Air Brush Choices/Guidelines

[jsmvmd]

Dear Friends,

Muchas gracias for the great info. One of our own, in a thread on aux tenders has this sidebar: Engineers like a tender behind.

Could not agree more! Not only an engineer, eh?

Kidding aside, is the Aztek more comfortable to use than the Paasche airbrush?

Best,, Jack

[Seasaltchap]

I have never used an air brush in quite the same way as WounderBear.

A while ago Harbor Tools had an offer on a small air spray gun - it could be for Barn Doors, but I live in hope.

I have not had an opportunity to use it with a larger compressor!

I have alwys found that a compresssed can and a Bader has previously done what I wanted.

Regards

[LD303]

when i first got an airbrush 20 or so yrs. ago, i got a cheap little plastic badger thing, that used cans of propellant, i thought it was great, no more paint lines,  used less paint,.......but.....  i outgrew it in less than 6 months, it just wouldnt do quality work, i figured up that  in that time, the money i paid out for those cans of propellant couldve almost paid for an h set paasche!! the difference between a cheapy badger and a paasche h set is like the difference between a yugo and a porsche.....dont waste your time and money on anything that uses a can of propellant....trust me!!  buy the h set or the vl set  from paasche and a campbell hausfield compressor and you will be very very happy.

[HOplasserem80c]

A airbrush is easy to use and it uses less paint. I have been to model rr mag and the all use airbrushes. It gets a nice even coat.

[brad]

I've had my Badger 200 for 22 years and it's still going strong. But recently I've been doing more and more weathering and custom paint for other people including N scale and I'm considering going to a dual action, either another Badger or a Paasche VL . I used one of those noisey diaphram compressors for almost 15 years until I got a larger tank style compressor, what a difference, cannot recomend this enough.

Jack cannot testify first hand about the comfort of the two brushes, but one of the fellows in the club has tried both and he prefers the Aztecs more ergonomic shape. I guess if you can get your hands on both and see what's best for you.

brad

[jsmvmd]

Thanks, Brad.

I will have the chance to handle a Paasche and Badger unit(s) this weekend at a tool show. Should get a better handle on it then. Thanks to all for the great responses.

Best, Jack

[Stephen Warrington]

I still have my basic Badger air brush with compressed air cans it does what I need it to do. One day  I will move up to something better.

Stephen

[LD303]

i liked my little plastic badger brush, i learned how to control an airbrush and how to mix paint using it,  but when i got it, i was heavy into aircraft and armor modelling, and it just couldnt do the complex camoflage schemes i wanted,  so a trip to my LHS and a lengthy talk with the owner got me headed towards a paasche brush,  he showed me the h and vl sets,  but said id probably like the h set better to start with, and then get the vl set later, after i had some experience with the h set, he was right,  i used the h set for 15 yrs before finally getting a vl, and i only did that because it was on sale at a serious discount,  once i got used to the internal mix and the way the trigger worked i found i could spray a needle thin line of paint,  now the camo patterns, exhaust stains, oil streaks, grime and dirt look absolutely great!   
  its an excellent idea to go ''hands on'' and see what you feel comfortable with,   one thing i know for sure, the vl takes a steady hand and a lot of practice, so you dont spray a big drippy blob of paint right in the middle of your job.

[glennk28]

I didn't recommend a cheap brush. I believe I recommended Paasche--one of the better brands.  As to the clompressor--I moved up from the little diaphragm compressor thur a couple of others before I settled on the DeVilbiss I have now.  I found that getting into the middle-range of horsepower is an advantage in cutting down the run time and therefore electricty use. The larger machines also allow use of some air tools and the occasional reinflating a tire on the car.  gj

[Craig]

Glenn,

I'd venture to guess that Rich's post was actually directed to the originator of this topic; I don't think he meant to address you.

I'll reiterate and say that I don't think cost or brand should be the deciding factor on an airbrush purchase, or any other tool purchase, for that matter. If a tool is well designed with good tolerances and fine machining it is a good choice. Provided that parts (needles, tips, lost springs or O-rings, jars) are available for the model selected and it is built of durable, quality components, I don't see how you can go wrong regardless of brand or price tag.

I’d be interested to learn of Jack’s ultimate selection.

Craig

[jsmvmd]

Sunday am, Palm Sunday,

Dear Friends,

This friend who is giving me his old Erie Lackawanna HO RR has a NIB Badger airbrush and compresser.  I will cut my teeth on that, then possible move up to a Paasche. My main interest is running trains, not counting rivets. I do enjoy a nice layout. At my stage in life, I am content to troll around after my children and do their stuff, from elementary to high school!  Like the old farmer said when asked if he and Maw were going have  more than their already 13 children: "Why, we just figgered out what is causing them!"

Should get the layout mid to late summer. Will keep you upgraded.

Best, Jack

[ebtnut]

I second most of the comments re:  brand of airbrush.  Most any name brand is a good investment.  Many people get along very well with a single-action brush.  A dual-action brush is considered the "gold standard", but a lot of folks never quite get used to them.  Something else you need to be aware of is that there are different tips for different paints.  I went to a Badger clinic in Philly last year, and they were emphatic that you need to specify the tip for the paint you'll be using.  A tip for solvent-based paints is different than one intended for water-base acrylics.  They also noted that you need to thin the acrylic paints.  The paint should be the consistency of milk for proper spraying.  Most solvent-based model paints are OK out of the bottle, though some thinning never hurt. 

Full disclosure:  I used a Wold dual action Master M for decades.  Works great for solvents; clogs with acrylics.  I bought a new Badger to use with the new paints, and because Wold went out of business and I can't get parts any more.

[Atlantic Central]

ebtnut,

To the topic of thinning paint, every brand of solvent based paints I have used require thinning to spray. Floquil and Scalecoat both recommend one part thinner to two parts paint as a starting point. Some colors should be even thinner.

As I said in my first post in this thread, I do not like or use acrylics, but when I did try them, I changed to the tip on my Badger double action and still had lots of trouble. I will admit for me it mainly a time thing, acrylics dry fast, and I am just not a fast worker.

Again, I prefer Scalecoat for locos/rolling stock because the gloss finish saves a step/additive for decaling. And I use floquil fro buildings, weathering, etc. But I have yet to see any paint I did not have to thin to spray.

Sheldon

[r.cprmier]

Sheldon;
It is said experience is the best teacher.  Once upon a time, I had a bout with acrylics.  Now, everyone knows that acrylics can be thinned with wqter-or alcohol...Wha...no?  Au Contraire?  Boy, you got that right!!  One of the quickest ways I have found out to get stoned is to spray paint thinned with alcohol.  Never again!!  I learned a very important lesson that night-actually several...mostly, each type of paint has a solvent for it, and acrylics do not neccessarily thin with water-or alcohol to the point that it is a good idea to do so.  Next...use a ventilator-and I don't mean a twelve-gauge with birdshot, either.  Invest in an exhaust system.  Lastly, do NOT breathe fumes...

...So now; I, like you, will spray only enamel (but I use laquer thinner for Floquil), and find that I get a better job done-not advocating the non-use of acrylics, but it is my preference.

RIch