Looking for Airbrush info

[mbnaegle]

Not sure which of the forums I'm on will have the most airbrush guru's, but lets give it a shot!

I inherited a few Airbrush's with my Dad's old leather tools, and have picked up a couple myself over the years. He had them from back in his Hollywood days doing props and special effects. He often was given antique leather goods that he had to make 3 to 10 copies of so they didn't destroy the original, and an airbrush was one of the tools he would use to detail stuff with paints and dyes to make it look authentic (I find that whole industry fascinating, as those craftsmen will regularly make convincing works of art that are often destroyed during or post filming). We've also used them detailing other projects over the years, and even for touch-up paint on equipment. He mainly used Badger 150 airbrush's, as well as a couple of imports (same design as the Badgers). I've also got a couple Binks Wren brush's that I like. While I'm sorting stuff out I'm thinking I'll pass the import airbrush's on to a couple of his more artistic grandkids to practice with. They were mainly used with the shops air supply and a regulator, so I'm going to get a couple little hobby compressors to run them with. So, first question:

Does anyone have experience with the hand-held airbrush compressors, like pictured below? Will typical airbrush's thread onto them, or do they use their own thread size? It seems like a bulky, but simple wireless way to go, but if it won't work with the sentimental brush's I'll just get a typical 110v compressor.

2nd Question:

Dad also ended up with kind of a rare bird. It's a Binks Raven airbrush, which is already one of the higher-end vintage airbrush's, but on top of that he bought it from a Ron Gress who did background scenery and modeling and apparently developed an attachment for it that Binks produced, the Chameleon 59-250 system. You can load it with 9 or so different paints and change them on the fly, like painting off of an artists pallet instead of out of a single paint jar. I can't find ANY info on this system online, other than an ad for it and some obituary entries for it's creator. I contacted Binks, who sent my case to a local Binks dealer, who unfortunately was more interested in trying to sell me new guns than helping me find any information. I'd love to find a manual for it or any other documentation related to it's existence. I plan to clean it up and test it out, but I expect that it'll require some diligent cleaning. I think if you were airbrushing multiple colors at once though (like those Hollywood guys), it wouldn't be any more cleaning than having 9 different airbrushes loaded up to use.

 

And last Question:

One of My Binks Wren's is missing some pieces. I've got most of it on order, but one piece is apparently no longer available. It's part 59-20, which they're calling a "Wren Gun Housing", but it's a round air fitting that fits into the bottom of the gun. Is buying a more complete gun or a parts gun the only way to find this piece, or does anyone know of an airbrush supply shop that might have some parts for sale?

The gun in question is the "A" size for fine work. I use a "B" size for most stuff but am hoping to put the old "A" back in service. The "A" and "C" sizes are discontinued, but you can still buy the "B" some placed for $300-$400, which is crazy as used ones pop up for $20-$60. I'm just stubborn wanting to fix what I've got rather than replace it.

[dikman]

You've got quite the collection! That Chameleon is an interesting device, I've never heard of them before (which probably isn't surprising). As for your question about the "self-contained" unit, I have one but haven't used it much only because I haven't done much airbrushing for a while. It works well and is certainly convenient as I don't have to drag out compressor, hose etc. I bought it after reading about the idea on various modelling forums, most who used one seemed happy enough with it. There are various types available, some have a removable battery pack so you can swap them when they go flat.

Theoretically, any "modern" airbrush should fit onto the compressor container as all of the China-made models have the same thread size, but I couldn't guarantee it. The older Badgers won't fit without an adaptor, likewise Paasche.

[fredk]

1 hour ago, mbnaegle said:

Not sure which of the forums I'm on will have the most airbrush guru's, but lets give it a shot!

I inherited a few Airbrush's with my Dad's old leather tools, and have picked up a couple myself over the years. He had them from back in his Hollywood days doing props and special effects. He often was given antique leather goods that he had to make 3 to 10 copies of so they didn't destroy the original, and an airbrush was one of the tools he would use to detail stuff with paints and dyes to make it look authentic (I find that whole industry fascinating, as those craftsmen will regularly make convincing works of art that are often destroyed during or post filming). We've also used them detailing other projects over the years, and even for touch-up paint on equipment. He mainly used Badger 150 airbrush's, as well as a couple of imports (same design as the Badgers). I've also got a couple Binks Wren brush's that I like. While I'm sorting stuff out I'm thinking I'll pass the import airbrush's on to a couple of his more artistic grandkids to practice with. They were mainly used with the shops air supply and a regulator, so I'm going to get a couple little hobby compressors to run them with. So, first question:

Does anyone have experience with the hand-held airbrush compressors, like pictured below? Will typical airbrush's thread onto them, or do they use their own thread size? It seems like a bulky, but simple wireless way to go, but if it won't work with the sentimental brush's I'll just get a typical 110v compressor.

I have two of these. They're great. An ordinary spray brush can be fitted. Standard fitting, but not Badger fitting. The cup on top can be changed. Usually these come as a package with two different larger capped plastic cups; very useful for when you're spraying a large amount of dye or sealer

With the two I have I swopped one over to an airbrush with a finer needle.

They're not really all that bulky and are fairly light-weight. Some versions have a waisted-shape compressor which fit the hand better. Its great not having a hose trailing around to trip over or get wiped across work you've just done

I've done plenty of spraying but never as yet exhausted the compressor

I know nothing about your other airbrushes but I'd suggest cleaning them up and retiring them

Edited 14 hours ago by fredk

[mbnaegle]

Ok, thanks for the confirmation on the handheld compressor. I'm going to get one to try out.

Both the Badger 150's and the Binks Wren's have been good airbrush's in my opinion. The 150's are double action internal mix units where pushing the button opens the air, and pulling back on the button adjusts the paint flow, which is great if you are changing spray pattern as you go, but the internal mix aspect makes them slightly more involved to clean up. The Wren's being an external mix single action control makes them easier to clean, and I like the ergonomics and simplicity of them. Each has their place.

Edited 13 hours ago by mbnaegle

[fredk]

If you go for the all-in-one, shop around

I got my first for about £21 and the second for under £15.  My first is actually like your picture, red, but my second is black with the 'waisted' compressor

I've seen them priced up to £90, and they are virtually all the same. 

[dikman]

I bought mine off Ali-express, cheaper than ebay at the time. Some now come with a hose between the compressor and airbrush which could be handy for getting in tight places, I suppose, but it's getting away from the portability aspect a bit. There's a huge number of generic airbrushes available now, and pretty cheap, ranging from external mix (I have a Paasche, very handy and as you say easy to clean) to double-action with bottom suction feed, side feed, top gravity feed and a pistol grip type with a largish paint bottle on top, and all pretty cheap. I've ended up with all of these and I've got no complaints with the quality of them. One thing I did was to polish the needles, it might not be necessary for spraying leather but I did it anyway.

One of my grand-daughters is very artistic and creative and one day when I mentioned airbrushes her eyes lit up so I've "lent" her one of my compressors and a top-feed airbrush, she was very excited about trying something new. Knowing my wife I suspect "donate" is a better term.