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Hi All

I have recently been scouring Youtube for more advanced airbrush techniques with the hope of being able to transfer them onto my models etc. One set of videos I subscribed to advocate getting very close to the palette with a very reduced (diluted) paint and building up the work with a large amount of layers. This would appear to be a form of NMM with airbrushing! However in doing this on my terrorgheist/zombie dragon wings (which have come out beautifully), does mean that I have to drop the pressure on my compressor - as you can already imagine, you do not want too much psi blasting very thin liquid onto models!!!!

I do have a problem with my compressor - it's cheap!!! I got it with a special offer on an airbrush (also cheap) and since then moved onto my Iwata CM-C plus (seriously nice!) airbrush. The problem is that it is very loud and when using lower psi, the compressor has an air leak valve to regulate the selected psi and therefore dumps air it pumps when at low psi! So to say that the noise is bugging me is an understatement and continual when operating!!!

I am looking to get a better compressor and do not know which one to get! Can you guys and gals help? I'm looking for compressors which are quiet, give a good range in pressure and not too expensive because I can imagine that the skys the limit when paying for things like this!

Any help would be appreciated!
Cheers
Andy

Wulfen Andy wrote: I'm looking for compressors which are quiet, give a good range in pressure and not too expensive because I can imagine that the skys the limit when paying for things like this!

I've started looking into an air brush set up, and I've found the more versatility you want in a compressor, the more you pay, as you correctly imagine. On this side of the pond it looks like a minimum of $250 to get into something piston, with a tank, and adjustable air pressure. All three of those kinda seem to go hand in hand. This has made me decide to save my pennies a little longer and wait til I have the money to do a compressor right the first time. Good luck, and if you stumble on something that fits the bill, let me know. Hopefully it'll be something available in the states. Or the colonies or whatever you Brits call us these days.

I've just finished ("just" as in 2 months ago and haven't touched them since) doing the airbrushed portion of my necron royal court. I sprayed them at about 8psi with SUPER thin paint for the OSL portion / details. This does exactly what you said with slowly blending & building layers. Sounds like your compressor is using a bleeder valve and doesn't have a regulator on it? If that's the case, a $20 regulator would fix that. Or does the bleeder valve work in conjunction with the regulator (kinda odd way of doing things but I wouldn't put it past a discount compressor)?

I know I'm in the minority but when I needed a new compressor I did a 180 and went with CO2 instead of compressed air. I live in an apartement and like to paint late night, once the GF has gone to bed. So I made my choice on the following factors:

1) Absolutely silent save the hiss of air when spraying (teflon tape all your fittings)
2) No moisture trap needed (not huge but nice not worring about ANY posibility of sputtering)
3) No electrical outlet needed so I can paint wherever I can put my cardboard box paintbooth (almost anywhere)
4) Cost - a one time setup (regulator / fittings / 5gal tank) fee of $130USD and about $10 for a fillup after that

With a 5 gallon tank; at 20psi you get about 20 hours of spraying time - at 8psi I stopped keeping track after about 35 hours (I estimate about half the tank is left but I haven't weighed it).

In short, think about what you need and explore all your options. There's a lot of info out there. Good luck in your search and I hope this might have broadened your horizon!

Edited spellings stuff

I second compressed gases. I personally use compressed nitrogen. I have two small girls that go to bed early and I live in a townhouse so a compressor at night time is a no-no. It easy to set up, just a regulator and hose. And since I can, I'm building a manifold with a gauge and valve on my desk when I buy a new one. It also helps I get nitrogen bottles for free through work!

Which compressor is good for you depends on what you might use it for. If you're only ever going to spray some mini's with an airbrush then one of the tiny little airbrush compressors would be plenty.
If noise is an issue the micro compressors might be a good avenue.
One option is to get a more powerful garrage compressor - something that could fill a car tyre or something like that, and get a couple of compresed gas cannisters to refil each day (or even car tyres work tbh)
My 24L (8bar) tank lasts maybe an hour of solid spraying at 20-30 psi before the tank is of too low a pressure to spray and i need to refil the tank.
while my mini compressor with 3L tank (6bar) is clicking on/off every few minutes, just is considrably less noisy.

I am using the Paasche D3000R.

Has a regulator, water trap and tank.

Quiet enough for indoor use and affordable $150-$210 depending on where you shop.