DUHAWK49

My Feedback: (6)

was wondering if its possible to use an airbrush with just an air tank and a regulator? it wouldnt be for big jobs .. i just dont want to go buy an expensive compressor. any thoughts appreciated.. also whats a good inexpensive brush to buy? thanks

Roby

I used to do this many years ago when I didn't have a
compressor. It will work but make sure you use a filter.

Regards
Roby

Steve Lewin

You can even use an airbrush with just an inflated car tyre (tire). I've tried it.

Steve

DUHAWK49

My Feedback: (6)

whats the filter for and where do ya put it .. im new forgive me haha

GrnBrt

My Feedback: (5)

I use to do custom painting a very long time ago, vans, motorcycles etc. Yes you can hook it up to regular compressor and here's how I did it. I made a set up where the line goes right into an air guage near the brush and this way you can better control your pressure, remember that for every foot of hose you use you lose some air pressure. If you are runinng 20' of hose for example and have the regulator set at 75* at the compressor then what you get at the gun will be far less. Also if you set the pressure at the gun say at 75* then when you use the brush you will see a big drop. When I shot I always set the pressure while using the gun, so if you want 75* at the gun then you would have to set the pressure some where around 90* without the gun running. Now these are just figures and can be different and I use them for example only. You want a water trap (filter) at the compressor as air pressure produces moisture and if you don't have a trap then that condensation will go down the hose and spit out on your beautiful paint and that can reallt tick a person off, ask me how I know. Go and find a good auto paint supply store and just ask questions as they are pretty good at answering, also try a few body shops as sometimes they will show you there set up as they love to show off for people. Hope this has helped as it's really hard to describe it all.

DUHAWK49

My Feedback: (6)

so can you get these filter traps just about anywhere? i may give this method a try.. now as for a good starter brush .. any recommendations?

GrnBrt

My Feedback: (5)

You can find them just about anywhere like Lowe's and home depot. I have a paasche and Binks single action and my Wife got me a really nice Passche double action with internal mixing for Christmas, now just need something that needs to be painted as I can't wait to try out the new one.

omcusnr

Brad,

If you do any amount of regular painting the compressor is really worth the investment. For an airbrush, or small sprayer, I'd look at a 1/2 or 1 horse from sears w/ about a 10 gal tank on it. You can usually shop a sale & get a nice compressor/tank for about $150.00. This will come w/ a regulator, but may or may not come w/ a water trap (which is really important.) The tank acts as a buffer for the air flow, so the air doesn't pulse (each time the compressor head piston strokes it creates a pulse of air). Tha tank will store the air, help maintain an even pressure & buffer the pulses out of the air stream.

You certainly can go with just a tank, that you take to the filling station for refill, but it gets used up quickly for most paint jobs, and the pressure will die off after long use.

Badger, Binks, & Paasche all make good quality air brushes. I have a Paasche VL style dual action, because it allows a lot of variation in both the type of paint & controll of spray.

A single action air brush is usually regarded as a "hobby" or "model" air brush, because it does not have the fine adjustments that a dual action has. Single action means that when you push the trigger down, air flows over the siphon, and draws paint imeadiatly from the resevoir. A dual action means that when you push the trigger down, you start the air flow, and then you pull the trigger back, unseating the needle, allowing paint to flow. The dual action will allow much finer control & lines than the single action (which acts much like a spray can). Nothing wrong with a single action, just less finesse. Paasche makes a fine single action brush, very good for larger areas.

Once you get your AB, practice with it on some scrap cardboard to get the feel of it. You'll love what you can do with these, and soon want the compressor.

Use just enough pressure to draw paint. this will keep overspray down.

If you don't have a local hobby shop or art store, Micro Mark stocks a couple of different air brushes for mail order.

If you have other questions, don't hesitate to e-mail.

fryfly

My Feedback: (8)

one vote for the badger,really good gun and nice quality for price.

onewasp

Many if not most of the true air-brush professionals (not T shirts etc) use gas cylinders and no traps by using pure, medical type gasses.

The magazine Airbrush Action will cover this plus most of the converted refrigerator compressors, sold for high $$$ as "silent compressors".