Newbie to Airbrushing - advice needed

[sulzer71]

Morning All

 

I've found myself in a position financially where I would like to invest in an Airbrush/Compressor which along the line so to speak I would like to learn to repaint my own loco's etc and do weathering , I don't want to go down the cheapy Chinese set up route and have been looking at the following so just wondered if this would be a viable set up for my needs , Tia

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sparmax-ARISM-Viz-Compressor-C-AR-VIZ/dp/B076T8C1XV/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=sparmax&qid=1611657382&refinements=p_76%3A419158031&rnid=419157031&rps=1&s=diy&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFDVUw4NTZMVjdUTzUmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA5OTg2MTkyVkpYSlNCVUJCMU1YJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0ODI0ODczMlA3Nk5USUU4NFlEJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neo-Iwata-gravity-feed-airbrush/dp/B006MTQXPE/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=sparmax&qid=1611657382&refinements=p_76%3A419158031&rnid=419157031&rps=1&s=diy&sr=1-5

 

Regards

 

Dave

[John Harris]

Before you dismiss the cheap Chinese airbrush sets, I suggest you watch this video.  These cheap sets are worth the money for practicing with and ideal for the basic tasks like priming after wards.

 

jch

[Phil Parker]

I use one of those compressors and have for a while. Got mine from Airbrushes.com - very helpful people with an excellent range. And they offer after-sales service, which is more than Amazon does.

[Mick Bonwick]

By all means go for this combination of compressor and airbrush, but I strongly advise you, as Phil has above, to buy from a retailer who can provide spares and servicing. I recommend Airbrushes.com but there are several retailers in the UK who are worth investigating.

 

That Amazon price is rather high.

 

You don't mention a spray booth. Have you considered one? Your health is important.

[sulzer71]

2 minutes ago, Mick Bonwick said:

By all means go for this combination of compressor and airbrush, but I strongly advise you, as Phil has above, to buy from a retailer who can provide spares and servicing. I recommend Airbrushes.com but there are several retailers in the UK who are worth investigating.

 

That Amazon price is rather high.

 

You don't mention a spray booth. Have you considered one? Your health is important.

Hi Mick

 

Yes , I'll be looking at getting a spray booth too 

[michl080]

You can't go wrong with an Iwata airbrush! Fantastic quality.

 

Consider a small cheap ultrasonic bath for cleaning. They are available for 35-30GBP and simplify cleaning immensly.

 

Michael

Edited January 26, 2021 by michl080

[Pete the Elaner]

I have (some) experience of 3 types of very different compressor:

 

My first was a small garage compressor, to which I added a regulator & moisture trap.

Something like this but older.

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-bandit-iv-8-litre-air-compressor/

Nice & powerful, overkill for an airbrush. I could also pump up my car's tyres with it.

It had a big drawback though. It was incredibly noisy. I refused to use it after 8pm because I wanted to remain on good terms with the neighbours, so an evening session of airbrushing was not possible. I would not recommend one for this reason.

 

I now have one of these:

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/quiet-run-compressor-2/

Compared to the first compressor it is not very powerful, but easily enough to cope with an airbrush, which is entirely its purpose. It really is quiet too. My airbrush makes more noise.

 

I then bought an AS186 as a gift for my father after I gave him my airbrush & he wanted to 'borrow' my compressor (I find it is the type of thing you want to have hanging around to use now & then, not build up a backlog of tasks then do them all together).

I ran it up to try it out. It seems to have more than enough power for airbrushing & it is fairly quiet - you can easily have a conversation without raising your voice even while wearing a mask.

It is not as quiet as my Shhh, but at around 1/4 of the cost, I felt it was good value.

 

 

Airbrushes:

 

I started with a Badger 200, single action suction feed. I got decent results with it. The amount of paint released is adjusted with the end stop.

I then decided to upgrade to a dual action Iwata BCS suction feed (a few months before the Neo range was released). I have never got to grips with double action (Press the button for air, pull it back for more paint). I also bought the extra body to adjust the paint limit & usually the button all the way back to this, effectively making it like my old single action.

I was also intrigued by gravity feed - there must be a reason why it seems to be more popular....so I bought a Paasche Talon. I certainly like the feel of it but the Iwata seems easier to clean & the Paasche has clogged on me twice, causing me to switch the the Iwata to finish off the spraying before giving both a good clean.

 

I agree with John: The cheap sets will allow you to decide what is right for you & if you want to upgrade, you can always sell to another newbie to airbrushing.

You can get packages with both suction & gravity feed brushes for not a lot more money.

[Steven B]

The Neo for Iwata CN is a great airbrush. I went through a couple of Machine Mart equivalents before I came to my senses and bought the Neo - availability of spares is the big advantage of buying a named branded tool over a generic model.

 

You could save on your compressor choice. I use an AS186 compressor - available from many suppliers as a generic Chinese made compressor with a 3litre tank. It runs quietly and most work well. Becareful if looking at ones for the DIY market - many aren't oil free and will contaminate your paint.

 

 

Steven B.

[Rumblestripe]

Hi, a few years ago I bought myself a cheap airbrush and compressor kit and documented my first steps with it.

 

So I bought a cheap airbrush

 

I still have the compressor and have bought a new cheap airbrush as the old one got more and more gummed up (more my lackadaisical attitude to cleaning than any engineering fault) these airbrushes are flogged in their hundreds to nail bars (ask your wife/girlfriend/other female) and will chuck paint where you point it. Certainly good enough for applying model railway liveries.

 

[ColinK]

I agree with the above posts.  Don’t buy off Amazon, talk to a specialist retailer.  When going down the same route as yourself I had a long chat with a helpful lady at Airbrushes.com (I’ve no links with them, just a happy customer) who discussed what I wanted the airbrush for and made some recommendations. As a result I spent a fair bit more than originally planned  (all on the compressor) but those recommendations were spot on.  They also gave me advice over the phone on how to sort out a problem which arose during lockdown. 
 

I also agree with others that you need to consider a spray booth, plus face mask if using enamels.  I went with a spray booth that lets me spray in the house, important for me.

 

Plus, make sure you get cleaning kit before you start, including airbrush cleaner, liquid reamer and an ultrasonic bath. Without them you’ll almost certainly get your new airbrush blocked up.

 

When you’ve got everything and had some practice, you should be delighted with what you can achieve. 

[Mick Bonwick]

1 hour ago, sulzer71 said:

Yes , I'll be looking at getting a spray booth too 

 

You'll need one that prevents atomised paint going up your nose.

 

It doesn't matter whether it's enamel or acrylic paint, the atomised particles are what will damage your health, so make sure that the spray booth you get removes all these particles through its filter(s). Will you have the ability to vent the fumes and filtered air out of a nearby window/door/hole in the wall?

[Guy Rixon]

The "Neo for Iwata" airbrush is good, I have one and it's fine for general resprays. IIUC, it is in fact, a cut-price copy of a more-expensive Iwata design, but a copy licensed by Iwata and done with more QC than the typical copies. The 0.35 mm nozzle is better than the 0.5 mm one, I find.

 

If you want to do very fine weathering effects, then you might get on better with a more expensive airbrush. But getting the Neo to learn with is a good choice.

 

The compressor is seriously overpriced. No doubts it's a good machine, but an AS186, which you can get from specialist airbrush suppliers for much less, is perfectly adequate.

 

[sulzer71]

2 minutes ago, Mick Bonwick said:

 

You'll need one that prevents atomised paint going up your nose.

 

It doesn't matter whether it's enamel or acrylic paint, the atomised particles are what will damage your health, so make sure that the spray booth you get removes all these particles through its filter(s). Will you have the ability to vent the fumes and filtered air out of a nearby window/door/hole in the wall?

Thanks Mick , yes , I'm going to turn a spare room into my modelling room with a purpose built work bench right under the window so feeding the extraction hose out of the window won't be a problem

[Mick Bonwick]

1 minute ago, sulzer71 said:

Thanks Mick , yes , I'm going to turn a spare room into my modelling room with a purpose built work bench right under the window so feeding the extraction hose out of the window won't be a problem

 

In that case you could consider a Sparmax SB-88 as a basic and safe spray booth. The extractor fan is powerful enough to remove atomised paint particles from around the work area, as long as you remember to keep the work as far back in the booth as is practical.

 

There are, as you might imagine, cheaper spray booths on the market, but beware their actual (as opposed to advertised) capabilities. From experience (personal, and as a tutor and demonstrator) the SB-88 is the minimum specification that does the right job.

[Guy Rixon]

3 minutes ago, sulzer71 said:

Thanks Mick , yes , I'm going to turn a spare room into my modelling room with a purpose built work bench right under the window so feeding the extraction hose out of the window won't be a problem

If you have a dedicated room, then you could consider a filter mask rather than an enclosed booth. I find that I don't need a booth to control overspray with an airbrush, I just put a sheet of scrap paper down to protect the bench. The mask protects me while spraying, and then I go away for a while to let the aerosols settle out of the air.

[michl080]

2 hours ago, sulzer71 said:

Thanks Mick , yes , I'm going to turn a spare room into my modelling room with a purpose built work bench right under the window so feeding the extraction hose out of the window won't be a problem

Good plan. If you feed the fume out of the room, you can also remove the filter from the cabinet. The efficiency will be much better and you won't have to replace filter mats.

Michael

[sulzer71]

Afternoon guys 

 

Well I chose not to invest in the set up just yet as more important things to purchase came up (loco's and stock ) and as the layout is only in it's infancy there's not going to be any loco repaints etc getting done for a while anyway

 

What i want to know though is if anyone has bought anything like this before?

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Duokon-Portable-Airbrush-Compressor-Painting/dp/B07SGJVJ3R/ref=pd_ybh_a_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DT0ZWN9RJEQW0098YP3V

 

I was just thinking this might be handy for the moment just for things like track weathering/painting plastic/laser cut building kits etc and maybe give me a bit of practice and see if airbrushing is for me or not

 

Any input appreciated

[Mick Bonwick]

Have a look at this clip, it will help you to understand capabilities and limitations.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhVkJTHkWRQ

 

[sulzer71]

4 minutes ago, Mick Bonwick said:

Have a look at this clip, it will help you to understand capabilities and limitations.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhVkJTHkWRQ

 

Thanks Mick , currently sat at my desk at work so can't watch the video with the sound on lol but from what I can see it could certainly have it's uses for the small jobs I mentioned and give me a bit of practise I suppose

[sulzer71]

Ok , I bit the bullet and ended up ordering these Friday , arrived Saturday , the Airbrush seems to have good reviews on Amazon and YouTube so I can justify buying it as a starter set to see if it's for me or not , had a little practice on Saturday with it , seems good but being a former car refinisher I have a feeling at some point I will switch to a pistol grip style airbrush

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B019CKXBOU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B016PXGZ68/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Pete the Elaner]

I bought a 186 for my father a few years ago & felt it was good value for money.

I am not familiar with that airbrush but it seems like a lot of kit for the money. At the very minimum it will allow to know what you want from an airbrush if you ever want to upgrade, without you having spent a fortune on the wrong thing.

It may well do exactly what you want it to, in which case why would you bother with something more expensive?

[melmerby]

Try this firm, based in the UK

They have everything from the basics up

https://bartsharpairbrush.co.uk/?doing_wp_cron=1614612016.1238009929656982421875

[57xx]

I have found this place extremely good for supplying airbrushes and parts:

 

https://www.air-craft.net/acatalog/Airbrushes.html