Looking to buy first airbrush setup!

Don't buy those "deals" you see on Ebay.
They are junk and you will just have to buy again if you purchase them.
A good silent compressor is going to set you back over $300 alone.

How loud would a basic hobby compressor be? I interested in buying a kit from Badger.

Leaving this in Mike's more than capable hands, I'll also try to save some repetition. Read these threads:

A
B
C
D
E
F

There are several others in the Painting and Airbrushing section—it pays to browse around here!

I have a Badger 180-1 Cyclone compressor, and compared to an industrial type compressor it is reasonably quiet. It's quieter than a vacuum cleaner and most dishwashers, but it's loud enough that you wouldn't want to listen to the thing if your trying to sleep.

As for an airbrush to buy, it sounds as though you have a lot of varied uses in mind.  My recommedation would be for the Paasche H Set.  The H Set includes everything you need, aside from the compressor.  It's single action, easy to use and easy to clean.  While it can't go down to extreme fine lines as a really top notch dual action brush, with the small #1 tip you can still get down to under an eighth of an inch which is easily adequate for most modeling uses including free hand camo on 1/35 armor or 1/48 airplanes.  The nice thing about it is that the H Set alos includes larger #3 and #5 tips with a large siphon bottle.  The #5 tip with the large bottle is well suited to large projects such as varnishing furniture.  If you later decided to buy a double action brush for really fine details, I think that you would still find the H to be useful for larger stuff. 

Hey Andrew,

I was reseaching airbrushes and compressors for quite awhile before I made my decision. I wanted to start off with a setup to do similar as you - models, helmets, automotive, motorcycle, snowmobile, T-shirts, almost anything. I tried a few different AB's at a custom work bodyshop, the owner was a great help.

I already have a large garage compressor, so I wanted a really quiet hobby compressor for in the house. I ended up getting an Iwata Eclipse HP-BCS as that seemed to be a good choice for an all-around AB to start with. The Iwata Eclipse HP-CS wouldn't be a bad choice either. I just liked the idea of the paint bottles.

So I shopped around to find the best deal and looking for a compressor. I found a great package at AirBrushDepot.com - Model # ABD Kit-4211-T.

They have other reasonably  priced kits also, they're worth taking a look at. They have kits with Badger, Paasche and Iwata airbrushes.

Since I am going to be painting a lot of fishing lures do you think a double action would be a better choice?

I think I have found a kit that I am interested in http://www.airbrush-depot.com/scripts/depot.exe?pgm=vls20t.bbx

Is it worth the money to buy the tank to make it easier on the air compressor?

The level of detail you want will probably be easier with a double action brush, but I think you will want to consider a gravity feed over a siphon feed. There is even a Badger that can do both, if you want the larger capacity of a siphon feed.

And yes, it is worth the money for a tank. It makes it easier on the compressor, it removes all pulsation from the air supply to the brush, and it reduces moisture problems in the line.

And shop around for the best prices—it takes time but can save you a lot of shekels.

Would a siphon brush be a little better if I wanted to paint something like a helmet or a fender on a motorcycle?

I think I'm starting to zero in on a kit I want......Thanks for all the help guys, any more input is greatly appreciated.

 

Andrew,

kudude wrote:

Would a siphon brush be a little better if I wanted to paint something like a helmet or a fender on a motorcycle? I think I'm starting to zero in on a kit I want......Thanks for all the help guys, any more input is greatly appreciated.   Andrew,

Airbrush artists use both so it depends on your preference.
I would say gravity-feed models are more popular for automotive graphics but helmet painters use both.
With a gravity-feed you will be able to spray at lower pressures for really tight work in close, but that is up to you. My preference would be an Omni 4000 or a Badger 100LG

Triarius wrote:

And shop around for the best prices—it takes time but can save you a lot of shekels.

Ross - (sorry to hijack the thread by the way)  ... you just sent me down memory lane.. I had to think back to my time in Haifa and Tel Aviv, Israel... everything was "how many shekels" when we were on the town  ... I even found myself bartering with the guys in the ships store (I was in the Navy) after we left there because they were "trying to rip me off" and "take my shekels" haha...

(note:  it does no good to barter in a US Navy ship store, although they were in the mood to after leaving there as well)

kudude wrote:

Would a siphon brush be a little better if I wanted to paint something like a helmet or a fender on a motorcycle?Andrew,

Andrew, I've seen both types of airbrushes used. It all depends on what you get used to working with and how fine of detail the airbrush can produce. Some people will have many airbrushes, each for different aspects of the project. Usually siphon-feeds for the larger projects that use a lot of paint and large areas. A gravity-feed for intricate detail work.

Since I am going to be painting a lot of fishing lures do you think a double action would be a better choice?

I think a double action would serve all your purposes better.

Is it worth the money to buy the tank to make it easier on the air compressor?

Most definitely! 

You can shop around, especially for the airbrush. But you'll have a hard time beating the price of the compressor - inexpensive, lots of pressure and quiet compared to many others for 3 times as much. I settled on that compressor and checked for a deal on my Iwata. After adding all the items up - AB, paint bottles, hose, S&H, etc... it was a bit cheaper buying the kit.

jhande wrote:

Andrew, I've seen both types of airbrushes used. It all depends on what you get used to working with and how fine of detail the airbrush can produce. Some people will have many airbrushes, each for different aspects of the project. Usually siphon-feeds for the larger projects that use a lot of paint and large areas. A gravity-feed for intricate detail work.

And some people just have too many airbrushes.

Six gravity feed compared to five siphon, hmmm I guess you prefer gravity feed, but just only.

I've never seen so many airbrushes in one picture before, not even on Badger's website!

MikeV wrote:

And some people just have too many airbrushes.

Ok Mike, you sparked my curiousity so I have to ask. 

Do you actually use them all on different projects, a few at a time?

Have you not found the "right" airbrush yet?

I can figure out how to paint with 4 at once [2 hands & 2 feet], how do you paint with more than that at once?

Do you just like collecting airbrushes?

Maybe counseling is in order, an obsession/addiction? We're hear for you my friend.

LOLOL 

Dang, and to think I was contemplating spending the money for a second AB, a gravity-feed for fine detail work. 

Jim,

Ken Schlotfeldt, the owner and President of Badger is a friend of mine and I am an art consultant for Badger Airbrush Company relating to modeling. They sent me many of them to try out and give my input on them to people who asked about them on this forum and elsewhere.
I do not represent the company nor am I paid anything, I just like to tell others about products that I use myself .

Bgrigg wrote:

Six gravity feed compared to five siphon, hmmm I guess you prefer gravity feed, but just only. I've never seen so many airbrushes in one picture before, not even on Badger's website!

Actually I have a 6th siphon-feed that is not in that picture, the Badger Anthem 3155 Hybrid.
So it is six and six.

MikeV wrote:

Jim, Ken Schlotfeldt, the owner and President of Badger is a friend of mine and I am an art consultant for Badger Airbrush Company relating to modeling. They sent me many of them to try out and give my input on them to people who asked about them on this forum and elsewhere. I do not represent the company nor am I paid anything, I just like to tell others about products that I use myself .

Ok Mike... whew... that's a relief.

Thought maybe I needed to give you the number to my doctor. 

Also glad to know I don't need to learn how to AB with my toes. 

LOL

I do want more though so maybe I do need help.

MORE!!!

Nah Mike... you don't need help, I don't think, at least I hope not.  

Me thinks you just like collecting them as much as model kits, LOL. 

Hey all,

First I want to thank all of you for your help. I have decided on a kit to buy http://www.airbrush-depot.com/scripts/depot.exe?pgm=vls20t.bbx.

It seems to fit my needs the best and I personally know two people who have or do own one. Plus it can be used as both siphon and gravity. It should provide a good basis for me to start out. It should be here in a few days. I just ordered it. I let you guys know when I test it out.

Oh.... I also have a cleaning kit coming. I need to take care of this thing. I better get good in a hurry though. My friends have a few helmets lined up for me!!!

kudude wrote:

Plus it can be used as both siphon and gravity.

No it cannot.
It is a siphon feed only.
It does have a glass jar and a metal cup that you can use but it is not gravity-feed.

MikeV wrote:

kudude wrote:  Plus it can be used as both siphon and gravity. No it cannot. It is a siphon feed only. It does have a glass jar and a metal cup that you can use but it is not gravity-feed.

It can be gravity fed from a remote container. Which works out great for some of the dirt bike and atv stuff I plan to do.

As Mike stated... The airbrush is a siphon-feed a.k.a. bottom-feed and not a gravity-feed a.k.a. top-feed.

Just because you can rig something up to have the paint container "above" the airbrush, does not make it a gravity-feed. It's all in the internal design of the airbrush as to how the paint enters. For a true gravity-feed, notice that the paint-cups are attached to and above the airbrush body? That way the paint drips so to speak into the airbrush. In a siphon-feed the air supply running through the airbrush body causes a suction which draws up the paint from the bottle. Kind of like drinking through a straw.

Hope that explaination helps.  

Thanks Jim, that was well put.

Thank you Mike. 

Me and my non-technical knowledge hehe. 

Thanks for ruining my thunder! J/K I realize that it is only a siphon feed. Just the same it should work great for what I plan to do. I can imagine that I will want a very fine gravity feed in the future. Again, I appreciate all of the help you guys had to offer. Thanks

Andrew,

jhande wrote:

For a true gravity-feed, notice that the paint-cups are attached to and above the airbrush body? That way the paint drips so to speak into the airbrush. In a siphon-feed the air supply running through the airbrush body causes a suction which draws up the paint from the bottle. Kind of like drinking through a straw. Hope that explaination helps.

Good call!!!

The way a siphon fed airbrush operates is based on the "Bernoulli principle".  A high speed (relative) laminar flow of air through a tube creates a much lower atmospheric pressure near the walls of the tube, all the pressure being forced to the middle.  The low atmospheric pressure at the walls of the tube creates a small suction at the opening for the paint pickup tube causing it to provide a "dome" of paint bulging into the area where the airflow is shooting through.  A small amount of paint is picked up this way and carried out the exit orifice.  The same principle the nebulizers for asthmatics work on...  

-=edit=- I must have had a few too many last night, the venturi effect is what I was talking about... which is caused by Bernoulli's principle... the faster a fluid or gas moves through a tube the lower the pressure of the fluid or gas itself becomes.  Venturi says the lowest pressure being at the walls of a tube, which when an opening is made it draws the higher pressure (in this case paint and air) into the stream through the opening.

Now... see what Uncle Sam spent over $150,000 for me to learn got me?  haha... that is one of the basic principles of Respiratory Therapy and I didn't even think about it related to airbrushing till your reply...    

Now we have a "high tech" answer... and actually thinking about it, thinking like an RT might help me with my airbrushing...............   now I won't be able to sleep... 

Gee thanks!!! 

tho9900 wrote:

...............   now I won't be able to sleep...  Gee thanks!!!

Now you and me both Tom...  thanks... 

That's the third time I heard that explaination and it's still no easier to digest. LOL

Ok, so instead of sucking my milk shake through a straw, I need to blow across the top of it really really hard and fast, I knew that. Ahh what the heck, hook me up to an I.V. drip of chocolate milk. Oh wait... that would be gravity-feed then... dang. Looky what you guys are doing to me.

Andrew, I've seen and read about people doing some fantastic custom work on helmets, motorcycles, autos, coaches, etc... using even a single action gravity-feed. It all depends on the artists hand that wields the tool. Most importantly - lots of practice. 

Here's why for my first airbrush I went with an internal mix, dual action, gravity-feed -
Internal mix : better/finer atomization of the paint than external mix.
Dual action : better control over the spray pattern/amount of paint while spraying.
Gravity-feed : larger supply of paint for working on larger projects.

The airbrush I purchased can spray from hairline to 2 inch pattern with no changing of needles and/or nozzles. The 0.5-mm self-centering needle/nozzle is designed for spraying my heavier paints (textiles, enamels, lacquers, etc...). Solvent based paints won't harm it. It requires roughly .5 cfm @ 25 psi, but will spray really fine lines with properly thinned paint at 5 to 10 psi (I've done it). A 0.35-mm needle/nozzle is available, but Iwata told me it's not necessary for the paints I'm spraying, I won't notice a difference. After I work with this AB for awhile and get used to what it and I can do, I will probably get myself a gravity-feed for fine detail auto work. Something like an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS or the more expensive Iwata High Performance HP-C Plus. I'm already contemplating getting another AB for my wife to use and/or for just my son and I to use on our car models, something like that Vega 600 single action gravity-feed at Badgers garage sale for $20.

Iwata Eclipse HP-BCS Specs
Iwata Eclipse airbrushes at Dixie Art

yeah I've heard good things about the BCS and BCR.  I have the HP-CR myself and love it!!!