Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Just wanted to ask if anyone has done this or thoughts.

My air compressor is in the garage, I mostly use it for base coats, but want to use it for more. However my painting room is on the third floor. I also do most of my painting at night and the air compressor might make noise and keep others awake.That being said, is it possible to fill up a air tank and use that with a regulator and just carry that up stairs? Are there small portable air tanks suitable for this purpose? Does anybody have experience doing this...or is it just a crazy Idea?

You could carry the tank up, or pipe it up.

There is a lot of info about this online, you could literally use a tire as the tank if you wanted too. In the process of making my own set up, from what I've found, the typical hardware sized tank is 5 gallon or bigger. If you want it smaller, a paintball air tank might be more useful, though you would be making more trips up and down the stairs.

Co2 tanks could be an option. It's more expensive, and you can't refill them yourself though.
Air tanks that you fill with a compressor? It's going to be tough, unless you have a very high pressure compressor and a pretty large tank.

When I airbrush, my GF is usually in the next room watching TV. The compressor doesn't really bother her (I did get the most silent one I could find), but the actual airbrushing does (the "hissing" noise from the air). Maybe both sounds don't get to the other room the same way (very different tone), or maybe most of us are accustomed to this type of noise (fridge, A/C, various washing machines etc.), but in my situation a different air source wouldn't change a thing.
So basically, I would at least try to see if the compressor really bothers other people or not, or make a couple tests during the day to see if you hear it a lot from the other rooms.

A lot of the noise of a compressor is transferred through the feet. Suspend the device with cushioning under the feet. The sound will still fill the room, but won't be as loud in the floor below.
I used chunks of spare foam taken from some KR foam trays. The compressor's feet fit into a GW model box, so I put the foam in there and stand the compressor on them. It wobbled about a fair bit, so I put a layer of cardboard on the foam.
It will always depend on the amount of noise though.

A 3 gallon tank to fill up to the limit of your compressor (125-150psi, etc.) are very common items at any tool store or discount freight shop. If you fill up a three gallon (I have also seen much larger 5 & 8 gallon tanks) up to 135 psi and shoot it out at 25 psi, you will be able to do a substantial amount of spraying, especially if working small details.

You can get a 3-5 gallon spare tank for around $30. A regulator is about $10.

I dont recall who did it but iv seen on youtube some one using a portable tire air tank to airbrush with.



they just added a moisture trap and regulator iirc.

not sure how long it will last you per tank.

disclaimer though it can be a very bad idea to mess with a pressure vessel so i would probably not add the regulator and stuff directly to it. i think it would be safer to bolt the regulator trap on the table with a quick release i feel.

Yeah, my compressor is pretty big and loud, getting it up the stirs would be a major problem. Does anyone have any first hand experience with this? I'm just wondering if its worth the work, I mean if you only get a few minutes it might not be worth it.

That Husky tank looks like a good option though depending on how hard it is to add a moisture trap and regulator to it. A tire might work but thats going to be heavy carrying a tire with rim up and down the stairs, plus how much PSI can you safley put in a tire, sounds like a accident waiting to happen.

You would probably be better served just buying a smaller, quieter compressor. Something like this is very quiet and has a tank so it doesn't run constantly.

https://www.amazon.com/AIRBRUSH-COMPRESSOR-Airbrush-Published-Exclusively/dp/B001738DXU/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1532624386&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=masters+air+compresor

Just put a few cardboard boxes over your compressor and you wont hear it anymore. Or use some noise blocking foam stuff glued to the inside of a cardboard box.

Seems like it can be done but i do not have audio so i have no idea how long it works or what not

but
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yTj3MyLKfc

it seems to be fine. they take the air hose connect a quick release to a regulator and i know they have inline water traps.

it will be something like 50-70 dollars from the tank to all the fittings regulator and the water trap. spend like 50$ more on amazon you could get a airbrush compressor with a tank.

a tire tank would be 99% silent which is nice for super late night airbrushing. a normal airbrush compressor is a little noisy but not remotely close to a pancake compressor.