Airbrush Equipment

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Dbarrm

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Hi guys, Im looking into getting an airbrush to do my rocket painting. Ive never used one before so Im starting off fresh here. What I want is something I can use to train/learn with but still give me a good result. Money is still kinda short so im also looking for the most bang for my buck without losing to much quality.

Dan
 
For general rocket painting, I'm going to recommend the tried and true Paasche H. Since a lot of rocket painting involves covering large areas, getting one with the #5 (large) nozzle is very handy. They make a kit that comes with three tips (#1, #3 and the all important #5) three jars, hose and miscellaneous other bits for ~$40 on eBay.

Yes - you can find cheap testors/aztek kits complete with a can of compressed air at places like Walmart. Do yourself a big favor and don't get this setup. The nozzles are not internally cleanable and therefore if you ever clog one up badly, you'll need to buy a replacement nozzle. Not fun.

The air source will be your other major expense. Ideally a compressor and is best, but that's the most expensive in the short run. Lot's of people use "alternative" sources like the air in a spare car tire or a CO2 tank. One option that isn't too expensive ($20-$30 at Sears) is 5-gallon air tank you can fill at your local gas station. You'll still need a regulator - under $10 at Harbor Freight, or maybe up to $20 at sears/home depot. Maybe Harbor Freight has air tanks, too.

Harborfrieght has a $10 single-action airbrush that looks to be a fairly good knockoff of the paasche H (or Badger equivalent). It reportedly works reasonably well and as it can be dissasembled for cleaning; it has got to be better than the cheapie testors kit at Walmart.

I do recommend single-action over double action for rocket work. It's simpler, easier to clean and I think more tolerant of a wider variety of paints. Not a lot of rocket work involves fineline detail work, which is where double-action ab's shine.
 
For the ultimate low-budget route, I found these items at Harbor Freight:

$10 airbrush
https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=6131 ($10)
$18 tank
https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=55057
$10 regulator
https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=90590


You will probably need a few miscellaneous connectors to get the airbrush hose to hook up to the output of the regulator. This is best done at your friendly neighborhood hardware store - go in with the various pieces and say
"I want to hook this up to this". They'll probably give you all you need for another few dollars. I recommend quick-disconnect fittings.

Still, I recommend the Paasche H. It's proven to be reliable over many decades of use by many thousands of users.
 
Thank you very much. Yes I going to be doing large and small projects with this so ill need all sizes of tips.

Dan
 
don't forget a filter. It will keep any water or other crap from getting into your gun/paint/finish. Something like this will work well and you won't have to buy a seperate regulator. filter/regulator
 
Badger too, look at them as they are just as good, adn probably jsuta s chap as Paasche.

If you find an Iwata HP at under $80 buy it, and send it to me!! (it's like teh 'Cadilac' of airbrushes)

Best to have a compressor witha regulator, and a tank. This'll produce a steady, even air flow.
 
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