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I'm doing some shopping for a probable airbrush purchase next month, and I've been pricing out compressors. One thing that I'm curious about is the differences between ones generally sold in hobby shops or specifically as an "Airbrush Compressor" and more general-use compressors that one can find at Home Depot or hardware stores. (Link: an example of a general use compressor.)

In general, the "airbrush" compressors that I see are more expensive but often do not have a separate tank. Meanwhile, the general use ones frequently are louder (I think?) and might also be missing some features that I'm just not aware of.

One of the known issues with buying things for specific purposes is the "Hobby Markup": the more specific the market that a store caters to, the higher the prices (similar objects' prices increase going from hardware store - generalist hobby shop - game store). What I'm wondering is whether or not there are actual, useful differences between the compressors at a hobby shop vs. a hardware store or if it's just the Hobby Markup taking effect.

Thanks!

Noise is a -huge- factor for me.

I can run my airbrush compressor in my apartment building at 3 in the morning, and not wake anyone else up. Try that with a home depot compressor... yea, not gonna happen.

At that point, I went with a paasche compressor with a tank for
$150, because its a known brand, has a warranty, and has a tank.

when paying more for an air compressor, expect the price tag to rise for quiet operation, overall power, tank size, build quality (and thus longevity), the total hours a day it was designed to operate (i.e how heavy duty the motor is) if you excede this too much expect it to break really.
For just an airbrush, the amount of air volume you need to be coming out of the compressor is relatively low, and as such you can use tiny little compressors that wouldnt really be upto running anything else. If you check out say.. air powered sanders, air wrenches, snippers.. and the other really fun air powered workshop tools then you will see how small an amount of air the airbrushes really are using.

If you do want to run these high consumption tools for any reason (mini's wont really require it) then you wont get away with using anything small or cheap! In a car body shop for example expect their compressor to be costing a few grand and require its own shed away from the main building

It costs a fair bit to have an oil-less compressor over an oil-lubricated one. this is because the parts need to be more durable cus they get hot a lot. Most airbrush specific compressors are oil-free because of the desire for clean air supply. But theres no reason you cant get an oil lubricated compressor and then get suitable air filters on the output. (more filters reduce your max output pressure... just like having meters and meters of useless hose would)

Oil free is typically much louder to operate, becasue the lubricated ones are actually motors submerged in oil which cools, lubricates and dampens noise... just soem will no doubt contaminate the air supply (no issue for big power tools as you often actually add oil to the air to maintain these tools)

The less noise it makes, the more efficient it is, and the tighter the tolerances have to be - from a manufacturing pov.

You pay more for less in some aspects. Less noise being the big one in compressors.

Otherwise you are paying for tank volume and consistency of pressure (airbrush spraying requires a better consistency of airflow than painting a house or inflating tyres, or running pneumo tools.

Add in the "niche" tax, and that's what you get.

My compressor is a frankenstein's monster. Assembled from a cheap compressor (12v), hooked up to a transformer (240v step-down), hooked up to a small gas bottle with moisture trap and pressure regulator on the outflow. Cost me around $90 to assemble - but I know something about how it goes together.
It makes a bit of noise charging the tank (but I'm in a light-industrial neighbourhood) but it only needs to run for an hour to charge it - and then I get 3-4 hours (of silent operation) out of it.

The important aspects of a good airbrush compressor.

- Silent operation
- A good regulator to be able to run at the desired pressure. Must be accurate at low pressure.

- A water trap to prevent water from mixing with the air/paint.

- A tank which can allow you to work a bit in peace.

A good Paasche compressor will run about $140-150

As far as i heard, the cheaper compressor systems stop pumping cold air and screw up at times by not cooling it properly.

So what you should take into consideration is for how long it will function properly with the signs of your desire (like sound, time price etc).

 spincr wrote:
As far as i heard, the cheaper compressor systems stop pumping cold air and screw up at times by not cooling it properly.

That makes little to no sense to me?

Ofcourse the air gets warmer.... the motor gets hot via friction from running, thus the air passing through it get heated. The air being compressed is not meant to cool the system down... the system is supposed to not heat up the air so as to avoid condensation inside the tank (which causes moisture to come out in the air which will mess up your paint most likely.)
But because friction is a part of the universe the motor is guaranteed to get warm by being on... no two ways about it. All compressors have a 'duty cycle' which is the length of time they are designed to run before needing to rest and cool off. Really big industrial ones might be suited to 24 hour operation with a dedicated coolant system for the motor... but this is far beyond the budget of anyone buying a compressor for the shed I would expect.