I know this kind of airbrush is expensive to use in long term. and d pressure is inconsistent. So after u bought the compressor.. u will use it with this airbrush? If not mistaken.. i think that is a single action airbrush. correct me if im wrong

D airbrush im currently have is olympos...

may i know the difference between single action and double action? i not sure mine is in which category, dunno how to check also............

mine is expensive in long term, but quite convenient is shud say, portable, hehe. and super quiet, no noise, hehe.

pressure inconsistent? i tried use the pressure, it seems alright la. don press the spray button so long la, spray few seconds then rest few seconds, i think it can solve the problem.

now i saw some compressor owner say tat their compressor will have water come out la, i start to worry la, later it will affect the colour.... so now dilemma either stick to my original method or buy new compressor........

Go Venus Art for airbrush / compressor.
I got my 0.3mm double action Sparmax AB with the compressor with airtank for RM810. But heard that prices may have gone up.

The airtank is worth it. It's also like a built in watertrap, so I've not had problem with water spraying. And it gives a more consistent pressure. And the compressor switches off after every few minutes when the airtank is pressurised, then it switches on again only when the pressure drops.

The Sparmax AB is good enough for beginners I guess. But it gets clogged up easily, with the modelling acrylics that I use. Planning to experiment with using alcohol or window cleaner to dilute my paints and see how it goes.

Otherwise, Nanyang has COMART MEDEA airbrush paints, and they work beautifully. No clogging.

Or, you could always hunt around for an Iwata double action airbrush. With Teflon coated needle and nozzle, less likely to clog.

Single action means ur airbrush cannot control the ammount of paint to be spray out. Double action meaning u can control the amount of paint. Press down to release air.. then press backward to let the paint flow throught the AB. the more u push backward the more paint it will flow out.

Yes.. the spraying water trouble really is a pain in the ass. Really can spoil a nice surface. Not sure how to overcome this problem.

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Added on March 23, 2007, 2:12 amI have the Sparmax mini compressor oredi. But it din come with the Airtank.. Can I add on that Airtank to my mini compressor? I bought it for rm 550 from tamiya. ARGH.. now to think of it is so not worth it.

Sparmax AB? Im not sure which AB is suitable for me. Which will u suggest? budget rm 200 below if possible.

This post has been edited by clivengu: Mar 23 2007, 02:12 AM

hey guys, im new here, and just wanted to enquire more bout air brushing.
what do i need to get me started?

I just got the cheapest Double Action brush I got. Which was at venus, the Sparmax was rm230, discount discount i got 210. My compressor just rm600.

To do airbrushing.
Easiest just go VA and get the aircompressor and airbrush. That's the best value I managed to find in KL. Cheapest mini compressor around, and very decent entry level double action airbrush.

They package it with all the fittings, pressure regulator, moisture trap (if needed), the tubes and etc. You'll get all the hardware in one purchase, about rm800+.

If just want to play play, or u only got 1-2 projects u want to airbrush. Then can consider the Badger set, using compressed air cans. But if u want to develop skills and really explore the hobby, a compressor is needed.

The software will take more time.
Need to research on net on how to thin paints, and maintain / clean airbrush.

Some websites also teach u basic techniques etc.

Then have to experiment with paints. Getting AB paints for best result, but those are not very common in KL, and may not have the colours u want. So, play around with different paints, experiment and see what kind of result u get with different dilutions. Dilute with water? alcohol? special thinner? or window cleaner?

But the real skills, need to consult sifu who's actually good with AB. And the people I know, are somewhat stingy with sharing it. Cos most people learnt their skills the hard way via trial and error, and sometimes don't like to share info for free. Like kungfu novels. The masters don't simply simply teach their geng moves.

heya.. some questions on the airbrush:
- what's the pro/cons between gravity feed and bottom feed types of airbrushes? which is recommended for a beginner, or is there no difference?
- what's recommended nozzel size for modelling work? (gunpla, then probly miniatures as well)

thanks!

My cheap double action is a 0.3mm nozzle. Which I think is good enough.

It's fine enough that I can get good control.

0.2mm is finer, but I imagine that it'll be even more prone to clogging up if u don't use specialized paints, or filter your acrylics after diluting.

And the 0.2mm costs a bit more (rm20), and I didn't think I need it that fine. For miniatures, you can only use the AB for basecoating anyway. Can't paint fine details with AB no matter how fine the nozzle, so no need to go overboard. And the gravity feed cup for the 0.2mm AB is much smaller too. Frequent refilling.


Gravity feed and bottom feed each has pros and cons. Easy to imagine how if u just look at the AB.

Gravity feed, there's a metal cup at the top. Fill it with paint. Spray till finish. Refill paint.
Then when you change colour, pour the left over paint out. Wash it. Flush the nozzle. Then fill with new colour.
And when u want to paint something at a funny angle, like drawing on the ceiling.... paint will fall out of the cup and into your face. Paint won't even reach the nozzle if you paint at a funny angle.

Bottom feed. You just collect lots of bottles. Fill each bottle with the colour you want to use, properly mixed and diluted to how you like it. Screw on the bottle, and spray. Finish with that colour, unscrew, put the cap back on. And next time you want to use the same colour again, it's ready. Effortless, consistent colour results every time.

Then, you put the bottom feed straw in a small bottle of water / cleaner. Spray to flush the nozzle. And you're ready to screw on the next bottle with a new colour.

Very convenient. And can also spray on ceiling.

But need to collect more bottles, which isn't expensive. SGD$1-2 each when I saw at ArtFriend.

Or if you only want to paint ONE drop of colour somewhere... might be wasteful to use a bottle for it, and mix a larger batch of paint that you won't finish. A bit of wastage. No big deal.

Compressor need to use higher pressure to suck the paint up against gravity.

Bottom feed AB is more expensive.

I like the idea of bottom feed. But I didn't want to spend extra on the AB until I'm really serious about the hobby. The gravity will do for what I need it for at the moment.

Ratatosk... good sharing Might need ur help when i begin airbrushing again. Until then, i will need to buy a new AB..probably d one u recommend Double action Sparmax AB rm 230. My old olympos AB given by people.. I think is already damage..

Bout compressor. mine is Sparmax too. But without the Airtank attached. So I have to Off and ON manually. And easily Overheat. Can I buy Airtank separately to attach to my mini sparmax?

cools thanks for the reply.. Hmm. in regards to the miniature spraying, I had asked Wolf about it before, and he said that he's able to use airbrushes for more than just base coating. Still wondering how he's doing it though. Gotta drop by his place one of these days, and check with him on news about the airbrush lessons that he's thinking about doing.

i need some airbrush expert to help me to do some project.....does anyone interest here? pls pm me if u are interest....make urself stand out from others....

This post has been edited by howiechoo: Mar 31 2007, 12:57 AM

Yea... about that...

That's why I mentioned that sifus who have learnt how to AB are protective about their skills. Last time I asked, he said that he would only share his knowledge with his PAWS team. (Painters At Wolf's Shop). With people who are helping him out at the shop to paint terrain or paint minis for commission.

He wouldn't even tell me what black he used to get his minis base-coated. Barely dragged out a few tidbits here and there, about using good thinners, and how window cleaner doesn't work for him.

If he's gonna run classes, then I'll definitely want in.

And I have done more than just base-coating with the AB.

I use it as a cheap (time-wise) way of doing highlighting on some larger minis like the Carnivean. After painting the large blocks of colours in, using a lighter colour, and spray downwards at an angle, so that certain parts will catch a light dusting of the colour, and other parts remain in the 'shadow'.

I like some of the results.

i'm new here.. i'm interested abuot airbrush too.. so normally what do u recommend for a beginner to get started with airbrushing?? is it just the airbrush and the compressor? then what about the paint?? any paint will do? and is there any other stuff we need to add in with the paint b4 spraying it?

I got meself a sparmax compressor and airbrush. For the compressor, I got the one without the tank, as I figured that for my usage level, I dun need something that expensive as yet. For the airbrush, couldnt decide between the gravity feed or the bottom feed, so I got myself the side feed instead. Comes with both gravity feed cups and bottom feed containers. Costs about RM50 more than just the gravity feed ones, but after using it, its definetely worth the RM50 extra that I paid for it. If I only need to use a bit of a particular color, the gravity feed cone's perfect for it. If I need to use quite a lot of a particular color, then the larger bottom feed bottles is useful.

For paints, I'm still using the acrylics that I've been using for me gundam models all these time (handbrush), which is a mix of Citadel and Tamiya. Normally I just thin using water, but I find that putting in a few drops of alchohol (I use methylated spirits) helps to break down the water tension, and also helps the citadel and tamiya paints to mix together better.

icic.. so how much did it cost you for a complete set.. i went and ask abuot the airbrush set in a hobby shop and the price was rm 500.. comes with an airbrush and a compressor..

Wow.. RM500 is cheap. What type of compressor and airbrush is it, and which shop? I got my sparmax compressor and sparmax sidefeed airbrush (double action) with extra feed bottle for RM790, from Petaling Street.

wow.. thats expensive.. i need to go ask the shop again then.. hmm .. not sure about it.. but i cant do it in this week.. going on holiday ~~ hehe .. so i'll let u know when i find out the details

There's something that I started pondering on in regards to airbruses. Does anybody wish that there's somekinda laser pointer thingy attached to the airbrush, so they can see precisely there they're pointing at?

Does such a thing even exists?

One thing the pros do, is to unscrew the metal cap in front of the airbrush. The part that's not the nozzle, but is there to protect the nozzle and needle in case the brush is dropped.

That way, you can see the nozzle very clearly and you'll know where it's pointed. And even better, you can wipe the tip every once in a while to reduce clogs.

Just be very careful not to drop the airbrush. Or you'll need a new nozzle and a new needle...

Hmm.... or maybe suspend the airbrush on a long rubber-band sling. If your hand ever slips, the rubber band will never let the airbrush hit the floor. Hmm....

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Added on April 17, 2007, 2:56 pmGosh... Cheap way to start airbrushing:

A 250rm compressor:
http://www.ebay.com.my/viItem?ItemId=230115826976

and a 129rm double action airbrush:
http://www.ebay.com.my/viItem?ItemId=230115828002

But the mini-compressor doesn't have a moisture trap nor a pressure regulator. And the double action airbrush don't know what kind of quality.

But you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

This post has been edited by Ratatosk: Apr 17 2007, 02:56 PM

Can anyone recommend a 0.5mm airbrush for me?