Air Brush Newbie

[slant6]

Im planning on buying my first air brush after I get my tax returns. Im hoping to keep it under $250 total. Any suggestions, keep in mind , Ive never used an airbrush before.

[CaseyG83]

I use a badger 200, it has been a great first airbrush. you can get one for around $50 buck, leaving you plenty to buy your hose, moisture trap and compressor. ( all things i didn't think about when i bought mine)

Badger 200

[crispy]

I like the versatility of a dual action brush myself. With that said you can get a really nice Badger 175. I like the bulk feel in my hand. Easy to use, easy to clean and great Badger customer service.

On the other hand you can go with an Iwata. Very nice brush for the coin but not enough left over for other items.

Do you want siphon feed or gravity feed?

Siphon meaning it sucks paint out of a jar. Gravity meaning the paint flows through from the top.

Single action? Meaning depress the lever and get both air and paint at the same time.

Dual Action? Meaning push down for air and pull back for paint, more control but needs finesse as well.

Are you looking at adding a compressor? Hobby? Semi Industrial?

You'll need a pressure regulator, water trap and all the proper fittings. Especially if you buy one without these items.

Compressed air gets to be expensive.

I know that periodically you can get 40% off coupons for Michael's and Hobby Lobby. Michael's carries Badger brand brushes while Hobby Lobby carries Iwata and little Paasche. That'll save you some money too.

If you can purchase online I'd definitely do that. You can get them for about cost at the right places if you look hard enough.

At the very least go to your LHS and see what they carry so you can at least feel it in your hand and check it out before you commit. I started out with a really cheap Testors brush way back in the day before I got my Badger. I learned using a dual action and it works for me.

Just do your homework and ask questions. $250 should get you a great brush and some extras.

Also do a search on the forums as their are a lot of airbrush questions asked almost weekly.

Chris

[slant6]

Wow. Thats alot of information. I didnt think about all the extra parts. Im htinking gravity feed will be a little messy. And the dual action sounds much better, but harder to use. Iwas hoping also to get a small compressor, no canned air. Is there a set that come with all the parts. Or would I be better off buying them all seperately.

[Cornpatch]

slant6::

I got my airbrushes off the Evil-bay from a place called Airbrush City. For a bid of just a little over $200.

00, I got 4 different airbrushes, a compresser, 8 bottles of Createx paints, an airbrush holder thats holds 2 airbrushes while

you work, 2 bottles of airbrush cleaner, all the hoses and fittings to make everything work, and a video about airbrushing.

I have been really happy with the performance of all of the brushes, they work great. I don't use there compresser very often as I had one of my own for my old airbrush, And it was easier to convert it to a compresser that would run 2 airbrushes at a time than was theres. I do use theres when I only need to do a little painting and don't want to

drag out my big one, and it works perfect.

If you are interested, Airbrush City has several kits up on E-bay now. If you want to take a look try these

sites. #230219174975 and or 370017838342 and if you don't belong to the Bay you can go to their web-site which is at

WWW.AIRBRUSHCITY.COM

As you are buying your first airbrush, and have a budget these might be perfect for you. You can get everything you want for your $250.00 dollars, hell you might even have money left over. They don't have the big names

on them but in my opinon they work just as good.

Jeff

[Brendan]

I would stay away from non brand name air brushes. For example, if something breaks, are you able to get the parts for them?

Your best bet would be to buy a double action airbrush. They are actually easier than a single action. You can control the spray better. They're worth the extra amount of money. As for compressors, you can buy a good nail gun compresssor for under a $100 that would have the moisture traps and all the fittings already on the compressor. Try to find one with an attached holding tank. A place like Harbor and Freight is a good place to look for a compressor.

I use a Pasche double action. It's a good air brush and is relatively inexpensive compared to other brands. It's a good all round air brush.

[Zoom Zoom]

Im htinking gravity feed will be a little messy.

It's actually less messy. Gravity feed brushes use every drop of paint or thinner you run through it. Much less cleanup vs. any suction-feed setup. That feed tube is a PITA to clean out by comparison, and as such wastes a lot of paint and thinner and cleanup time over a lifetime. I have an Iwata HP CS Eclipse that's gravity feed; has a big cup and a lid, and I prefer it over any of my previous favorite brush, the Badger 175 Crescendo. I got my Iwata on sale for $90 w/a 40% off coupon. You can get Crescendos for up to half that amount...but honestly once I got used to gravity feed (about 30 seconds...) there was no turning back.

And the dual action sounds much better, but harder to use.

Not really. A dual-action brush isn't hard to learn at all. A few minutes practice and you're ready to paint anything. If you are new to airbrushing it won't matter at all. You'll spend much more time learning the proper thinning rations, air pressures, and cleaning procedure. Get the best brush you can afford. You should be able to get an Iwata and a compressor and the required hoses etc. for your budget.