Buying My First Airbrush (or Compressor) Questions.

[southpier]

.... was doing work for Tamiya at the time ....

ok; sidebar:

how is the name of that company pronounced? the guy at the LHS says his customers use Tam-eeyah, and Tam- I-yuh, equally. his job is to move product, so he goes both ways.

recently i've been watching Japanese YouTube modelers. can't understand a word of the language, but i find their chatter soothing. every one in a while the T word pops up and most common pronunciation seems to be Tai-mah.

what say you?

[Mike_G]

Pronounced like the Japanese, it's "Tahm-ya", with neither syllable accented.

[southpier]

i'm gonna have to practice that in private!

thanks

[935k3]

Before you buy any airbrush spend some time at Don Wheeler's excellent site here https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/

Edited March 5, 2015 by 935k3

[Pete J.]

ok; sidebar:

how is the name of that company pronounced? the guy at the LHS says his customers use Tam-eeyah, and Tam- I-yuh, equally. his job is to move product, so he goes both ways.

recently i've been watching Japanese YouTube modelers. can't understand a word of the language, but i find their chatter soothing. every one in a while the T word pops up and most common pronunciation seems to be Tai-mah.

what say you?

To pronounce it correctly you need to have a tiny bit of knowledge of Japanese. That bit is that the language is spoken without emphasis on any syllable. Thus, tameeyah would be correct, flat, no emphasis. That is how I was introduced to Mr. S. Tamiya. I never heard him pronounce his own name, but every one around him said it that way. Tam-I-yuh is the Americanized way.

[jwrass]

I'm in with Pete!!!! Ahhso, I hope I spelled that right

[dawgvet]

Hey guys, this is my first post and I was looking for suggestions on a decent hobby airbrush for model cars and planes? I've used an Aztek 470 from about 10-11 yrs ago but it started leaking internally and went into the round file. I'm not looking for a professional level airbrush, but a decent one that is good for car bodies and smaller parts. I had an old Badger 200 when I was a kid but lost in when we moved years back. I prefer American made airbrushes and will be likely using my Craftsman upright shop compressor with a regulator and water trap. What's your recommendations?

Thanks,
Jed

[my80malibu]

Easy peezy, Badger 150.

[Longbox55]

Paasche Model V. You can get them pretty reasonable at Hobby Lobby with the coupon. Or, if you're on a tighter budget, the double action airbrush from Harbor Freight isn't too bad.

[Stray]

I'd go with an Iwata HP-CS every time. But for an american AB you can check out the Mojo 3 by Mike Learn.

[dawgvet]

Thanks for the replies.

I've read that the Paasche airbrushes are more trouble to clean.

What do you all think of the Badger 155 Anthem? Would this do well for most car model needs? Any drawbacks to this model?

Thanks Again,

Jed

[martinfan5]

I am going to agree with the Paasche Model V, I have a VL series , I wont say its that much trouble to clean it, and Bill is right, I bought mine from Tower Hobbies, got it for a great price , I used a $15 off coupon on mine and it brought the price under $60 for it.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDD38&P=W

[Longbox55]

I've never had any issues cleaning my V, I actually find it easier to clean than the H that was my first airbrush.

[Monty]

I've had my Paasche VL and Badger Crescendo double action 'brushes for the better part of 2 decades and I'm still happy with both. That said, the board's resident airbrush expert has a lot of good things to say about the Anthem 155.

https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/

[Longbox55]

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-piece-spray-gun-cleaning-kit-99634.html Regardless of what brand or type of airbrush you have, having one of these sets handy is a very good idea.

[Don Wheeler]

The Paasche V is a nice airbrush if you like a side cup like your Aztek. It won't accept your old Aztek cups though. As Monty wrote, the 155 is my favorite. But, there are a lot of good airbrushes out there. I'd go with something a little sturdier than the Harbor Freight, although it does spray OK. The Paasche VL and Badger 175 are built like tanks. And, with choice of nozzles will give a wide range of spray patterns.

I have to disagree with Bill about the cleaning kit. I think it's meant for bigger spray guns. Fine interdental brushes and some paper towels work well for me.

Don

[Snake45]

Unless you're doing fancy graphics, murals, and so forth, you really don't need a DA airbrush for model car work (they are great for airplane and armor camo, though, of course). I own five or six airbrushes including a couple DA ones and all my cars get painted with my cheap, simple Badger 350.

Unless you're actually using the DA capability, I find the DA brushes not worth the complexity for "simple" paint jobs, like model car work.

[Mike_G]

Generally, DA brushes are higher quality and have a better spray pattern

You can also set them up for a sort of quasi-SA operation by adjusting the needle so that the desired amount of paint is dispensed without having to pull the lever back

[Elliott'n'KS]

Would like to know what everyone's favorite paint brand is? I have recently discovered creamcoat that Hobby Lobby carries, covers well. For years I've only ever used Testors or Model Masters. Also looking to start using an airbrush. What is a good airbrush brand/model for beginners?

[Eric N.]

HoK and Testors,Or Humbrol,Not much time w/water based paints As far as a A/B I say fine you a Pasche H single action. Thin some paint and spay it.

And then spay it some more--on spare bodies.

[Bill Eh?]

Iwata, double action, gravity feed. Neo, Revolution, Eclipse are in ascending price order. I don't believe in buying cheap when it comes to modelling tools. I prefer acrylic paints, and there are lots of brands out there including Tamiya. For spray, go with Tamiya. It is a modified lacquer and sprays on superbly right from the can. They have amazing primers.

Edited March 24, 2015 by Bill Eh?

[dartman]

I use a lot of nail polish with my airbrush and spray cans for the basic stuff.I have a badger 150 and a 200.The 200 is a single action and works well for me.

[Monty]

Our resident airbrush guru seems to think the Badger Anthem 155 is a great 'brush. It's a dual action gun that uses one needle instead of making you switch between three. I'd recommend you read his notes on all the airbrushes on this site

https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/ because there may be other choices involved, such as gravity feed vs siphon feed etc. You're also going to want a compressor with a PSI gauge and a water trap.

As far as paints go, I've airbrushed lacquers and acrylics, but I still prefer Testors/Model Master & Humbrol enamels reduced with lacquer thinner.

Can you post any pics of models you've painted with creamcoat? Sounds interesting.

[Elliott'n'KS]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I will definitely be doing some research. I just purchased the cream coat and haven't use it yet but will be soon. I have a chassis that needs paining so I plan to use that. Going to start some detailing work on the engine for the 85 Camaro that I'm building tonight. Will post pics soon.

[khier]

Well, it is a lengthy issue.

First, you need to learn few things about airbrushes?

Air brush are classified into two main categories:1-External mix, 2-Internal mix.

External mix are simple, cheap and easy to use. But they do not offer control on the size of the spray, and usually of poor(er) spray quality. They can be used for area painting like model cars. However, expect more effort and time in sanding/polishing.

Internal mix guns are the opposite in everything.

They are elaborate, expensive (5-10 times, or more). You can control everything with them. Therefore they are ideal (actually the only way) for camouflage. They are definitely a plus, but not a must.

If you think of an airbrush you must have a continuous source of high pressure air of at least 2 bar (30 psi). Choose a good quality compressor and refrain from beginner garbage because they are not worth. The same goes for air/gas cans. Mulit-purpose compressors from the hardware stores are even a better choice, but they are NOISY. If you can live with that forget expensive airbrush compressors and get a decent 1-2 HP compressor capable of 8 bar and you will be happy.