Advice On Airbrushes

[kauri]

Hi there,

I'm looking to purchase an airbrush for my husband who has recently begun to make leather masks as a hobby and I don't even know where to begin.

Any suggestions or ideas would be very appreciated.

Thanks so much!

[Sylvia]

Get the best one you can afford that is the most versatile. I got a Paache VLS (dual action) set with 3 needles and haven't looked back.

I found the best price on Ebay here. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Paasche-VLS-SET-Airbrush-Double-Dual-Action-Paint-Hobby-/390436559010?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae7d518a2

You want to be sure you have a decent small compressor with a regulator and a water trap in the line between the compressor and the airbrush.

Have fun shopping.

[Cyberthrasher]

I had a tight budget, so I opted for the Harbor Freight deluxe dual action and one of their small 3 gallon 100 PSI compressors with a built in regulator. Spinner has had a lot of good things to say about various different models and several of his posts said that the HF models are just as good for the majority of the work we do. The one I got is a knock off of a Badger. I also got a few of their disposable in-line moisture filters to keep me going until I get some more cash flow for a better one (and hopefully a better compressor at some point too).

Here's a link to one of the threads where Spinner makes a lot of good recommendations. There are several more if you type "airbrushing" into the search bar on top.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=36289&st=0&p=224369&hl=airbrush&fromsearch=1entry224369

[Anacott Steel]

Use a badger anthem 155. Dual action and bottom fed. Pretty happy with it and have seen it on eBay for around $60.

[Art]

Hi,

It really depends on what you are blowing and the level of detail (fineness of line you are trying to draw). If you are spraying a dye overall or even paint, a badger 250 works fine. I use an Apollo 5 stage with a 7500 gun which gives me the ability to spray spirit dyes to mud, but is a little overkill for your situation. If just doing detail spirit and acrylic, a Badger 175, Paasche VL-100, or similar will work. Get a siphon or bottom feed to start, you can plug bottles of cleaner into the bottom and the little bottles are handy for mixing (thinning), and storing unused media. After some experience, a top feed can be easier to use, and more convienent to dropper feed and make quick changes. Most of the real fine detail units are top feed nowadays.

We could help more if we knew more about his work. TCP Global is a good place to look for prices and more info; their prices are ok, there may be some cheaper but TCP has good service.

Art

Hi there,

I'm looking to purchase an airbrush for my husband who has recently begun to make leather masks as a hobby and I don't even know where to begin.

Any suggestions or ideas would be very appreciated.

Thanks so much!

[kauri]

Right how he's just forming the masks and not really painting or dying them at all. Other than the fact that he seems to have his heart set on airbrushing them, I don't think he's even sure what paint to use.

I'm attaching an example photo.

A friend has suggested that I pick up a Badger Patriot 105 which looks good and has decent reviews but I've also read that it would get cloggy with thick paint and since I'm not sure what paint will be used, I'm not sure what constitutes "thick". I guess part of my question has to be, what's a good airbrush paint for leather masks?

Based on what I'm reading on the internet, a lot of the options are pretty much personal preference which makes it really difficult to make a gift of it.

Hi,

It really depends on what you are blowing and the level of detail (fineness of line you are trying to draw). If you are spraying a dye overall or even paint, a badger 250 works fine. I use an Apollo 5 stage with a 7500 gun which gives me the ability to spray spirit dyes to mud, but is a little overkill for your situation. If just doing detail spirit and acrylic, a Badger 175, Paasche VL-100, or similar will work. Get a siphon or bottom feed to start, you can plug bottles of cleaner into the bottom and the little bottles are handy for mixing (thinning), and storing unused media. After some experience, a top feed can be easier to use, and more convienent to dropper feed and make quick changes. Most of the real fine detail units are top feed nowadays.

We could help more if we knew more about his work. TCP Global is a good place to look for prices and more info; their prices are ok, there may be some cheaper but TCP has good service.

Art

[Jordan]

Airbrush tutor.com lots of info and fun video's. I am saving for an iwata dual action suction feed HB-BCS 4200, seems to be an excellent one and the O rings are not affected by solvents. About a hundred thirty dollars at Hobby Lobby.

[Art]

Jordan is sooo right here. I had a gummy mess for a while (black and rather gooey) until I figured out that spirit dye contains (what else) spirits, which are alcohol and eat up rubber "O" rings. I remembered back in the day when they first started with ethanol, the fuel lines would get pinholes in them because the alcohol (only 10%) would eat through them and get rubber all through the fuel system. Try to get a brush with teflon seals, usually a higher end brush but worth it.

Art

Airbrush tutor.com lots of info and fun video's. I am saving for an iwata dual action suction feed HB-BCS 4200, seems to be an excellent one and the O rings are not affected by solvents. About a hundred thirty dollars at Hobby Lobby.