Best Air Brush For Newbie

A very good link.   Click on the underlined phrase to access a lot of information on air brush/and air brush compressors. 

Iwata has a great little kit that won’t break the bank .....it’s a great kit for beginners it comes complete with a small compressor, airbrush, a starters guide, and even some sample paints to practice with...I believe it’s called Neo for Iwata .....look it up....I use the higher end Iwata products for airbrushes and their automotive refinishing guns....IMO they’re about the best....they’re are plenty of others, but I find Iwata, with their customer support to be the best ............Pat

Testors makes a good little single-action air brush at a reasonable price.  Aztek and Paasche are other good brands.  If you don't have a local hobby shop, you should be able to find one at a Hobby Lobby or possibly at a Michaels.  With a 40% off coupon, you could pick one up at a very good price.  A great little airbrush for beginners and pro's alike - you can do a lot with a single-action brush.  Single-action airbrushes are very easy to operate, and produce great results.

There's basically two types of air brushes: single-action and double-action.  Double-action brushes are more expensive than single-action brushes.  And while you can do more yet with a double-action brush, they take a lot of practice to get good at it.  They take a lot more finesse to learn to use the variable-position finger spray button.  A lot of pro's eventually graduate to the double-action brushes.  Using a single-action brush is like eating a bowl of green peas with a spoon.  Using a double-action brush is like eating a bowl of green peas with chopsticks (if you've never used chopsticks before).  Yeah, it's doable, but it's gonna' take some practice to get good at it.

Hope this helps. 

I would agree with the single action.  I am still very unskilled at airbrushing and have found using a single action badger airbrush has been relatively easy.  Single action means you press the button and paint comes out at one flow rate.  Double action means pressing the button controls the amount of paint flow based on how far you press it basically.   Starting out using the same flow rate, like pressing a spray paint can, then adjusting the amount of pressure on your air compressor and adjusting the flow control on the airbrush should give you all you need.

Start with a basic single action and practice.  Ventilation is the other 1/2 of this equation/exercise. Paint models and not your lungs.

Get a Harbor Freight Cheapo in case airbrushing isn't for you.

My basics -- yes the one on the left is from Harbor Freight $20 dual action. Their single action is $15 and you can get them even cheaper with a coupon. At that price you can't go wrong. If the seals dry out or you drop it, just buy another one with coupon, no big deal.

I've tried them all through the years, and had success with all of them, but for $20 I'll just stick with the HF dual action. 

The biggest thing is getting the paint mix thin enough to flow freely without clogging or drying to fast, yet if it's too thin the color just won't cover. There's no 1 way or 1 mix that works for everyone. Water based paints vs enamels make a huge difference when it comes to the size of tip on the airbrush. Water based works better with a medium or large tip.....but very rarely do I ever used water based paint. Clogs/dries to quick for my tastes, thats why the HF Dual Action brush works for me and it has a small/fine so to speak. I use paints thinned with laquer thinner or paint thinner.  

I have couple Paasche single action.    they are are very good and I have been u sing the oldest for more than 30  years.   You can buy new tips and seals and other parts as you need them.    I have not tried other brands so I can't compare.    However, based on my experience with Harbor Freight tools, you get what  you pay for.   their tools are OK for a quick job, but not for something special in my opinion.    A really cheap one might not work as well and give you splatter or too much paint.   

Paasche model H is the one I use. Medium/low cost and easy learning curve.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. All your comments really helped me figure out my direction with this. More quality help from a great forum. Thanks again.

Don

Don, in addition to what the others have said about single action brushes, I really like an external mix single action. They are much easier to clean and take care of, and have no moving parts to get dirty. They can be had on eBay for $10 or less. Whatever you do, get a good air source. I use a regular compressor that can do 100 PSI, then just turn it down to 30 PSI. It's nice having a reservoir, so it isn't running every time you press the trigger.

SPSF posted:

Get a Harbor Freight Cheapo in case airbrushing isn't for you.

+1. I think I paid 7 bucks for mine. Probably less than the sales tax on about any other model.  At least as good as a Paasche H which I also have if not as flexible. I use it for scenery with paints like exterior latex which I wouldn't use in my other air brushes but it will work with any hobby paint.

Pete

Learning to paint is easy BUT THE TRICK is to Keep it Clean. It's a must do.

Big_Boy_4005 posted:

Don, in addition to what the others have said about single action brushes, I really like an external mix single action. They are much easier to clean and take care of, and have no moving parts to get dirty. They can be had on eBay for $10 or less. Whatever you do, get a good air source. I use a regular compressor that can do 100 PSI, then just turn it down to 30 PSI. It's nice having a reservoir, so it isn't running every time you press the trigger.

Elliot's correct.  And the perfect type of airbrushing compressor IMHO:

If you shop around, you can find a little 3 gallon oilless air compressor like this or similar to it for under $70.  Try Menard's, Harbor Freight, Home Depot, etc.  Quite frequently they will come with a an airline and a small handful of accessories.  If so, about the only other things you might want to pick up are a water trap and extra quick-disconnect fittings.

I have a 3-gallon Husky that I bought at Home Depot about 10 years ago or so.  In addition to air brushing, I also have a little air gun I use for blow-drying solvent out of train parts, dusting off the the layout, chasing off the cats, etc. etc. 

Mixed Freight posted:

Big_Boy_4005 posted:

Don, in addition to what the others have said about single action brushes, I really like an external mix single action. They are much easier to clean and take care of, and have no moving parts to get dirty. They can be had on eBay for $10 or less. Whatever you do, get a good air source. I use a regular compressor that can do 100 PSI, then just turn it down to 30 PSI. It's nice having a reservoir, so it isn't running every time you press the trigger.

Elliot's correct.  And the perfect type of airbrushing compressor IMHO:

If you shop around, you can find a little 3 gallon oilless air compressor like this or similar to it for under $70.  Try Menard's, Harbor Freight, Home Depot, etc.  Quite frequently they will come with a an airline and a small handful of accessories.  If so, about the only other things you might want to pick up are a water trap and extra quick-disconnect fittings.

I have a 3-gallon Husky that I bought at Home Depot about 10 years ago or so.  In addition to air brushing, I also have a little air gun I use for blow-drying solvent out of train parts, dusting off the the layout, chasing off the cats, etc. etc. 

Paul, are these really noisy? .....I’m looking for a small compressor for the railroad shop...I’ve been looking for dentist office compressors, but good golly are they expensive!....I’m looking for a quiet(er) one!........thanks ! .......Pat

I think the oilless ones are about the noisiest. I have similarly shaped one but with a piston compressor from Sears I use with an oil and water trap. Not the quietest but tolerable. Also an old Acme diaphragm compressor, quieter still and no need for a trap but only generates about 25 PSI and not many CFM. Found at a garage sale for peanuts.

Pete

harmonyards posted:

Mixed Freight posted:

If you shop around, you can find a little 3 gallon oilless air compressor like this or similar to it for under $70.  Try Menard's, Harbor Freight, Home Depot, etc.  Quite frequently they will come with a an airline and a small handful of accessories.  If so, about the only other things you might want to pick up are a water trap and extra quick-disconnect fittings.

I have a 3-gallon Husky that I bought at Home Depot about 10 years ago or so.  In addition to air brushing, I also have a little air gun I use for blow-drying solvent out of train parts, dusting off the the layout, chasing off the cats, etc. etc. 

Paul, are these really noisy? .....I’m looking for a small compressor for the railroad shop...I’ve been looking for dentist office compressors, but good golly are they expensive!....I’m looking for a quiet(er) one!........thanks ! .......Pat

Noisy?  Well, that's debatable.  They might be considered a little noisy if they're sitting right next to you and running.  Or maybe not too bad if they are a ways away from you (doable with a long air hose).  They're definitely quieter than a regular 2 or 3 h.p. oil-type compressor that you might use in your garage for airing up vehicle tires or running small air tools.

One might be able to cut down on their noise even more by setting it inside of a small cabinet or other enclosure.  Not too small though, so it has enough air to breath and cool properly.

Lot's of good stuff here. Cooling, mixing, venting & maybe a GOOD mask, not just the paper ones, the ones with the replacement filters.

 A trap/drier/filter... two won't hurt, and I run at least one paper filter too and change them often.

  You get lube suspended in the compressed air as well as moisture/condensation from pressure changes and airflow past restrictions in the lines etc.  The longer a spray lasts, the cooler the areas around air expansion areas get and the more condensate collects there... I always use a paper filter as close to gun/brush as possible to trap any condensate happening between trap filters and brush.

My experience with airbrushes is limited , though I have heard good things about the Iwata line. It could be the HF airbrush is fine to play around with and learn how to paint and once it self destructs, you likely will be ready for a better one.

I have done a lot more auto painting, and I practiced with auto paint on various kind of metal, to get a feel for how to do it right, the right motion, the distance from the object being painted, and the most important thing of all, how much to thin the paint, which not only will vary with the material being painted, but also will vary with the temperature and humidity (obviously, painting in a climate controlled space as compared to where I painted cars makes a big difference, I might have been in a garage, but might as well have been outside), the color of the paint, the type (metallics were especially a pain for me), and it varies between brands, and even between batches of the same brand. 

One thing I highly recommend is some kind of painting booth that has its own ventilation outside the space you are painting in. You can buy one, you don't need to spend several hundred dollars on one, they have them on Amazon for like 65 bucks that look identical to one on Micromark that sells for 130 that is 16x16x14 or so, and if you need more width they can be combined..but there also are a ton of ideas out there of people who have hacked their own booth that would cost even less. If you plan on using it regularly, the people sharing your domicile will thank you, lacquer fumes have a tendency to spread.