tommse wrote:I decided to finally give airbrushing a shot and got a budget of about 300€. I want to get some value for my money but keep it on a reasonable level as well.
So this is the stuff I found for roundabout 280€:
Understood, seems like a reasonable goal.
Airbrush: Harder & Steenbeck Ultra ~70€
It is found for small work the siphon method has this slight delay and are a son of a gun to clean (getting the top fed 0.2mm type?).
REALLY suggest to preserve your sanity for color changes and stuff a top feed cup is ace, do not take my word for it: ask around.
0.4mm nozzle is a good all-around size, for our hobby 0.3mm is "ideal", I went to a 0.2mm but you have to be VERY careful to filter paint (many clogging issues).
It looks like a needle/nozzle kit for 0.2mm can be bought separate.
I find for most of my "basic" work I use a Badger 105, it really comes down to preference of features you like.
Getting access to the needle to clear clogs you may want later and an adjustable stop (how far the needle goes back = paint speed) is a nice option to look for.
Compressor: Sparmax Saturn A25 ~165€ including a pipe/hose
Nice! I use:6.3 Gallon GMC SYCLONE 6310, and yours is about half the noise.
It is a single piston but the 2.5litre tank should smooth out any pulsing.
The water separator is a must so it is good to see it included.
A rubber braid-clad hose will also help to act as a "shock absorber" to reduce any pulsing of the spray system.
You might want to fit a quick connect or a shut-off valve for those times when you need to clean the airbrush nozzle / needle.
Seems like a nice compressor.
Cleaning Pot & other cleaning bits & bobs
Cleaning pot as in something to spray into to purge?
You can modify a container with paper towel standing on its end to absorb whatever you need.
A glass container with a plastic airtight lid with brake fluid would help with cleaning the airbrush just do not soak overnight (can still dry-out o-ring that seals needle from reservoir) and do not drop the needle or nozzle into the glass (did that.. ouch!). Use gloves and ventilate well!!!
Airbrush "lube" to keep the trigger running well, keep paint from drying too fast on the needle and nozzle.
An "airbrush cleaning reamer" will help with getting that paint out of the nozzle, when less than 1mm in diameter not many things can get in there.
The air mask is important for a few reasons: acrylic paint can and will settle / bond in your lungs, not a good thing.
Some paint manufacturers do not identify their pigment ingredients: "cadmium" is a cancer causing agent, avoid, if unknown, be thankful for the mask.
Rig/buy some kind of holder for the air-gun if you need to put it down, you will be happy you did.
Think if you are going to buy air-gun specific hobby paint or going to mix brush-on to air: many ways of doing this.
Fillable eye-droppers and squeeze-bottles are good to have for mixing/cleaning solutions and paint mixes.
Is there anything I am missing or anything you would swap?
Tom
The bones of what you are doing looks great.
Best thing you can do is get into it.
If you can afford it, get an extra needle, it is not a matter of "if" but "when" you bend the tip.
Things I found helpful:
This guy is a bit rough around the edges but his technique is flawless and he shows many cost effective ways to do things:
His magazine:
http://airbrushtechniquemagazine.com/
His YouTube videos (really good)
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYxMC-TwsaVFC8-yqcNQdBw
Look at his video on "air pressure", setting that can be the hardest thing to figure out, he makes it easy (again, rough around the edges but knows his stuff).
Good luck!
Automatically Appended Next Post:
granander wrote:Seriously... isn't it time for a sticky about getting started with airbrushing
I love helping out but...

Agreed.
I am no expert, but wow all the things you learn to do and "not do".
I keep finding all kinds of "gotchya's".
Spending about 4 hours watching "how-to" videos on YouTube has saved so much from wasting my time.