[jlc41]

Mark, my set did not come with a cup. This brush does not allow for gravity feed. The paint bottle attaches under the brush body. But I know I can get a siphone cup to attach to the same place the bottle attaches to. I will call Badger and see what they say or recommend. Thanks for your reply.

 

[sachsr1]

I've never used a lid on my siphon brush, but I'm sure you can find something that will fit. Just make sure there's a hole in it so you don't create a vacuum in the cup.

 

[jlc41]

sachsr1, thanks for the reply. Am just getting into air brushing and don't want to mess up.

 

[Waddy]

I use a cheap Paasche single stage and run it off my shop compressor with an adapter which you can buy.

That gun is so easy to clean compared to others. And it isn't picky about what I run through it.

 

[fcwilt]

Hi,

I have a Badger 155 and two Badger 105.

Happy as a clam at high tide.

Frederick

 

[Big Ed]

Resurrecting this old thread.
I am looking to get into painting with an airbrush, something I always wanted to do.

My question.........have any of the people who replied back then are you still using what you had or have you moved on to better airbrushes now?

Also do you prefer 1 stage or 2 stage?
Or do you own both for different painting jobs?

Has anyone airbrushed model people? Or are the people too small to do a good job detailing? Just wondering about this one.

New members into airbrushing, are more then welcome into the conversation.
Folks that want to get into airbrushing are free to add here too.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MatroxD]

I actually, at this time, use an inexpensive setup that works pretty well. It's a harbor freight fortress 2 gallon silent air compressor(the one gallon is dead silent, but going to the 2, allows me to use it for wood work, and other tasks), moisture trap added of course, and one of their gravity feed cheap airbrushes(20.00 airbrush, but it's the same, and takes the badger needles, packing, tips, e.t.c).

It's something new(figures) and I've only done a few figures with this setup(painted quite a few buildings and cars though), but the needle is fine enough that it works surprisingly well.

And definitely dual action airbrush. I usually use about 5 to 10psi maximum. Even though this works, I wish I still had my old iwata gun type airbrush. The fine needles in that thing, did amazing hairline work.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[Never Get Old]

I am a complete noob to my airbrush, but it has been going very well for the past 6-8 months. After much research and asking on online forums, I ended up with an Iwata Revolution that is incredibly easy to use. It will even work with the 99 cent "multi-surface" acrylics from the local craft store for weathering my rolling stock and locomotives. That acrylic "multi-surface" paint sticks to everything I have tried it on, and it cleans up with water, at least until it dries. Just thin them with a little Windex and a little distilled water until the consistency of milk, test on a paper towel, and then test on something plastic first like a junk box car.

The Iwata Revolution isn't cheap, but it's also not going to bust the bank at $94 for a tool that will last almost forever if cared for. The large cup top feed Revolution is easy to use and easy to clean. The compressor is one that has a cooling fan in it for prolonged life. It was $80. It's also quiet.

Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbru...ush+compressor

and

https://www.amazon.com/Iwata-Medea-R...ata+revolution

and a quick release coupling:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and DO NOT forget the cleaner:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have the luxury of airbrushing an in air conditioned environment, so the moisture trap on the compressor is sufficient for me. If you plan to paint in any humidity, you will need an inline moisture trap too. They are not expensive.

Total cost $200 and I love this thing to death. I'd highly recommend it to anyone like me who has never airbrushed anything before. I also picked up the Model Railroader "Basic Painting and Weathering" book. A few YouTube videos taught me how to clean the airbrush properly, and away I went! Don't be a chicken like I was if $200 is in your hobby budget. For comparison, how much does a nice DCC locomotive cost these days? $200 compared to some other things we buy isn't that much really. I think fear of the unknown is a bigger factor, at least it was for me.

Cleaning station? 64 ounce fountain drink cup from the convenience store. Poke airbrush through the "X" hole in the lid (after consuming soft drink) and spray. Toss it out when done.

-Never Get Old

Exactly the same and I wouldn't change a thing. :smilie_daumenpos:

I used it daily as part of a hobby/business for about 18 months. Zero problems. High quality. Easy to learn. Easy to use. Will last. Will not break the bank.

I probably have painted 75 N scale cars and locomotives with it. I will be using it to paint an N scale 15 car unit train over the next few weeks.

-Never Get Old-

 

[Genetk44]

Still using my Badger Patriot brush?

 

[Patrick1544]

It depends on the type, features and how accurate you want your airbrush to be. Many factors here. Google a review of the best airbrushes. You’ll glean a lot of information. Also, a good compressor makes all the difference too.

 

[CTValleyRR]

Still using the same Aztek A470 as before, with the same Microlux #86108 compressor.

I prefer the double action, so I can control air flow and paint quantity independently (harder to master, but better control, IMO).

I apply primer, and sometimes a base coat, to figures using an airbrush, but fine details are painted with a 20/0 pointed round brush and a 20/0 spotter.

 

[Big Ed]

Thanks, to all who answered.

I did google, I guess there are not that many on the site who air brushes.

But it is something I want to try.

 

[Severn]

I was at an AC Moore that is closing and just happened to notice a large box on one of the checkout counters -- it was an air compressor for an airbrush -- a badger. I was not familiar with the name at the time but it seemed interesting and it was way marked way down. I've for years thought about an airbrush so I did a quick google search and the price was good -- so I nabbed it.

Then figuring I needed an actual airbrush for the air to drive -- and after some further poking around I got this one: Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. I think there are a lot of good options at the price point, this is just one brand of the top two or three I believe that have been mentioned above.

Realizing then I needed paint I bought a small sample set of dull colors at hobby lobby that had the words "acrylic" and "airbrush" on the bottle.

And that's as far as I've gotten. I have not taken any of it out of the boxes yet even. yet I'm keen to try it out on something -- well paper obviously first, some kind of model.

But the one thing I noticed in all this and never considered is the paint -- why it may well be one has to have hundreds of tiny bottles of the stuff to get "just the right" mix for given project ...

So there's that little issue to consider...

 

[Lemonhawk]

Practice with water with food coloring in it (to make it visible). Then when painting thin the paint a lot!

 

[CTValleyRR]

Learning to mix colors is part of tha art of painting. Get a good selection of base colors and some really special ones, and mix anything else you need. Write down the formula for anything you think you will need to reproduce.

Vallejo's Model Air line has 235 colors, of which I have about 80. It's also easy enough to thin down their Model Color and Panzer Aces lines for airbrushing (I have about 130 of 308 colors in those lines).

 

[Severn]

I like the water/dye idea -- never occurred to me.

What I have is a small sampler of pre-mixed airbrush labelled paints ... "Rust & Chipping Effects Color Series Model Airbrush Acrylic Paints" from Vallejo and I was also thinking of picking up something similar: "US Army Air War Color Series Model Airbrush Acrylic Paints" from the same brand. It's not clear to me I have to cut these or not, but I figured the directions would say. I picked those up mainly because I don't know what I'm doing but want some grays/sands/rust for "highlights" at this time since the two models I'm looking at which i built have some color in them already -- and I'm not sure I want recolor them entirely.

now i have something else which I built -- I got two of them, one is unbuilt. This is not a train thing but sci-fi thing and those will be painted entirely first. And I did the one I built using Testors metallic spray cans... this came out pretty good (took most of 3 cans though!) but it motivated me to get the airbrush because as hard as I tried I could not control the amount of spray coming out very well. This resulted in some unevenness and tiny bubbles in a few spots -- which i think in the end looks ok because it adds "greebles" to it ... or so I convinced myself.

Even so, I would like to try controlling it.

Anyway the other one when its built will get the full coat of something... using the airbrush then is my idea.

 

[CTValleyRR]

I like the water/dye idea -- never occurred to me.

What I have is a small sampler of pre-mixed airbrush labelled paints ... "Rust & Chipping Effects Color Series Model Airbrush Acrylic Paints" from Vallejo and I was also thinking of picking up something similar: "US Army Air War Color Series Model Airbrush Acrylic Paints" from the same brand. It's not clear to me I have to cut these or not, but I figured the directions would say. I picked those up mainly because I don't know what I'm doing but want some grays/sands/rust for "highlights" at this time since the two models I'm looking at which i built have some color in them already -- and I'm not sure I want recolor them entirely.

now i have something else which I built -- I got two of them, one is unbuilt. This is not a train thing but sci-fi thing and those will be painted entirely first. And I did the one I built using Testors metallic spray cans... this came out pretty good (took most of 3 cans though!) but it motivated me to get the airbrush because as hard as I tried I could not control the amount of spray coming out very well. This resulted in some unevenness and tiny bubbles in a few spots -- which i think in the end looks ok because it adds "greebles" to it ... or so I convinced myself.

Even so, I would like to try controlling it.

Anyway the other one when its built will get the full coat of something... using the airbrush then is my idea.

The Vallejo Model Air line of paints is pre-thinned, ready for airbrush application straight from the bottle. No additional thinning is required.

You will find it much easier to control paint flow from an airbrush than from a rattle can. There really is no comparison.

 

[Lemonhawk]

I can't take credit for the dyed water practice, but I can't find the reference. From my experience using Vallejo Model Air line of paints is that you should still thin it. Also buy a box of nitrile gloves!!! Change gloves each time you change color! Keeps any contamination from happening. Get quick disconnect fittings. It does not take much practice to impress yourself and make you wonder why you didn't do this long ago! I just used a big box out on the patio table as a spray booth (Florida).

 

[MatroxD]

Practice with water with food coloring in it (to make it visible). Then when painting thin the paint a lot!

I remember doing this after watching a createx video long ago(well over a decade ago). It helps tremendously with learning.

Also, practice doing lines, varying the air and water/ food coloring mixture. I used up a ton of food coloring and water(much cheaper) on box tops doing these practice stools, along with writing my name in cursive(another great practice in fine line control).

I think getting used to, and controlling "the way" you paint was another thing. The fine dusting, that is indicative of a nice, single coat, was interesting also. Trying to get, not having to wait for a layer that is over saturated to dry almost immediately was another big step.

It's a fun and patient skill.

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[CTValleyRR]

Air compressors developed expressly for airbrushes are suitable, but they are often smaller and thus less powerful. For more substantial motor power, you can choose ordinary air compressors. Additional equipment and parts, such as connections and adapters, air hoses, and pressure regulators, may be required to properly fit your airbrush.

This is a two year old thread and probably didn't need to be resurrected.

The problem is that airbrush compressors being designed to be less powerful is precisely the point. Using too much pressure will make your paint splatter and dry prematurely before adhering to your model. You absolutely cannot use a "standard" air compressor with an airbrush without a pressure regulator. With the price of a good airbrush model hovering around $100-150, it's really a good investment.