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Alternative title - how cheap can you go before you sacrifice performance for price in a significant way.

I recall asking about this a long while back and the Sparmax TC620 was one that came well recommended and still appears to be the case when I do some reading around. However its still a significant cost at around £220 or so. So I'm curious if there are any cheaper good alternatives on the market

I think as long as it has a tank, switches back on before the tank pressure gets too low, you use moisture traps and most importantly it doesn't break, she'll be right.

It doesn't really affect the performance of your airbrush.

The more expensive ones might be quieter, or might run for longer before warming up, or be capable of running multiple brushes simultaneously (as in, multiple users could use it without it getting too hot), but overall the compressor isn't going to make or break your airbrushing so long as it has a tank and you use some moisture traps.

Where you go too cheap is the ones that don't have tanks, don't have proper regulators or are so cheap they break.

I've heard of people having moisture issues because they don't have a tank and their compressor gets super hot, but even then it's usually fixed with an inline moisture trap on the downstream side of the hose..

@AllSeeingSkink has it right. You can go to your local discount freight store and get a cheap tool compressor, as long as it has a tank and regulator, but might be a tad noisy. The tank holds the compressed air and the regulator lets it out at the PSI you set. For an airbrush you will probably be from 15-45 psi, depending on the brush and material. You will also need a few fittings to connect properly to the fittings on your hose and brush - all of this is pretty cheap.

And, yes, a moisture trap is very important. You can get one that connects between the compressor and the hose, at the end of the hose, inline, wherever, just get one. Again, these are cheap.

Also MOST IMPORTANT for any compressor to extend its life and significantly reduce moisture issues is to bleed the tank at the end of EVERY session. When done, pull the bleed valve to get the tank pressure down below 40 psi. Then at the lower end of the tank (sometimes on the lower side or the very bottom) there will be a screw valve. Open this up and let the rest of the air blow out through this valve and the moisture (condensation) that builds up in the tank will be blown out. Then just keep this valve open until you want to crank it up again. then close the valve, turn on the tank, turn off when done and open up the valve. pretty soon this will become second nature.

You have no idea the number of people that complain their moisture trap is not working and when asked if they ever blew out the tank moisture, they get silent. Their tank is full of water! They are the same people that complain their compressor went bad after a year or two and would not hold any pressure. That's because they rusted out the tank and there is a hole in it now.