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I have never used one but wonder if they would be useful for small touch-in jobs where a rattle can or touch in stick are not really suitable. Can anyone recommend a reasonable priced one that would suit a beginner without breaking the bank. I realise it is a hard art to master but it may also be used for a bit of modelling in future. I have a normal garage compressor but also realise that may not be suitable either. Are the cheap Amazon/eBay ones too good to be true?
I use one for a bit of art. Airbrushes are generally no good for car/bike touch up as the paint pigments are really too large for the tip sizes commonly available.
They are set up for thinned model paints, acrylics and inks.
For touch up stuff you would be better with one of the small touch up paint guns. If using a garage compressor you'll also need a really good water trap, in line filter and new air hose to stop oil getting into the paint.
Harder and Steenbeck Ultra. It is what I a was recommended as a beginner and it's excellent. Indeed it is so good it might be the only one you'll ever need.
Easy to use and very easy to strip down and clean. Get the best compressor you can afford also and make sure it has a reservoir tank.
I learned using Cheapo Ebay £15 jobs but have since bought an Iwata Neo, which is a very nice bit of kit.
Only used on models with acrylic paint. Don't know how it would cope with anything else.
I use Iwata too and have an Iwata compressor - amazingly good and easy to get great results. However with practice you should also be able to get good results with cheaper ones, although as ever it’s probably wise to steer clear of the very cheapest. I would say initially spend your money on the best compressor you can afford as it will be easier to upgrade the airbrush.
Practice is the key, as is getting the viscosity of the paint right. Very satisfying when you get it right.
Only ones I would personally steer clear of are Badger - I had a couple of these to start and found them very agricultural..
Only ones I would personally steer clear of are Badger – I had a couple of these to start and found them very agricultural..
Lots of people use them for that reason, because they’re single-action, and they can carry quite a lot of paint in the bottle, it’s just controlling the air pressure.
I used to use a DeVillbis Super 63, which can only hold a small amount of pigment, and is double-action, so it’s quite tricky to get air-pressure and pigment flow balanced. I used it for photo-retouching long before the days of photoshop, but I’ll be the first to admit my skills with it were fairly limited.
Got the job done, though.
I’ve still got it in a drawer upstairs, just never have a need to use it though.
Boy1 has a Badger Patriot. Brilliant results, but it’s practice that makes the difference.
An airbrush isn’t really the tool to use for paint touch ups, a small gravity would be a better tool.