Australians, what about us? can't find the right compressor, help please

M

Mystweave

Guest
Hello, I'm new here, my name is Daniel and I used to do a lot of airbrushing about 8 years ago, I sold most of my gear but now I'm going to get back into airbrushing and I my research is kind of going slow on what compressor I should get, I've owned several different compressor over the years, but it's amazing how much you forget when you stop doing something.

I mainly intend on doing artworks on wood and canvas the odd mural and or larger art pieces, I do sculpture and other art to and there will be times when I will use a larger spray gun and although I don't really want to go back into doing cars- bikes, helmets etc there's always that chance.

I just watched a video in this forum about the compressors and that drew my attention to the oil lubricated compressors, you know the really quite ones with the fridge style motor? if you know of one of these in Australia for $500-$1,000 or so, then could you please send me a link and I'll be on my way :)

If not where does that leave me... anybody import one from America? just spoke to someone at airbrush mega store and they said American ones wont work because the different plug, couldn't that just be changed or adapted?

They also said the Iwata power jet plus will airbrush all day long... I have that feeling I would be very unsatisfied with one of these.. Maybe something like this just for airbrushing paintings and a big loud piston compressor for the more occasional bigger stuff?

I had one of those massive compressors once, big tank with the belt but still comes on a lot and when your in the shed all day everyday I feel this time around it would be a good treat to have something quitter.

I actually found a local dealer, (I'm in Western Australia) that sells jun-air oil lubricated compressors, mainly to dentists and the like but at $3,940 for the 24litre tank it's a bit steep to say the least.

I used to have this Honda pilot Leonardo silent compressor, it had a small tank, does anybody know if these are still available? I haven't been able to find one, I remember that being a good little work horse that I absolutely flogged for years and years, maybe one of these couple with an average large compressor would be an option...

So much good info on here, but so much only applies if your in America, any Australians with some practical advice and or what compressors are you using and where did you get them?

Ok thank in advance for any help

cheers
Dan
 
If you can find the parts, a silent type can be made fairly cheap, there is a thread discussing this. I have one, I am in the US, and it works great.

As for the current cross over, i do not see why an adapter plug wont work, we Americans buy them for overseas travel for small things like hairdryers and cell phone chargers.


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Hey thank you I am following up on all these suggestions, wow "hobby tools Australia" they have some stuff of what! I notice they actually have an oil lubricated compressor for, $1,165.50 it's seems a lot to spend but it is an important component, I'm going to ring them and have a chat. Thank you for the input much appreciated :)
 
I remember when I was looking for a compressor here in Melbourne. I wanted something that would run my airbrush, HP and HVLP guns but I didn’t want to spend lots of money. I found that the sacrifice would be the noise level of the compressor.

So I bought the top of the line oil Blackridge from supercheap auto for $230 (there is a link to it in my signature). It had the best balance of stats for my price range and requirements. 40L tank, 180 Litres per min.

It’s a bit noisy so I have it around the corner and that works fine for me lol. When I’m airbrushing (mostly @ 20psi) it hardly ever run’s. When I use my 1.0mm HP at 40psi it still doesn’t’ run much. It’s only given workout when I use the HVLP, but I use that gun so little (Canvas base coats and clear top coats) the compressor noise doesn’t bother me.

From what I remember though, a good quiet compressor (here in AU) starts at around $750…… which is more than I wanted to pay when I can just put it around the corner.

Also, if importing a comp from overseas you’ll need to keep in mind that not only the plugs are different but the voltage is too. We have 240V at 60Hz and, from memory, USA has 110V at 50Hz.

Hope that helps :)
 
Ok, I'm looking at this sparmax at the moment, - ah I can't post links yet, i'll add it when I do a few more posts , it's a model or 2 up from the sparmax that maple art posted above.

I think if I was just going to get a compressor dedicated for general airbrushing this is the best I've come by so far in oz, (I am still looking) and if I wanted to use bigger guns I might just have to get something bigger as well..anyone used one of these?

DIY compressor looks cool but quite possible I would spend way to much time trying to make it happen, I do love a good project like that but my time is a little more limited at the moment.

canvasairbrushing- I have a bunnings compressor that just died that I had used here and there over the years, only thing I noticed with these type compressors was it had pressure drop, so if i had it at 30psi and pulled the trigger it would start at 30psi and drop down to like 25psi, do you get that with your compressor?

I feel I've gone full circle and landed back at the start none the wiser as to what to buy hahahah

Thanks everyone :)
 
Are you looking at the Artlogic AC12-25*Oil Lubricated In my opinion this is more that what you would need for general airbrushing; I think the other compressors are quiet as well; call them up and see what they say I'm not familiar with what type of compressors you would need for a spray gun.

Yes when spraying your actual psi is slightly lower than what your regulator is set at.
 
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Hey yes I spoke to them at art hobby Australia and he said the sparmax are really good, made in Taiwan by who make the iwata compressors, and that the artlogic is made in china and he said it wouldn't last near as long and steered me away from it?

What would be an except-able pressure drop? from memory my Honda compressor had none or so little I never noticed, I only noticed this occurrence when using a cheap bargain warehouse DIY handyman style compressors, i am curious about this though.
 
Ya I saw the bunnings ones too. I wasn’t happy with any of them at the time. One would have good air flow but the tank was too small. Another had enough HP but not enough air flow. Another had good tank size, not enough HP and too much airflow. Others were just too expensive for no apparent reason.
That’s why I got the one I did. But I would only recommend the top of the range blackridge. Because the lesser ones, with the stats they have, won’t run HP or HVLP very well at all and they are marginally less expensive.


i only get a 5psi drop when using the HVLP because it's a high volume gun and the compressor tank is only 40L. i get around 2-3psi drop for my HP gun and 0 psi when using the airbrush. That being said it's the minimum size compressor i'd recommend for big guns such as HVLP's or HP's.

if someone said to me (airbrushing aside) “I want to frequently use HVLP’s and HP’s” I’d recommend one that is AT LEAST 4HP, 90L and 180 Lpm.
Anything that's equal to or bigger than 6HP, 120L and 180LPM will make you smile thusly :encouragement:
 
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i started with an Artlogic 1L tank. it worked and still works fine (not that i use it anymore). the only down side is the usage cycle. i end up spending more time waiting for it to cool than i did airbrushing lol :)
 
Hi Mystweave

I have done a lot of research on compressors in Oz, yes you can still get the Leonardo here around the $650 mark. I thought it was a little to much for its output and noise level.

Gasweld in Victoria have a good unit :- Air Compressor 1.25Hp 10L aluminium Tank Silent Type 115 L/M L/M Free Air 1440 Rpm 50db $299 plus shipping

I wound up taking a risk on ebay and came up with a neat little rig, had to add a water trap and a few fittings but pretty happy bought it from superbargainoz :-Oil free 1/2hp Air Compressor 6L TANK 1400RPM $278 shipped to Noosa. This also comes in a 9 and 15 litre tank version with a slightly larger motor, worth checking out. ( wish I bought the 9)

I also saw a neat dental compressor on ebay :- Dental, Oil Free Air Compressor, AMC DA7001, Silent, 1 HP 152 l./min. 38 L.tank $775 but would have to inquire on the shipping cost.

Also Airbrush 4 You, airbrush4you.de - Airbrush | Airbrushpistolen | Airbrushfarben | Airbrushsets | Airbrushhalter | Airbrushbücher | Airbrushvideos | Airbrushkompressoren | Airbrushmagazine P: +49 (0) 9721 474 20 80 has some good gear in 240 volt super quiet fridge motor types and ship to oz

Hope this info helps you out, keep us informed of what you get.

Chester
 
Thanks Chester! Sounds like some great leads to follow up! I spent the whole day yesterday researching and calling around and the deeper I go the more undecided I become, I'm learning along the way though and will definably post what I go with :)
 
I ended up with a Spear and Jackson 24L 2HP compressor from Bunnings. Seems fine so far for this stuff. Noise isn't really an issue for me as I'm setting up in the shed anyway :D
 
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Hello, this is my new compressor, was quite a difficult decision to finally make, I got this in Perth as to get one anywhere else the shipping was a killer. I'm very happy with this compressor thus far :)

I will post some more info and links for others to reference as to some of the other places and compressor I found when I get on my computer! Thanks for everyone input!
 
I like cheap LOL, so the Bunnings specials is where I head..Over the 12 odd yrs of airbrushing I'm onto my second one which for cheap stuff is quite good..I personally find the tanks large enough, even manage some clearcoating with it but if I need more air I can always attach an extra larger tank to it for more storage ability..And sound, well in the earlier days when I painted inside a lot I just made a box for it and soundproofed it and it worked great...Couldn't imagine spending a grand on a compressor and if I did I'd expect it to make cuppa's for me too LOL..Looks like what ya got will do a good job..
 
Noise was a factor for me, I can't believe how quite this compressor is compared to a bunnings compressor, they do the job but for me this was worth the extra $$$ and it was only $599. So I think it's a reasonable price :)
 
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