What kind of Air Brush for painting props?

[Sith_Lord_Hritz]

Hi I am looking to by an air brush for painting props and maybe model. I hope that I could get a few opinions on what is available and what to look for or stay away from when buying an air brush. What brand do you all use? This will be a entry level I really have no interest in becoming a professional air brush painter the main reason is that im sure I don’t have the skills to do so. I guess I just have some generic questions that I would ask before buying anything for the first time so here they are:

Do air brushes come in a starter kit that would have all the stuff I need with one purchase to start painting?
If so should I buy a kit like this or buy everything separately?
Do all air brush guns have the ability to use the same and different kinds of paint?
What kind of paint works best?
Can I use a regular air compressor for the air supply or do I need a special compressor?
Are there any limitations on types of material I can paint with this?
Do they require any additional cost for regular repair from ware and tear or will the gun last for a long time?
What is the best starter “kit” to use?
Were the best place to buy a gun and the accessories?
What about used equipment, what to look for when buying used guns or is it better not to?
Are there any online forums that discus air brushing?
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks

 

[TridCloudwalker]

Go check out the forums on Starship Modeler. There's a VAST wealth of knowledge there on the pros and cons of just about every airbrush ever made, plus tons of info on what's best for a beginner and on what kind of budget.

All I can say is, don't get the airbrush kit at Harbor Freight. I only use it for spraying base coats onto sabers and other sized things that will fit in your hand. That's really the ONLY thing they're useful for; an inexpensive workhorse brush. If you're planning on doing detail work, you're best off with Iwata or Pasche.

 

[Serenity]

Make sure that you get a double-action airbrush. I personally use a Paasche; I'm a complete novice when it comes to airbrushing, but I picked up one of their brushes, I think it's the VLS-SET, and it's worked out just fine for me.

 

[superjedi]

As mentioned, I'd recommend a double action brush. There are some not-too-expensive models available, and the benefits are increased control and variety of possible effects.
I own an Aztek double action brush. I know it's not top of the line, but it does what I need it to do. It's easy to use, and very easy to clean up. Especially when using acrylics. It has interchangeable nozzles, which are available in a decent selections of spray widths. They make nozzles for different types of paint (acrylics vs. enamels) and even have some which do "spatter" effects.
It cost me about $80 or so, and I feel it was a good deal for my uses.
I also recently got a compressor. Mainly because I got tired of using canned air, which doesn't last too long and can cause spraying problems if the can gets too cold. My compressor was just over $100 from Bear Air.
I really like my set up. I use it for 1:1 scale props, mostly helmets, and models as well.

 

[OdiWan72]

I have an IWATA eclipse BC which connects either to my small Revell compressor or my large industrial compressor through a special coupling.

Love it so far, but would love to get at least one additional nozzle for finer paintjobs in the near future.

Markus

 

[quiznak]

You can also go to howtoairbrush.com to see some other airbrush reviews. This site also has several tutorials to go through when just starting out with an airbrush. There is a paid members only section, but you should be able to get enough general information from the free sections.

 

[Sith_Lord_Hritz]

Thanks for the info guys, I checked out the Starship Modeler forums and it seems that the IWATA eclipse is a well liked gun and was recommended a lot over there, so im going to start looking into that. I will take a look at howtoairbrush.com and see what they have to say. One quick question, what does double action mean? Also I see they have top, side and bottle feed paint guns what is the best for the all around use that I want it for? I see obiwan72 you use your big compressor with your airbrush for me just starting out would it be cheaper to buy the adapters to fit my large compressor and work just as good or should I just buy a small dedicated airbrush compressor?
Thanks

 

[bagpus3]

, what does double action mean? Also I see they have top, side and bottle feed paint guns what is the best for the all around use that I want it for?

"double action airbrushes separate the function for air and paint flow so that the user can control the volume of airflow and the concentration of paintflow through two independent mechanisms. This allows for greater control and a wider variety of artistic effects" wikipedia

Type of feed can again depend on preference & intended use?

I just sold two brushes on the bay for less than £10 so there's bargains out there:unsure

 

[Jaruemalak]

I can probably help you out, here, as I've used airbrushes for illustration and model work for over 25 years.

A single-action airbrush is like a spray can.. you push down the trigger and you get air and paint spraying. You can adjust the flow with a nozzle, but it happens at the same time.

A double-action airbrush has, well, two actions. You push down the trigger and you start the air flow. As you pull back on the trigger, you start the flow of paint into the airflow, starting from very little to full blast. You have much more control over your painting when you use a double action brush. although they are more expensive, they are really the way to go if you are only buying a single brush. Most airbrush artists and model builders I know have both a low end single action, for large coverage, and a better quality double action, for detail work.

If you are painting a LOT with the same color, go with a bottle feed brush. Personally, I think you'd be better off with a top or side feed. Especially side feed, because you can usually get different sized paint cups... use a big cup to paint a lot and a small cup for small things, like weathering, and such. A top feed airbrush is almost always limited to one size paint cup, and it does get a little tiring refilling the cup over and over and over.

If you already have a good compressor, there is no need to buy a dedicated airbrush compressor, although it does need to have a pressure adjustment (most work is done from 20 to 35 pounds) and you WILL NEED A WATER TRAP! Compressed air has a lot of water in it, and it will build up in the airhose and as soon as you are in a very delicate, important bit of painting, a blast of water will shoot through the brush, ruining the work you've done! Take my word for it! Personally, I don't use a compressor... haven't for years. I have two huge CO2 tanks with pressure regulators. No water problems, a single tank can last well over two years, and it only costs about 15 bucks to refill. However, you'll spend a couple hundred bucks for the tank and regulator, so go with what you have for now.

One of the most important things is to keep your airbrush clean! When done, clean the airbrush, every time, and that means take it apart, not just run solvent through it till the solvent runs clear. (That old Starlog article where the model builders on Star Wars said that one of their tricks was to use "airbrushes that hadn't been cleaned in weeks" is pure BS! An airbrush that hasn't been cleaned in DAYS stops working, and doesn't work again, until you clean it.)

Hope this helps.