Air Brushing – Air Brush

Question:

You’d have to add an airbrush regulator/gauge/moisture trap.  Get one of those plus a coupler that will plug into the compressor with 1/4" npt male threads on the other side to put into the regulator.  Then you’ve got it all adapted & ready to airbrush. David Kennesaw, GA

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I know this is pretty long, but I’m not trying to BS anyone, just open some eyes on the compressor market. The best units in my 30 some years has been my jun air and my Hansa aero pro oil bath compressors. I also have an old belt drive 12cfm (high priced 11 years ago) at the factory that I’m leaving with them. I hope this helps some people out. Later….Ken I am going to start airbrushing soon.  I have an old Sears compressor that works great for me driving air tools, filling tires, and just being a source of air.  It has accurate gauges and dome loader regulator.  It has a volume tank that is about ten gallons.  I know it is overkill, but is this compressor okay to use for airbrushing, too, or should I spend more for just a dedicated airbrush compressor? Also I live in the desert, and I have yet to get noticeable water out of the bleeder valve on the bottom of the volume tank.  We have very low humidity. Steve

Response:

I’ve been taking stock of my old airbrush equipment, as I’m going to fully retire from Australian Airbrush Co. and just paint. One thing I have serviced since they came out are those new Sparmax compressors. They are sold around the world by everybody and his brother, such as iwtata, badger, createx, Simair, etc. I worked with the company on these units for the past five years and I realise not one of the original units still work! That’s right,in fact not one lasted even two years. To be honest I used them almost every day and not as a hobby machine, but I never over heated one or over loaded one. I’ve stipped down two and added "oil bath motors" to each. The most common form of misrepresentation running rampant with these compressors relates to the proper sizing and duty cycle of the compressor. The misrepresentation taking place is not coming from the manufacturers, it’s coming from the resellers wishing to maximize profits by including the least expensive, least durable units of the manufacturer’s line they happen to resell. Don’t misunderstand. I am not saying that these smaller less expensive units are not fully functional and capable of doing the job, they simply were not designed for continuous commercial daily use. Some have auto shut off capabilities, overheat shut offs, regulators with or without moisture traps, or combinations of features but are designed for intermittent use at best! The one thing they all have in common is heat build up. Heat is the compressors worst enemy. To add insult to injury these machines are located inside the spray room and are constantly bombarded with chemical over spray that turns into a gummy, difficult to remove residue when exposed to hot surfaces furthering the problem. You should see the inside of these units when used for commerical airbrush sun tan spray. I’ve even took photos of the pistons to show the retailer he should buy a remote regulator to keep the units out of the spray area. The majority of these machines won’t last through the warranty period if used continuously day after day on a weekly basis. Many of the supply companies will not honor the one-year warranty with the excuse:"this machine was used for purposes other than which it was intended and will not be covered under warranty." I’ve sold hundreds (no joke) of these units, with most people very happy with them. The make up artist and model people love them…that being said I would not consider one for my next years of full time painting. In the eighties I used CO2 painting full time. Now, I have a (co2)bottle in my studio and two home built silent air (oil bath) compressors. I know this is pretty long, but I’m not trying to BS anyone, just open some eyes on the compressor market. The best units in my 30 some years has been my jun air and my Hansa aero pro oil bath compressors. I also have an old belt drive 12cfm (high priced 11 years ago) at the factory that I’m leaving with them. I hope this helps some people out. Later….Ken

Response:

Steve, I run a "Contractor Grade" portable compressor. It is 3.5Hp and puts out close to 6.0 cfm. It works great for my airbrushes and touch up gun. I use the built in regulator to keep the pressure down to 20-40 psi depending on what I’m doing. I also use an inline water trap and filter. Put you money into other equipment and a top notch water trap and filter rather than a new compressor. The airbrush will use so little air that the compressor will run very little.

Response:

Hey Steve, I am going to start airbrushing soon.  I have an old Sears compressor that works great for me driving air tools, filling tires, and just being a source of air.  It has accurate gauges and dome loader regulator.  It has a volume tank that is about ten gallons.  I know it is overkill, but is this compressor okay to use for airbrushing, too, or should I spend more for just a dedicated airbrush compressor?

It’s perfect if you can live with the sound. When I lived in the US I ran a line from my spray booth/workshop to my house next door. I ran the line underground and had another regulator moisture/trap in my art room. I ran large PVC pipping underground and then feed the compressor hose through it so I could remove or replace it with little trouble. Or you could build a small box around it to kill the noise. I think Pat Gaines has a "how to" on his site. Pretty much it’s a five sided box with the open side on the floor over the compressor. You need to get fresh air in it (I used a bathroom fan), and hot air out (get the box about 1" off the floor…I used rubber blocks at each courner), plus some sound proofing (I used speaker foam)…fini Also I live in the desert, and I have yet to get noticeable water out of the bleeder valve on the bottom of the volume tank.  We have very low humidity.

Talk about good luck…heck here in Sydney we’re in the middle of one of our worst droughts in our history and even have water restrictions…but with our humidity, I need to drain the big compressor each night when they close the factory…go figure. I sure wouldn’t spend the big dollars on a silent air compressor, as it really limits you on what you can airbrush….Our old studio silent compressor unit had twin TC-50 motors on it and would run 8 airbrushes at once, but cost a few thousand. Since we had three full time airbrush artist working on displays and murals, it suited our needs. Like I said my jun air lasted over 10 years with only oil changes and my Hansa last about the same. They are great for an illustrators art room, but they wouldn’t allow you to do a T-shirt with, say, a Paasche VL #3. Hope that helps ya, Ken

Response:

I know this is pretty long, but I’m not trying to BS anyone, just open some eyes on the compressor market. The best units in my 30 some years has been my jun air and my Hansa aero pro oil bath compressors. I also have an old belt drive 12cfm (high priced 11 years ago) at the factory that I’m leaving with them. I hope this helps some people out. Later….Ken

I am going to start airbrushing soon.  I have an old Sears compressor that works great for me driving air tools, filling tires, and just being a source of air.  It has accurate gauges and dome loader regulator.  It has a volume tank that is about ten gallons.  I know it is overkill, but is this compressor okay to use for airbrushing, too, or should I spend more for just a dedicated airbrush compressor? Also I live in the desert, and I have yet to get noticeable water out of the bleeder valve on the bottom of the volume tank.  We have very low humidity. Steve

Response: