Newbie Paint Tool Suggestions

[Loan Shark]

Hey guys. Looking at buying a used air brush to paint some cars. Any suggestions what brands, etc? What I should stay away from? Any general suggestions also would be appreciated. I know nothing about them. Thanks in advance.

[RichD]

Since I mostly use solvent based paints it is much easier for me to use rattle cans. I bought an inexpensive air brush from Harbor Freight to use if I needed a color that can't be found in a rattle can.



I have not used the air brush very much but I did get good results with it. If you expect to use the air brush a lot you would need recommendations from people that use them a lot. You will also need a compressor and you should either have a spray booth that vents outside or wear a mask that stops fine particles and absorbs organic compounds. My experience is that you would tend to get more fumes with an air brush than you would with rattle cans, in part because you need to clean out an air brush after you use it.

[Fathead59]

Nice paint booth Rich

[DRW-FJ40]

I have a Iwata Eclipse & Paasche compressor with tank, regulator & moisture trap. Iwata and Badger are two big names in hobby airbrushes. Can't really go wrong with either one of them but they aren't cheap but they've been around for years and you should be able to find parts for years to come. Others... maybe, maybe not. I bought a cheap Chinese airbrush on eBay 10 years ago for less than $25 and it still works... pretty good actually.

Rattle cans are hard to argue when it comes to convenience and clean up and if you're creative, you can get a pretty darn good finish out of can with a little practice.

Airbrush is fun if you're into it, in addition to mixing paint you have total control over pressure & amount of paint. I have not used this compressor/3 brush combo but at $140 for compressor and 3 airbrushes (I don't think you really need 3 but... you get a feel for two different types, gravity feed dual action & siphon feed, single action), it has mostly good reviews on Amazon. The "Master" brand seems to be the current mass produced cheap air brush. It looks a lot like my 10 year old cheap-o which says "Air Pro Tools" on it but if you Google it, you won't find much today.

There is certainly a good argument for investing in good tools but the Iwata/Paasche combo is more than twice the cost of this set:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EKT30JK...ol-deals-us-20

[F1Fan]

After trying a few cheaper models, I decided to do some research and the Badger Patriot 105 was recommended by numerous sites as a well priced and robust unit. Parts are inexpensive and readily available, I highly recommend this model, if you keep it clean and look after it, it will last a lifetime!

: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002W84GTO..._LM7GEbM7R23XC

[Bluevista]

I've had a single action Badger 200 for a long time and a new Paasche double action and I keep going back to the Badger, tried and true and they still make them.

The dual action is very nice but takes some getting used to, you can dump a lot of paint fast if you aren't careful, maybe not a good starter airbrush, single action you set and it like a spraygun and go. I have a 6 gallon Porter-Cable pancake compressor I got with a finish nailer deal at Home Depot, regulates down to nothing and goes forever before it kicks on airbrushing, it is noisy but doesn't run a lot. I bought an airbrush filter/water trap and regulator and attached it to one of the ports.

Spray cans are fine, you just decant the aerosol paint into a container and then spray it with the airbrush, saves a real lot of paint too. How-tos
on how to do it are all over the interwebs.

[Fathead59]

Hello Blue , can you explain about decanting the aerosol paint from the can .

[DRW-FJ40]

I have a 6 gallon Porter-Cable pancake compressor I got with a finish nailer deal at Home Depot, regulates down to nothing and goes forever before it kicks on airbrushing, it is noisy but doesn't run a lot. I bought an airbrush filter/water trap and regulator and attached it to one of the ports.

I used the same setup for years only recently went to the Paasche and I don't think it matters as long as you have a regulator/moisture trap which like you, I added.

[Bill from NH]

You got lots of good advice in the above posts. I'm someone who first started air brushing in 1970, but I don't do tons of it today. I started with a single action Binks brush & solvent-based paints. About 2005, I switched to an Aztek airbrush that is convertible to either single & double action & all acrylic paints. In your initial post, you don't say whether you'll be painting hard bodies, clear vac bodies, or both. And you didn't indicated the type of paints you plan to use. Some types dry with a shine, others dry flat. The only thing I'll add to the above posts is, don't buy a used airbrush, it may look good, but how has it been used & how well has it been internally cleaned? I've heard good things said about the Harbor Freight brushes by a several people, but have never tried one myself. Perhaps they or one of the other manufacturer's economically priced single action brushes is a good place to start. Go to a local craft store, such as Hobby Lobby, Micheals, or a hobby shop, if you have one, & see what airbrushes they stock. I've seen Iwata & Paasche at Hobby Lobby & Badger at Micheals in the past. If you're extremely budget limited, stick to the spray cans. They're relatively cheap, easy & fast to use, & will do a reasonably good job. Just allow yourself plenty of ventilation when using & keep them away from a furnace.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Years ago I found these people. The prices were great, high quality, no complaints. They do Badger better than Badger, Paasche, etc. Really great, almost silent compressors.

https://tcpglobal.com/pages/brand-master-airbrush

[32lbking]

Could anyone provide a link or name and model#, and where to buy a pressure gauge and water trap? I have a water trap on my garage compressor, but figured one for an airbrush may be a little different.
I have a small portable 1.5 gallon compressor from Home Depot that I use for my nail guns and such in my woodshop that I would like to use. It has a pressure gauge on it but I have no idea how accurate it may be.
My wife bought a cheap airbrush years ago that has never been used, and I thought I would give that a try.
Randy

[Loan Shark]

Thanks guys. Lots of great information. I'll be painting hard bodies only at this point anyways. I don't know what kind of paint to use. I've heard Zero paints are very good, but don't know what kind they are.

[F1Fan]

Thanks guys. Lots of great information. I'll be painting hard bodies only at this point anyways. I don't know what kind of paint to use. I've heard Zero paints are very good, but don't know what kind they are.

Yes Zero paints are excellent and colors are mixed to the exact original paint color. The USA distributor is http://www.hobbyworld-usa.com/Store/...oller=category the paint is not cheap, but you only use a small amount per model. Gravity colors is another excellent option and I would say they are on par with Zero https://www.gravitycolors.com/

Both these paints dry with a matt finish and requires a clear coat. I would strongly suggest an extractor fan or working outside.

I have recently started to use Vellejo paint (they have a Vellejo Air mix) that is ready to shoot and cleans up with soap and water, and off course there is always Tamiya. Tamiya requires a bit of mixing, plenty of online videos and info on how to get the right mix.

This truck was painted with Zero paint - Camel Yellow and a Patriot 105 airbrush. I use a California Air compressor, that's ultra quiet - as far as airbrushing goes, this is rather basic, but then again, I have only very basic skills!

[docdoom]

i got that harbor one also comp is great, the air brush is junk. it never did work right spent more time trying to get it to spray than I did painting. pulled out my trusty Badger and never looked back.

[bdsharp]

A couple of good videos on airbrushes for modeling.

Single-action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4xiTne2Mu4

Double-action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh4AbXuhXYI

[Flounder]

I have the master airbrush, and I’ve used it to paint a few cars. I’m not very good at it, it keeps getting clogged. I would try a few with just rattle cans in see if you’re happy with the results. If so no need to sink money into an airbrush in my opinion.

[Fathead59]

I bought the Testors paint sets from Hobbilinc , it come with a can of compressed air . I hope it works a little like rattle cans , if it does then I will be able to mix up colors to use .