Compressor suggestions

Get CO2! Looking at the prices of hobby compressors, you can get set up with a small (20lb) CO2 cylinder for right around the same money. It is absolutely silent, completely dry, an all around good deal.

Airbrush compressors are compact & quiet but expensive. I say that you check out the brands sold in your local hardware store. If there's a Home Depot near you check it out. I recommend the Husky brand of A/C.

It has a max. pressure of 135 psi & is quiet. Best regards.

I have a silentaire 50 hz it was a bit expensive but i think im set for a long time, its compleetly silent and has a tank , it cost me something like 300 Euros but i´m very happy with it.

Casey, if your compressor has an electric motor with brushes they might be bad. Anothre thing that goes bad is the motor capacitor. I have a twin tank compressor for work and my helper plugged it into an extension cord and the subsequent voltage drop caused the capacitor to go out. A week later and 20$ and I was back in business. I am not sure if the hobby comps. work the same way but don't chuck it yet! Also, if the tank has pressure in it when it starts it could act that way...also if it is really cold.
John

Casey,

What price range are you talking about?
Since you are in an apartment you will have to go with as quiet a compressor as you can afford and there are a few good ones in the $150 range as well as several really good ones that are 2-5 times that price.
The suggestion for CO2 is also good if you want to go that route.

Mike

thanks for all the suggestions guys. Johnpo, thats interesting because I was also using an extension chord. maybe this was the problem. Well I guess I wont use the extension chord and just see what happens.

get a silentaire scorpion

If you go with the Husky- make sure you get the next step up with the 4 gallon tank.....it'll prevent spurts in your air supply and thus spurts in your paint. I use the Husky I am speaking of and have had no problems with it.....it is loud- so I fill it up ahead of time when everyone is awake....and I am able to paint as much as I need with the air from the tank.....

I have a Husky compressor.

• 2 gallon


• .7 SCFM @ 90PSI


• 120 volt


• 100 max PSI

It cost me (my dad) about $120 at the local Home Depot. It advertises it's for light work (not an industrial drill); perfect for an airbrash. It also adveritises being quiet. It's my first compressor, so I dunno. You don't have to wear earplugs, but I wouldn't advocate compressing at night.

Definitely not....especially with a sleeping baby in the house Fill up the tank in the day...paint at night-- works for me

i would recommend a 10 or 11-gallon compressed air tank. they are totally silent, and they last for many minutes, and it has worked more than adequately for me. Mine can hold 125 psi of air, and i have a pressure regulator so that 125 psi of air doesn't blow my airbrush apart! the only thing is that you have to haul it to a gas station to fill it. but if you have a small compressor capable of pumping up to 100 psi, you are all set. I had to buy fittings, etc, for my Badger airbrush. the whole setup cost me about $65 cdn (excluding the airbrush).

QUOTE: Originally posted by Kiowa Warrior and i have a pressure regulator so that 125 psi of air doesn't blow my airbrush apart!

Actually your airbrush can handle that pressure, as I have sprayed at 80-90 psi before and some airbrush artists prefer up to 100 psi for certain applications.

Mike

Years ago a friend of mine had one of the neatest set ups for airbrushing in an apartment I've seen. He had found an article in a British model mag on setting up a foot operated airpump and an old inner tube as a source of compressed air (the pump is designed to be carried in the trunk of your car and used if you had a low tire and no filling station was available -think you can still find them in an auto supply store). You filled the tube with the pump, disconnected it and connected your air pump (usually about 40 to 45 lbs of pressure initally available.

Bill went a step further. He had a machinist friend built him a T fitting that threaded onto the valve stem. The side of the T fitting that the compressor attached to had a valve stem installed and line to his regulator hooked to the opposite side. When he wanted to airbrush, he would steal the spare tire from his wifes car (which was good for giggles occasionally), pull the valve core, install his fittings and hoses, lean the tire against the wall under his bench, pump up 60 psi (took about 5 minutes)and start airbrushing. When the tire got low enough, he would pump pressure up and continue (couple of minutes). When he was done, he would pull everything he had installed, reinstalled the valve core (only forgot once that I know of), pumped the tire up to 32 psi and put it back in the car. Extremely quiet. I did once ask him why he didn't go to the junk yard and just buy a tire and rim, to which he replied, "why heck do I want to spend 5 bucks when I have a perfectly good tire out there doing nothing?"

I recently bought an Iwata Sprintjet compressor and found it to be outstanding. It is not a tank unit, however, the airstream is constant and does not pulsate, due to an integral moisture trap. It is very very quiet. It is good for sparying at 1-35 PSI. I have an Iwata Eclipse and it works best at 15-20 PSI so this compressor works great with it An excellent source is Dixieart. com. Great prices and service. Bottom line, the Sprintjet should well meet your needs.

Mike

QUOTE: Originally posted by goldenretriver I recently bought an Iwata Sprintjet compressor and found it to be outstanding. It is not a tank unit, however, the airstream is constant and does not pulsate, due to an integral moisture trap.

It doesn't pulsate because it is a piston compressor and not a diaphragm compressor.

Mike