Hi evryone
I want to buy a deacant airbrush for spraying aircraft . I also want to be able to adjust the nozol so I can do stuff from spray the underneath of a 1:72 scale spitfire, to making spray dots like the ones on the ME109. Please could anyone who knows anywhere to get an airbrush like this which is arond £50 please help me.
Thanks!
P.S It has to be one which uses an air canaster.

Hi James,
A good airbrush set up can be very expensive but as a beginner you really need to get the basics under your belt. There are airbrushes out there for around the £50 mark but to really be able to get to grips with airbrushing you not only have to be able to adjust the nozzle of the airbrush but, most importantly, you must be able to adjust the pressure to do the sort of spraying that you are talking about. Canned air is very expensive, especially so if you run out when you are trying to clean your airbrush, or if you rely on it for even a few models. The only real option is a compressor, which is relative expensive in the short term but gives you an endless supply of air. You will also require a a moisture trap and a regulator (mine are combined).

My suggestion would be to go for a relatively cheap airbrush and find a second hand compressor. My first airbrush and compressor were secon hand and dirt cheap.

I'm sort of guessing here, that you are looking at this as a Christmas present? But even if your not you can buy a fairly good double action airbrush (based on a Badger, which is a pretty good make. My first airbrush was a badger), from Machine Mart, for around £24. You may be able to find a second hand diaphragm compressor for around £30, or less? Something else which is essential is a holding tank (a vessel that holds the air and delivers it in a smooth flow) I may be able to help you out on that score. I also have a compressor that you can have but it is not very good for a beginner (it only produces about 0.5 bar of pressure and you would need to be shown how to use it, but it would be better, possibly, than cans. I used it when I was between compressors but I would advise that you get a more capable one otherwise you may be put off entirely.

Where abouts do you live? Even though you are not showing a flag you are in the UK as your talking pounds If you are close (ish) to me I'm willing to give you a few lessons on airbrushing Or alternatively, my club is hosting a modelling workshop in February, in Grimsby. I live between Worksop and Doncaster

Don't be put off and whichever way you go remember this, It isn't the airbrush that is at fault, it's the operator

Mal

Hi again,
I forgot about this:
Low cost airbrush set up

Mal

Thanks very much for that. Do you know a good website I could buy one like on the review on the link you gave me? Oh yeah, I live in Strumpshaw near Norwich.
As you can guess, I'm not exactly the one who knows most about airbrushes. But I was woundering if you could check this out. I thinks it's ok for what I described. Anyway, heres the link.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Atlantis-PT-310-Mini-Compressor-and-Badger-Airbrush_W0QQitemZ230204892975QQihZ013QQcategoryZ28111QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I bought mine from the link in the review http://www.airbrush-pro.co.uk/

James, do not buy that airbrush and compressor, you will be greatly disapointed if you do. The airbrush is knackered (it is also an external mix and it would be very difficult for you to acheive anything like you were discribing) and the compressor requires a holding tank, moisture trap and ragulator. The seller is also lying as there is no way that that compressor will run pnumatic tools.
My compressor would cost £800 if bought new (I got it out of a skip ) it is the same type that dentist use and is set to 8bar in the tank (about 116 psi I think and I would use it for a nail gun but not many other pnumatic tools).
I think that your best bet for starting out is the one in the review, follow Gary's link.
I'm afraid that Norwich is a bit far, are there any modelling clubs near you?

Don't forget, "It isn't the airbrush that is at fault, it's the operator"

Mal

Thanks for the link Gary, I've fund a £30 pump and a £4 hose to go with it. If you professionals are sure it's right for me, then the only other objective is to, 1: ask my dad to buy it when he's drunk, (he is tight on theese sorts of things), 2: Constant nagging on my mum or 3: Save up enough which is easy. Thanks again for all your help guys

Ok, I think I've found the one right for an airbrush beginner. It's on the website that Gary gave me and it's the first air compressor you see at £34 and I need to get a £5 air hose. http://www.airbrush-pro.co.uk/ Its the compressor that says "Compressor AS06".
thanks, James.
P.S sorry if im driving you mad with all my questions.

The first compressor has a water trap, but no regulator, so the second one, for just over a fiver more, is a better buy, as it has a combination regulator and moisture trap. However you will still require a holding tank and that could be as much as £30. You can get around the holding tank by simply aquiring a larger bore hose (than your airbrush hose) to fit between the regulator and the airbrush hose. This allows the larger hose to fill with air before it is delivered to the airbrush hose and thereby illiminating the "pulse" that you get without a holding tank.

The £34.00 price is ex V.A.T the actual price is £39.95.

I have just checked again and the item on the first compressor may be a regulator.

Anyway you will need those three items, water trap, regulator and holding tank.

Mal

Ok, I've chosen to go with the second air compressor and the air hose it says I need. What is a bore hose? Im so confused Where would I get one and where would I put it? Would I connect it to the compressor and then the air hose?
Thanks, James

A "larger bore hose" is simply a hose with a greater internal diameter. It would be fitted between the compressor and the regulator, but you would definately need a moisture trap (there is one fitted to the regulator on the second compressor). You could fit the larger hose to the regulator and fit the airbrush hose directly to it if you like, but there is a much greater chance of moisture building up in it if you do it that way. You could use a length of garden hose and you would need to get the correct fittings, but that shouldn't be too difficult.

Mal

Thanks Mal...

Ok Mal, I'm going to buy the second air compressor and the air hose. Do you know if that's all I'll need?
thanks.

I'm assuming that by "air hose" you are refering to the larger bore one? If that's the case then, apart from an air brush you will require lots and lots of practice. Please do not expect to be able to spray complicated camo schemes just because you have the equipment. There are many, many veriables; air pressure, paint type, paint consistency, skill, patience, ambiant temperature, etc,etc. The list is alsmost endless but what you have to do is remember that it's all about chemistry, i.e. Understanding how the paint mixes and works, so that you know what you can and can't do, or why something isn't working. This is why I say, "It isn't the airbrush that is at fault, it's the operator".

So the next thing is, what type of paints do you use, acrylic or enamel?

I think that it's about time we had a picture in here

Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7 TROP

Mal

I use enamel paint on my models, I always have and always will. Sorry, I got mixed up between bore hose and air hose.
As you say, all I am going to need is practice, practice, practice. And my dad's a plumber so it wont be too difficult to get hold of one or two big pieces of wood to use.
cheers, James.

I use enamel paints too I find no advantage in acrylics and plenty with enamels, but that is just my opinion. What brand/s of enamels do you use?
Something else that you will need to get good at is masking, but we can talk about that when you are ready to go

Mal

I also use both, but PLEASE remember enamals are highly toxic and must only be used in a well ventilated area and use a mask. I do not have a seperate modelling area due to space limitations in my house so have to use the front room table. This is why I use mainly acrylics. If I have to use enamels I spray in my garage as the smell seems to linger and the wife gets a tad grumpy if I stink the house out. However, my garage isn't heated so spraying this time of year raises its own problems. No-one said it was supposed to be easy!!

Steve

Sorry, forgot to add, I also brought my setup from Airbrush- Pro as Gary did. Great set up, easy to use and all in for under 100 quid.

Possible a job for Santa if its not too late

Acrylics which are thinned with Isopropynol, such as Tamiya's are also highly toxic. In fact anything that is sprayed in a fine mist can do you damage, so even water based acrylics are "dangerous". It goes without saying, I hope, that whenever you are spraying paint you must ware a mask and not a throw away one either.

Mal

Hi Mal,

I thin my Tamiya acrylics with distilled water, much cheaper than their thinner. It also dosen't smell as bad! I was thinking of the spraying in the house scenario and the grief I get from the missus (gawd bless 'er). Of course I would always advocate spraying with a mask, and not those cheap disposeable dust masks you get from DIY stores. I got mine from a local car spares store, adjustable fitting with several spare filters for less than a tenner. Its a bit big, but a small price to pay for clean lungs.

I dont have to worry about ventelation, I build the model in the kitchen and when I paint it, my mum makes it her mission to see that I do "ALL" my paintnig outside and that I "ALWAYS" wear a mask and rubber gloves. mums, go figure

I just looked and I use Humbrol and JP paints.
I have been practiceing masking on an old 1:48 mustang I built when I was 5. I made a load of cool lines and they're perfect. It now looks like a gangsters P-51 If I knew how I would put in a picture.
Thanks, James
P.S, merry christmas to all

My parents are saying I'm not compitent enough to have one bought for me yet, It's so annoying But they said I could start off with a plain airbrush set up for £17 which uses an air canaster. What should I do, take the offer or save up for a compressor? Anyones opinion is welcome!
James.

My mum found and shew me these http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=airbrushes (The first two)

Take the offer, but be aware that canned air lasts no time at all and is therefor very expensive. A trick to make canned air last longer is to place the can in luke warm water. This stops it getting too cold and thereby loosing pessure. Keep a track on the amount of cans you use and you will quickly see how a compressor is a much better investment. I got my first compressor after buying my second can, which I think I still have

Mal