Returning to the hobby - looking for airbrush advice :)

[themcgarvie]

Used to build and paint scale models & games workshop stuff many years ago.

Father-in-law (damn him!) has gotten me back into it, so far just built 3 or 4 cheap and simple kits to get back into it.

Next project is a 1/32 Tamiya King Tiger, but I know I'll struggle to do it justice with a brush.

So looking for airbrush ideas, no huge budget around the £100 mark.

[langy71]

Personally, I use Harder & Steenbeck airbrushes, I've got both the Ultra which is an 'entry level' airbrush and the Infinity CR Plus which is a bit more refined... both have served me well for all my needs so far...

have a look here...

Blowy ya Painty Thingies

[Tim Marlow]

You will also need a compressor to supply air Brian, so factor that into your budget……and just to counterpoint Chris, I’m an Iwatta user, so explore their range as well.

[adt70hk]

Sparmax ones are a bit cheaper and work well for me. Plus their spares are often much cheaper than the other brands.

[David Lovell]

Check out the scale model shop flick through the airbrush pages ,some good little set ups compressor and airbrush for just over a hundred pounds ,perfectly service able they work fine ,I've got twenty five quid airbrushes I use as much as my expensive ones ,and before all the yeh but replies start I know expensive ones are nice I don't deny that you can feel the difference but if you've got the paint mixed to the correct consistency and your air pressure is set correctly cheaper air brushes work fine untill you feel you want to or can afford to move up to a better model. Remember you can buy the most expensive golf clubs out there but it doesn't mean your play better. Dave

[BattleshipBob]

Sparmax are good, I think part of Iwata. I also use Iwata and there trigger type, very good. But there's a good few to look at

[Guest]

You could also get one of the cheap Chinese all-in-one airbrush packages, where you spend about a quarter to a third of what a good brush and compressor will cost. It may not be high quality but from what I’ve seen and read, they seem pretty good value for money. You can always invest a lot more money later on when you find you hit the limit of that the airbrush is capable of.

[Gern]

Can't add much to what the guys have already said except you need to be careful what you put in the cheaper brushes. Some solvents you may use as cleaners will damage the seals.

More expensive brushes use something like Teflon for their seals which are much more resistant to chemicals - but even then there can be issues. I have an H&S Ultra which I'm extremely pleased with and have no intentions of replacing - but the air cap has a rubber O-ring seal which I destroyed when I used cellulose thinners to clean out some stubborn paint. Removing the air cap before using the thinners cured that problem.

[David Lovell]

Can't add much to what the guys have already said except you need to be careful what you put in the cheaper brushes. Some solvents you may use as cleaners will damage the seals.

More expensive brushes use something like Teflon for their seals which are much more resistant to chemicals - but even then there can be issues. I have an H&S Ultra which I'm extremely pleased with and have no intentions of replacing - but the air cap has a rubber O-ring seal which I destroyed when I used cellulose thinners to clean out some stubborn paint. Removing the air cap before using the thinners cured that problem.

Good valid point to be aware of Dave, must admit never had it happen to me and I almost exclusively use mr hobby tool cleaner for all my mopping up even on my cheap airbrushes perhaps I'm a bit jammie.

[BarryW]

I would personally recommend not going cheap. Buy cheap and buy twice.

My recommendations are:
1/ Spend approx £100 on the airbrush and as previously mentioned Iwata and Harder and Steenbeck are hard to beat as are the Gunze Proton range. You won’t regret this on a number of levels. Make sure the brush is gravity fed with a needle size of 0.3 to 0.4 for general useage.

2/ Get a compressor with a tank. It need not be expensive but a tank means that the compressor motor is not working all the time you are spraying and it means that you won’t get pulsing either. In this case a cheap Chinese compressor can work well for you such as the AS186.
These are often bundled with cheap air brushes, if that’s the case then I would advise either throw the cheap airbrush away or just use it for primers.

3/ Paints. First of all an ‘airbrush ready’ paint is highly recommended to reduce or even eliminate worries over thinning ratios. There is a steep learning curve using an airbrush and if you can reduce one of the variables it will help speed up that curve.

Choose, I would suggest, from two brands of two very different types of paint that both have a very wide colour range so there will never be a need to mix colours.

Vallejo Model Air, these are water based and, as such, do not smell. It is that lack of smell that is the big advantage of these. You still get particles so it’s important to wear a mask when spraying. These can be problematical in use though, some love them and some hate them. These have adhesion problems (as do all water based) so you need to use a good primer (Stynylrez is ideal). The paint gets touch dry quite quickly but a take days to fully cure and that important for things like masking over and doing weathering treatments. You can also suffer from ‘tip dry’ so you need to use retarder to reduce the problem. How these behave varies for each user simply because humidity issues really affect these paints, hence then being rather like marmite, either you love them or hate them.

The second type of paint I would recommend are lacquer based. There is no doubt that lacquers are by far the best paints to use through the airbrush.

There are no tip dry problems to clog the airbrush, they dry very quickly and are ready to mask over in 30 minutes (that’s playing safe). They adhere well to plastic and spray like silk.

My preferred brand is MRP. They come in large 30ml bottles and in over 6 years using them I have not had to thin them even for fine lines or for a small needle sizes and I have never had to mix colours (except for affects). Spray these are a very low psi of 15 or lower (20-30 best for Vallejo).

There is only one downside of these, they smell. That means you really need to use a spray booth that vents outside.

There are other types of paint and, of course, many brands, but these are the two I would recommend that cover both ends of the spectrum, harder to use smell free, to smelly but the easiest to use.

One final bit of advice. Practise and be patient. As I said there is a long learning curve so don’t expect quick results and perfection. Persevere with it and you wont regret it.

[Tim Marlow]

Good advice Barry. I would just add that if Brian goes down the lacquer route he will definitely need a decent spray mask to stop him breathing in the lacquer paint thinners as well.

[Jim R]

A lot of recommendations for Harder and Steenbeck airbrushes. They are very good. I have H&S and Iwata. I much prefer the Iwata.

[Bugatti Fan]

It seems that Harder and Steenbeck, Iwata and Sparmax appear to be the 'in' airbrushes favoured by modellers at present.
There are two brands of quality airbrushes that have been around for much longer than the aforementioned three brands. Paasche, who I think invented the airbrush back in the 1920's and still going strong along with their latest Talon airbrushes. And of course Badger who set up shop back in the 1960's and also still going strong with a range of good quality airbrushes. I have owned and used Badger airbrushes since the mid 70's and found them to be an excellent product. Barwell is the UK Badger distributor so have a look at their range on the Barwell website. Paasche and Badger airbrushes are both made in the USA.
I would advise buying a quality airbrush for your exact needs, so take a cold hard look at what sort of airbrushing you want to do and buy the best you can afford to do the job.

[BarryW]

Good advice Barry. I would just add that if Brian goes down the lacquer route he will definitely need a decent spray mask to stop him breathing in the lacquer paint thinners as well.

That is, of course quite true Tim. In my case I don't wear a mask and rely on a very good, strong, venting spray booth to do the job. If I could get a mask that did not mist up my glasses then I would use one. I am now up to having tried four (one fitted and expensive) none of which worked for me. Fortunately even building larger scale aircraft my spraying sessions are not long ones!

[Tim Marlow]

That is, of course quite true Tim. In my case I don't wear a mask and rely on a very good, strong, venting spray booth to do the job. If I could get a mask that did not mist up my glasses then I would use one. I am now up to having tried four (one fitted and expensive) none of which worked for me. Fortunately even building larger scale aircraft my spraying sessions are not long ones!

Are those full face or half face Barry? I too wear glasses and get no misting issues with my half face 3M 6000 series mask at all. This type……

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/respirator-masks/0766362?cm_mmc=UK-PLA-DS3A-_-google-_-CSS_UK_EN_Personal_Protective_Equipment_%26_Workwear_Whoop-_-Respirator+Masks_Whoop-_-766362&matchtype=&pla-331738438943&cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=10645908396&cq_term=&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_plt=gp&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5aiy0pfE-wIVSuztCh0qkALgEAQYASABEgJaX_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds