badger 150, Pasche VL and H with this with no problems. AS long as you can get the pressure down to about 15 PSI, youo should do fine. Your airbrush doesn't know where the air is coming from, compressed in a take or straight from the compresor.

There is no inherent requirement for having a tank on your compressor, only that your airbrush receive steady pressure. I have a tankless Badger 180, and it works great. Any flaws in my paint finishes are my fault rather than my equipment's fault.

When you implied that you compressor pulsed, was it under load with your airbrush attached or with the hose simply open to the outside? With my Badger, I have noticed that if the AB is disconnected form the hose, I can feel the pressure pulsating. However, when it is under load with the AB attached, the pressure feels steady. More importantly, it paints steady.

Short answer: no.

I know many people who use tankless compressors and produce brilliant results... so it is definitely possible...

I've heard a few people with diaphragm compressors complain about the pulsating though, usually the piston type don't have that or at least not as much... if it really bothers you, you probably can pick up a compressed air tank and save the money of getting another compressor. Run the compressor to the separate tank, then put the regulator on the tank side, hooking the airbrush hose to the regulator... this will eliminate the pulsating. And the compressor will kick on to fill the tank when needed.

I know here in the states you can get them at WalMart and hardware stores. I think most people just use them for filling tires and whatnot... They're about $20 here give or take...

here's a link to a picture so you can see what I am talking about, they vary in shape and size...

http://aircompressorsdirect.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=5_54_110&products_id=401

you can get some fairly good deals on tankless compressors, i just don't trust the words "decreased pulsation" in some of the advertisements. i'm very picky when it comes to controlling my air. air pressure is one of the main keys to getting a good finish, so i just gotta have something with a tank. there are probably some butt kickin' pros out there that can get incredible finishes with tankless compressor. i just can't trust air being pumped strait to a regulator, then to the airbrush. call me wierd!

Weird


I use a testors blue mini and a co2 tank, each has its own job

In general a tank on a compressor does two things:

1) It acts as a buffer to smooth any pulsations that might be in the airflow. Typically only a problem on diaphragm compressors.

2) It allows the compressor motor to rest and cool off frequently. Since the motor is only running when it is filling the tank and shuts off once that is done, the motor has time to cool down while you use the air that is in the tank.

Short answer, as Tankmaster said, is "No".

I would say absolutely not. I don't have an air tank on my compressor, and I've been using it with fairly good finishes for the last two years.

If your usindg a cheap compressor without a tank, the air will pulsate while painting, but if u got a tank, the pressure inside it will even out it without pulsatng