Airbrush and Compressor recommendations

[Alpha]

I've had my share of airbrushes over the decades. Paasche, Iwata, Aztec, Badger, Master, Grex, Thayer and Chandler. I prefer Iwata for several reasons, but I know paying $450+ for the compressor alone is unnecessary for what we do with our planes. The fact is, for the level of work on foam electric planes, in my experience even the cheap brand airbrushes work well as long as they're maintained properly.

These links below show what I currently use for general airbrushing work. The complete setup for three airbrushes, a compressor, and an airbrush cleaning station was $120. Master offers a single airbrush/compressor bundle, which would bring the total including the airbrush cleaning station to just $90. It's really hard to beat that!

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-Multi-purpose-Professional-Airbrushing/dp/B006HJCP8S/ref=sr_1_17?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1455309585&sr=1-17&keywords=airbrush+compressor

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush%C2%AE-Airbrush-Cleaning-Holder-paint/dp/B001BXMYT0/ref=pd_sim_201_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=41a1RDflFYL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR136%2C160_&refRID=1FJGDFSX10TG8GS8ZBK8

Buy pipettes, mixing cups, and the appropriate thinner for your chosen paint, then get started!



What is your preferred airbrush setup?

[Grossman56]

I use a Master G79.

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-All-Purpose-Precision-Dual-Action/dp/B0026SHUMA/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1455321612&sr=1-1&keywords=Master+G+79

A great set with three needles, plus a Master Compressor. So far its been a great set for me. I preferred the trigger mechanism at first, but am thinking of trying the button set up, thanks for the tip Alpha

Grossman56

[JFandL]

I've had just about every maker of airbrushes you can think of and five or six Compressor's over the years. But for starting out a good airbrush from Badger is the Crescendo Airbrush Set 175-7

Dual action, 3 needles. a lot of the testor model master jars fit on the top. and a good starter Compressor. from California Air Tools, What I like about this Compressor is it will do more jobs than just airbrush, they also run very Quiet & Oil-Free.

Now you can go to Harbor Freight and get a airbrush for $20.00 single action witch works very well for the over spay. Fine details? you need a duel action airbrush.
Same goes for a compressor Harbor Freight has some very poor $49.00 jobs that will get you started.

John

[MikeT]

If you have the budget go for a Grex. Last one you'll ever buy.

http://www.grexusa.com/grexairbrush/

Mike

[JFandL]

Mike I have two of their airbrushes and one of their small Compressors for winter indoor work, both good maybe not the best out there but well made and a Good choice of airbrush.

John

[seaviper]

I plan on airbrushing one of my super scorpions. But I am a complete newb at airbrushing. Great info on this thread.

[Alpha]

There are many YouTube video tutorials that cover the basics of airbrushing if you're just starting out. Trust me, you don't want to reinvent the wheel on something like this. Invest in a good double action airbrush, a compressor with a moisture trap, good paint and an appropriate thinner for it, the requisite cleaning supplies, and a proper respirator. Not just a dust mask, but an actual respirator. Painting one's lungs is less effective.

I would emphasize at least one of those things above, but really they are all equally important. Remember, "The right tool for the job!".

Pay attention to thinning ratios and air pressure. Those are probably the most important usability tips when you're getting started once you have the right equipment. As a general example, don't try to shoot Tamiya right out of the bottle on 5 psi or 60 psi. I thin Tamiya 2:1 or 3:1 (paint:thinner) and shoot it at 16-20 psi, varying my distance from the subject between 1 and 3 inches. For your Super Scorpion, you'll want to turn up the psi and get some distance between the tip and the subject for wider coverage passes. For fine detail work like panel line shading, I'll thin Tamiya almost 1:1 and shoot it at ~10 psi. Of course, different brands of paints will prefer different ratios, pressures, and tip distances. It's all about research and experimentation. Have fun!

For foam airplanes, I usually use Tamiya acrylics, but Xplaneguy recommended Testors Model Master Enamels, and I will say that so far the Testors is very durable and does not eat the foam if applied in light coats. The Tamiyas clean up with water, compared to smelly thinner like the Testors enamels, so that is something to consider.

[seaviper]

Roger that. My philosophy is if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. Good tools are a necessity. I hope to foray into airbrushing later this year. I will probably go with acrylics.

Nice Hohenjager und Königstiger !

[Grossman56]

Hey Sea Viper. here's some of mine, the P-51B was my first attempt, the Pandora was number two and the P-40 was somewhere down the road!

Grossman56

[seaviper]

Awesome work man!

I was thinking of building a paint booth with ventilation for airbrushing.

[Grossman56]

Thanks Seavip, I want to point out as well that I use acrylics so everything is water based, (the majority are the little bottles that you get in the crafts section in Walley World) so clean up is easy. The key to it, at least for me, is layers (think of Shrek and onions!) The P-40 was the same method as the P-51B, go over the panel lines with a dark color then add layers of color over it. I went right through the Chinese markings on the wings of the P-40 with the dark color, it was either black or a dark brown, can't remember, but it really anchored the decals down into the plane I got the nice lines by using a piece of cardboard to 'mask' it. Light layers of white, tinted with yellow give the effect of faded green and believe it or not, the P-40 brown was mixed with left over green by adding some red to it and playing around with it. I had to match the color when I peeled off the original tigers and got the more authentic ones from Callie. You'd be hard pressed to see the difference!

Grossman56

[Aros]

Count me in as a newbie to the airbrushing world. I am a complete anomaly since I love to paint my RC models, yet have never ventured into the realm of airbrushing. Yeah, go figure, I know.

I am going to pick up Alpha's recommendation (Master Airbrush Multi-purpose Professional Airbrushing System) as my first kit and go from there. I am going to grab the Iwata-Medea Airbrush Cleaner (16 Oz.) and Master Airbrush Brand - Airbrush Cleaning KIT.

So that leaves which thinner to use and paint. I will mostly be painting your standard weathering (panel lines, exhaust, etc)...So what would be the colors and brand of choice? Thanks fellas! Great thread!

[Grossman56]

Aros, I just use acrylics that you can pick up in the crafts section of Wally World. Also, sample cans of paint at Ace are a great deal. All clean up with water. I picked up a Pearlescent clear coat on Amazon to see if I can get a 'rainbow' effect for exhaust stains and also to add to the F7F paint job
Mix your paint to the consistency of milk and take it from there, light layers is the secret. It won't take you long and then you'll wonder why you waited so long to try it. Use some packing foam from one of you many kit boxes to experiment on if you don't want to try on an airplane at first.

Grossman56

[Aros]

Great, thanks Grossman! So my first weathering job will be the exhaust trails from the turbochargers on my P-38. Should be simple enough. Do I use just black or a combo of colors to get a nice realistic effect?

[Grossman56]

For the gun smoke and the exhaust stains I have used black, but extremely lightly and layer it up. I've noticed that a lot of exhaust stains have a rainbow effect, so I'm going to try the Pearlescent paint to see if I can mimmick that.

[Alpha]

Aros, I did not have good luck with the Master airbrush, but the Master airbrush compressor has served me well. Going to a Badger Patriot 105 airbrush was worth every penny compared to the Master airbrush. YMMV.

As Grossman said, thin your paint to the consistency of skim milk and go from there. The cheaper paints have thicker pigments so you'll likely need a higher air pressure and/or a wider nozzle for it to spray well. If you stay with the budget Master airbrush, watch for paint buildup on the tip which will lead to spattering. One spit during detail work and you get to start over :)

Grossman, mimicking heat staining is tough, but possible with those pearlescents you mentioned. I do layers of Tamiya clear yellow, clear blue, clear purple (mixed), Smoke, all over the brightest chrome I can find (even if the aircraft base color is not silver). That should give you the sheen you want. It's tougher to accomplish on a foam plane, obviously, but with surface preparation and sealing, a shiny and realistic finish is achievable. I agree with you it looks great on the real aircraft.

[Aros]

Good advice thanks Alpha, I will piece the kit together and check out that Badger Patriot 105 airbrush...

[Aros]

Okay here's what's in my cart for Amazon...How does this look? What am I missing?

[Grossman56]

Here the set I bought, great gun!

Grossman56

[Alpha]

Looking good, Aros. Keep in mind, that airbrush cleaner is only as good as what paint you're using.

Two other tips:

1) Buy a REAL respirator. Not a dust mask.
2) Buy a set of 100 paint pipette/droppers. They're less than 10 cents each.