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Hey folks,

Planning to pick up an airbrush soon to start toying with it. I've pretty much decided on the Badger Renegade Velocity as it's quite affordable and gets rather strong reviews even when compared to the more expensive brands. The issue I'm having is with compressors. I've done some research and it seems I want one with an adjustable valve to fine tune pressure, I need a water valve to prevent water from entering the brush, I want a canister to help limit the noise as well as provide constant and even air flow. The problem is where do I go to find something that provides all of this

I didn't notice a general airbrush thread around so sorry if a newbie guide exists.

Any suggestions would be great. I'm really aiming for the $200 range or less. I can't go too nuts.

You definitely won't find one that fits your criteria for < $200.

- Tank-linked compressors increase the cost by a bit
- Quiet compressors increase the cost by a *lot*
- Most have water valves containing a coarse pressure regulator

I'm using a Silent Aire Supersilent 20a - it's about $500 but is incredibly quiet (noise was an issue for me).

You can get an oilless compressor such as the Silent Aire Scorpion I for < $200, but it won't have a secondary tank (except for the water valve, which can help to provide constant pressure). Oilless compressors are cheaper in general, but provide lower operating pressure and generate a bit more noise.

Compare the oilless Scorpion I (50 db @ 1 meter) to the oil 20a (30 db @ 1 meter).

If you want a big tank to run silently from, you are going to have to get one of the higher-pressure compressors that is designed for general use (like filling tires and such). Smaller compressors just can't generate enough pressure to allow you to use the tank for a long time, and their tanks are small (because they are smaller compressors). Larger compressors are either ridiculously expensive or ridiculously noisy. You may want to give up on your goal of having a secondary tank to operate silently from.

And BTW, my airbrush itself is about as noisy as the compressor when it is running. A quiet oilless compressor isn't going to be much noisier than that.

Well I notice a bunch at Airbrush Depot that are in my price range, but I haven't had much luck finding reviews for them as far as quality is concerned.

The models also aren't very clear as several models are with ~$30 difference have almost word-for-word the same description so I'm not sure what the real difference is, or if they're worth it.

I suggest looking at actual airbrushing forums and checking what people have to say. There's a lot of good advice to be had.

I started with a small airbrush compressor but eventually ended up with a 3 gallon oilless from Home Depot. It's noisy but it takes under 2 minutes to fill the tank to ~150psi. I can then turn the compressor off and paint for quite a long time on that in complete silence. In addition to my airbrush I have been running a small detail automotive spray gun with it with no problems. Plus a regular compressor can come in handy around the house running nail guns and inflating tires.

Also these compressors tend to be cheaper. You can usually find them for ~$100 or less. Mine was $79 during a sale.

I use a ps900 brush and picked up one of these from ebay:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004KNHGCI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=A3KUYHN7HI5ZSF

It was the same price but pointzero was the seller instead of it being resold like on amazon.

It's working pretty fantastic. My only gripe is that it doesn't have a pressure gauge on the output of the regulator so you don't know what psi your putting into your brush. Quick trip to the hardware store and less then $10 later I now have a nice gauge telling my my psi

I use one from Airbrush Depot, a small one with a tank; the TC-20T. It's worked fine for me so far, though I've only had it a couple of months.
I've heard that having a tank makes the air come come out at a more normalized pressure, as the compressor isn't always having to supply air on demand.



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Oh and BTW: if you're getting a badger, be sure to get a badger hose and an adapter to fit the hose to the compressor. For some reason, Badger airbrushes use a non-standard size.

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-8-eighth-hp-40-psi-oilless-airbrush-compressor-93657.html

this compressor is quiet and runs smooth, no pulsing even without an air tank. I have this one and I can run it in the same room as my sleeping 1 year old without worry of waking him up. It's also very affordable. I recommend this compressor over all others.

That harbor freight one is the compressor I started with. It is quiet but I did have some problems with pulsing. Also I tended to have more problems with water in the line even with a moisture trap in the middle of the line. It wasn't a horrible compressor but I am happier having a tank.

I've heard that having a tank makes the air come come out at a more normalized pressure, as the compressor isn't always having to supply air on demand.


== http://www.solitairecardgame.org/ ==

For me the main thing came down to noise. It's hard to know how loud a compressor is going to be unless it's sitting next to you running. Reading people say something is quiet isn't terribly useful unless you also know their definition of quiet.

You don't need a lot of pressure to airbrush. I personally wouldn't buy anything less than 1/6th of a horsepower though.

If you want a tank big enough to spray without the compressor running, that'll push up the price a bit. My 3L tank refills several times during a typical spraying session.

If you want something that is quiet while running AND can fill a big enough tank to spray without it running, that will push up the price a lot.

Regulator wise, I personally don't find I need superfine adjustment for airbrushing. Whatever regulator came on my cheap little hobby compressor works fine. I know the gauge is not accurate, but who cares? Just because it reads 25PSI when it's actually delivering 20PSI in no way hampers my ability to paint with it.

Most people are happy with a cheap little hobby compressor, get one with a small tank, cheap, unless you get unlucky it'll probably last you for years. You can usually find something reasonably quiet, though not dead silent. My cheap compressor is quiet enough that I'll airbrush at night and not worry about the neighbours or a person on the other side of the house, but not so quiet that I'd use it with someone trying to sleep in the next room.