Air brushing

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chevys10zr2003

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I have been looking into air brushing. I have never tried it and don't really know where to begin. I think I have it narrowed down to two brushes and two regulators.

For the brush I am looking at these two. Iwata Neo CN is the one I'm leaning towards but also considering the Badger Patriot 105.

For the regulator I am looking at the Badger filter, gauge and regulator and Paasche filter, gauge and regulator and I'm leaning towards the Paasche.

1. Does anyone have any experience or opinions on these?

2. Is there anything else I need to be looking for?

3. What kind of paints are people using?

Thanks for any help you can give me!!
 
I am not an airbrush expert, but have been dabbling in their use for awhile.

Both models you're looking at are two stage brushes. The amount of paint flow is controlled by the "trigger." The further back you pull it, the more paint you flow. Many say to start with a single stage (needle/amount of paint adjusted by a screw on the back instead of a proportional trigger). I say you only NEED a single stage if you plan to own multiple brushes and need a "wide stroke" for larger area often. I think you're doing right by going two stage. Go big or stay home!

Gravity feed airbrushes are great because they require less air pressure from your compressor to pull paint for spraying. They also typically have smaller reservoirs and hold less paint than a siphon style airbrush. For these reasons they are often used for the more extreme end of the "detail spectrum," I.e. Fine lines. Just make sure what you buy has the capability/availability of using larger needles and jets for less detailed jobs (wider spray pattern). You WILL find you need more than just the ability to do fine and medium lines. You'll also need medium to large jets if you want to spray large 70's style metal flake.

I use a Paasche siphon style, primarily because I got a great deal on it, and had owned other Paasches in the past. Mine requires more air pressure to create the suction needed to siphon paint up out of the bottle than a gravity fed brush, and can be more of a pain if I don't thin the paint down just right. The bottles are bigger and resealable, so I feel I waste less paint (tho I still waste a lot more than I would like). While the siphoning action and bottle may be a pain at times, I like that I can fill a bottle with whatever color I need and be sure not to run out mid-coat (especially a custom mixed color). Once I'm done, I can just put a cap on the siphon bottle and keep the paint (for a while, at least). Gravity fed brushes like the ones you're considering have smaller reservoirs, and as such can run out easily (especially when painting your main body color). Easy enough to just have a bottle and refill of course, but sometimes it's harder to achieve that "seemless" color look, especially with candies, metallics, or other "translucents." Whatever you get, don't go cheap on the compressor. I suggest getting one that can handle more pressure than your brush will require (like twice), and has an integrated air tank with a regulator (integrated or separate). The tank makes for more consitent air pressure, rather than a compressor that has no tank and has an "on demand" function. You don't want an oil less compressor (which most if not all airbrush compressors are) that's going to run all the time, it'll likely not last long. The "on demand" compressors actually have pulses instead of steady consistent pressure. Not that big a deal until you want really thin lines (the pulses make them look like a line with dots every few millimeters). Remember: the highest quality airbrush can still result in crappy results with a crappy compressor. A good compressor can make a cheap airbrush's results look like it cost much more than it did.

As far as paint...I've used Testors oil based, but I prefer the Parma "Fastcolor" acrylics. Mainly because I can thin them down with water vs. solvent, and for clean up purposes. They require a "sealant" final coat, but I haven't had any longevity problems with them. They have some pretty cool/unusual colors too, tho a lot of their metallics look a little flat.

Jezebel, that was long...hope it helps a bit.

IMG_1207.JPG IMG_1208.JPG IMG_1209.JPG
Paashe Millenium air brush. Got it on sale years ago for $20.00.
Airbrush Depot compressor with a tank and regulator. EASILY cost 4 times what the airbrush did!
A 1/8 body I painted for a friend using said airbrush equipment. First (and last) flame job, and a lot of quality masking materials. Turned out well, but never got used.
 
@Mentolio That body looks sick and the flames turned out awesome. I'm hoping one day to be able to paint half as good as that. Thanks very much for all of the information. Like you said, it was a long post but very informative and really helpful. I'd thought about getting a single stage, but with the prices being so close to a two stage I figured I would go after something that can grow with me as I get better. I will be starting out with solid color paint jobs and work my way to more complex stuff. Im not really after a fine detail brush and am looking for an "in the middle" type of airbrush. I don't need to be able to do razor sharp lines nor do I want to paint a whole car body in one swipe. Just a good forgiving beginner brush that is quality made and will last.

I was kind of thinking of trying the Badger water based acrylic but don't know if they would be good for starting. I was also looking at the Parma paints that you use but am not sure what's all available locally for me. So I would just thin the paint with water and clean up with soap and water, correct?

I accidentally left out the air compressor. I looked at the hobby compressors but, like you said, I don't want one that runs all the time and the prices of the hobby compressors with tanks is outrageous in my opinion. Then I did some research and I figured I should just be able to use my 8 gallon, 1 horsepower, 120psi "shop" air compressor and use the regulator to keep the pressure low and steady. I may need a double regulator set up and step it down but don't know for sure. I figured I could put my compressor outside, since it's loud, put a regulator on it outside to drop it down to 70psi or so and then run a 20 foot air hose into my garage with the final regulator on it to further drop the pressure to the working pressure.
 
Yeah, the compressor idea would work fine, as long as it's oil-less. Any compressor that uses oil in the bottom end (like a car engine) will end up contaminating your paint with small amounts of oil. I was going to use the same compressor I use in the garage to power nailguns and such, but for airbrushing inside it was just too loud. As long as you're oil-less, it should be fine, just make sure to use a moisture separator/catcher (cheaply had from Home Depot). As far as paints: it really doesn't matter so much what brand you use (other than ease of cleanup), just make sure it is formulated to stick to lexan. Otherwise it will likely flake-off easily. Lexan paint is more flexible (or just magical in its bond?) and isn't prone to chipping or cracking off when the body flexes. And as far as cleanup: yes, acrylics like the Parma Fasstcolor can be cleaned up easily with soap and water. I also use high alcohol content rubbing alcohol, for when the acrylic is stubborn, it seems to help. Best of luck!
 
Good call on the oil-free compressor as I didn't even think about that. I do not think that mine is oil-free as it is from like 1980 LOL. I'll have to either look into an airbrush only air compressor, or replacing my old garage air compressor with a newer oil-free one. I'm kind of thinking that the best bang for my buck is to just replace my garage compressor since who knows how much longer that one will last.

Thanks for the tip on the rubbing alcohol as well.
 
I think my compressor cost $80-ish bucks (hence the 4X my $20 airbrush). I would just get one like that/similar. A new garage compressor, to be useful for automotive air tools, is going to be oil filled. Oil-less are typically low(er)pressure. Mine maxes out at 80-100 psi, and is only really good for an airbrush, making balloon animals, or running a fish tank.
 
I figured that it was around $80 since I'm a numbers guy and did the math as soon as you said that it was 4x the cost LOL. When I say a garage compressor, I mean a portable one designed for outdoor use. I was looking at this California Air Tools compressor, which goes to 120psi just like my current compressor and I run impacts and other small tools off of it. Most of the air compressors I have seen now days are oil-free, which makes me think that oiled compressors are going away or that they are more just for industrial use but I don't know for sure.

I was also looking at this airbrush compressor as it would be nice to have the system indoors, as long as it's quiet enough, but I don't like how low of pressure they are and how small the tanks are. I would think they would run all the time and if I do a bunch of brushing in one continuous stretch that the pressure would start to drop, but I don't know for sure.
 
If you intend to be satisfied with your compressor,
Choose one capable of delivering 1.5 times the CFM required by the tool with the highest requirement that you will be using at the required PSI of that tool at a 50% duty cycle. A larger tank is always better than a smaller one. The life of an oil less is much shorter and way noisier than an oiled unit. Two separate filters and lines, one for tools and one for painting will eliminate nearly all oil related issues. Along with proper maintenance and regular draining of the tank. It can be a sizeable initial investment at the front but one can last for many many years if sized and maintained correctly. The biggest cause of oil/water contamination is too small of a tank and running at too high of a duty cycle.
 
If you intend to be satisfied with your compressor,
Choose one capable of delivering 1.5 times the CFM required by the tool with the highest requirement that you will be using at the required PSI of that tool at a 50% duty cycle. A larger tank is always better than a smaller one. The life of an oil less is much shorter and way noisier than an oiled unit. Two separate filters and lines, one for tools and one for painting will eliminate nearly all oil related issues. Along with proper maintenance and regular draining of the tank. It can be a sizeable initial investment at the front but one can last for many many years if sized and maintained correctly. The biggest cause of oil/water contamination is too small of a tank and running at too high of a duty cycle.
I ended up going with this California Air Tools compressor and I run it in my basement and the wife can't hear it directly above me, so I'm happy with that. I cant confirm the longevity of it, but I'm sure it will last a long time since I will pretty much only be using it for airbrushing, an impact wrench for lug nuts, airing up tires and dusting off shelf items. Hopefully later this month I can get my airbrushes and start learning how to paint.
 
FWIW. I started airbrushing recently have have painted a total of 4 bodies. I have to order a body for my Notorious then that will get a new look.

As for what your looking at. I Run this brush and compressor. I recommend just getting a different compressor. The Neonis a great gun without a doubt. I love Iwata.

Iwata Eclipse with Gravity Feed (I like gravity feed because I can control the amount of pain I am using. Like if I just need a tiny amount for shadowing.) and then I use the Iwata Ninja Air Compressor but will probably replace it sometime soon for a better one (high capacity CFM)

Overall it is a good setup and I love it. I use the .050” and .035” tips.

The biggest thing is practice practice practice. Get some card stock and colored acrylic paints. Start working on techniques. YouTube is your friend as there are a lot of tutorials for that part of it.

These are the last three bodies I did in order (the buggy,l then the proline fusion then the Slash body with eyes
81267551-5F7A-42CC-9312-7C7440413573.jpeg
B96DAE5F-27BF-4914-9F00-BD3E3067AA7F.jpeg
4B680955-2E12-4A2C-A069-B690023F1C0B.jpeg
A2CA963D-B543-42D1-B9AF-A4F04E0458FC.jpeg
 
FWIW. I started airbrushing recently have have painted a total of 4 bodies. I have to order a body for my Notorious then that will get a new look.

As for what your looking at. I Run this brush and compressor. I recommend just getting a different compressor. The Neonis a great gun without a doubt. I love Iwata.

Iwata Eclipse with Gravity Feed (I like gravity feed because I can control the amount of pain I am using. Like if I just need a tiny amount for shadowing.) and then I use the Iwata Ninja Air Compressor but will probably replace it sometime soon for a better one (high capacity CFM)

Overall it is a good setup and I love it. I use the .050” and .035” tips.

The biggest thing is practice practice practice. Get some card stock and colored acrylic paints. Start working on techniques. YouTube is your friend as there are a lot of tutorials for that part of it.

These are the last three bodies I did in order (the buggy,l then the proline fusion then the Slash body with eyes
View attachment 22674View attachment 22673View attachment 22676View attachment 22675
I really like your bodies. I am only planning on doing single color or two tone paint jobs to start with so that is why I am starting with a siphon feed. After I get more of a hang of it, I do plan on getting a gravity feed maybe. Since I don't have "pretty" shelf queens or race vehicles and my bodies only last about 3-6 months, I may not spend the time to do a nice body like yours though. I ended up going with the California Air Tools compressor linked below. I just couldn't pull myself to spend the money on the dedicated airbrush compressors. In my opinion they were all WAY overpriced for what you get, but that's just me. With this I have an air holding tank, a much more powerful compressor and way more CFM than I will ever need for airbrushing. Thanks for the input!

https://www.amazon.com/California-Air-Tools-CAT-1P1060S-Compressor/dp/B01LYHYHEA/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1538599655&sr=1-1&keywords=California+Air+Tools+CAT-1P1060S+Light+&+Quiet+Portable+Air+Compressor,+Silver&dpID=51UjboOLWjL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
 
I hear ya man. Liquid mask is your friend. And I have been considering getting a regular compressor and just adding a condensation collection system and a good regulator
 
I hear ya man. Liquid mask is your friend. And I have been considering getting a regular compressor and just adding a condensation collection system and a good regulator
Yep, that's exactly what I am doing. I'm going to use the built in regulator to bring it down to around 50psi and then get another regulator with moisture trap to bring it down to my working pressure and then add another moisture trap at the airbrush. All for about half the price of a dedicated airbrush compressor and, as a bonus, I can use this compressor for other stuff too.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000BR2...olid=2RGWPWIM7P28P&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000BQO...olid=2RGWPWIM7P28P&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
 
I have gotten a pasche dual action and it come with different needles and tips. I used a auto compressor and the problem I had was the regulator would not go low enough for for the little gun. My dad give me a little hobby pump and it made a lot difference
 
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