Newbie shopping list - open for feedback :)

[BlackSquirrel]

My digging so far led me to bunch of notes, and this shopping list. I'll share it here in case someone has some remarks that might help (or more confuse me ). And maybe it helps someone else, like some other posts helped me.

• I've bought regular 'silent' compressor <link> that will reside in my bedroom, with hose going to my hobby room and doors almost closed - we tested sound, it's pretty silent that way, but I wouldn't like it sitting beside me and startling me every few minutes.
  based on recommendations from YTer the air space, and the fact that even smallest sparmax without tank cost a bit more than this industrial one (bought through amazon.de)
  
  This shop <link> is nearby to me (and I plan to buy spare parts there and other things), and it seems they have lowest prices around, so I usually compare them vs amazon.de (and amazon.de usually wins if item is available to ship to CH)
  
  
• I bought 5m hose and water trap + pressure regulator that will be mounted on my table
  
  
• Now what's left is to decide for airbrush, get hose and quick connectors for brushes, and gather supplies (stand and cleaning cup I plan to 3d print, so I need mediums and paint - golden, and maybe thinner since I've found that this helps with adhesion with plastic, which I might want for painting 3d prints later, no clue if I'm missing something obvious that I don't already have from regular painting supplies)
  • Sparmax DH 810 will be spray gun for purposes of applying isolation coat (golden) and polymer water soluble varnish (golden), comes with 0.5 nozzle and adjustable fan pattern, I think I won't need bigger nozzle for now (my canvases are currently small, 8x8 to 20x20), but we can paint other stuff around the home with this as well. I couldn't find anything cheaper that I could find video reviews for that has a smooth finish and good sized spray pattern, because after all, I want that it doesn't mess up my paintings.
    
    
  • My current choice for airbrush is H&S infinity CRplus 0.4 or two in one (from amazon.de), I haven't decided yet between the two. Most likely I'll get 0.4 and then sometime in the future the set for 0.2 nozzle when I see the need for testing that.
    
    And I came here to learn even more and make final decisions before clicking buy now, because deciding without having experience or testing isn't easy and I have to obsessively research everything before commiting anyway, especially when it's not cheap item.
    
    I started search with sparmax max 3, but decided against it mostly because of screw in nozzle once I saw there are better solutions.
    
    So far my reasons for infinity (over eclipse) are
    1. it looks nice
    2. have no clue if I'd like smaller 2ml cup and I can exchange them with infinity (unlike eclipse), be it for better view or better finger position or easier cleaning or even into full tiny one
    3. it can adjust pressure on trigger both for paint and air, so more adjustments possible for comfort if needed
    4. there's limiter for paint amount, but I don't think I'll use that after first few days of practicing, but maybe it will be helpful for painting 3d prints later so that I don't overblow
    5. infinity has cheaper spare parts
    6. infinity can be changed into smaller nozzle/needle combos when I reach that, so it leaves space for growth without immediate significant cost
    7. it looks nice
    
    potential cons:
    • there's talk about how infinity is not precise enough when pulling trigger when doing tiny detail work
      YTer the art workshop mentioned that and tried to show, YTer dred fx custom paint showed a hack that supposedly should help with response, by putting additional PTFE rings at the middle part in front of the trigger
      I know that I'll be very frustrated if tool won't listen, especially now that I know about the issue, so I hope this hack will solve it, if/when I hit that obstacle
    
    tie:
    • both have self centering nozzle and I decided I definitely don't have an urge to fumble with tiny one for now (so many others are out of the competition), and cleaning should be easy with both of these, and that also gives with ability to pull needle from the front when needed to avoid risk od spreading paint into the body
    • both have similar sized needle (0.35 / 0.4), and similar air flow on 20 psi (based on YTer the art workshop measurements), what I couldn't find yet is, for detail work, which is the lowest psi for each that they cun run paint through, assuming same paint consistency?

Because I found the hack I don't worry too much about potential issue about trigger, and if eclipse can work on 5 psi whilst infinity only on 20, I think I'll still go with infinity and 0.4 nozzle because I really like it, but this information might help when deciding later for detail brush if I'll go with 0.2 set for infinity or with some completely different brush.... but that's I assume in quite distant future anyway

And I've seen the advice 'until you just TRY one, you have no clue, so go and TRY' and that no pro airbrush is a bad choice, I think I'm settled on solo infinity, but I'll give it a day or two of sleeping over first

And I still have several dozen thread to read through

 

[BlackSquirrel]

I forgot to add, I plan to also buy the 'mac like valve' from H&S called fpc. And their cleaning kit that has that thingy for nozzle. And spare kit of rings, to have them for hacking the trigger.

Although I'm not sure if fpc can work together with trigger air pressure adjustment, I kinda expect not, but I'll test.

 

[Electric Cat Dude]

The Infinity CRPlus is an excellent airbrush and the 2 in 1 set is loaded with features. One thought when comparing Harder & Steenbeck products to Iwata is that Iwata needles are a little harder and more resistant to bending or dinging by contact with a work surface than H & S. If you do go with the CRPlus, I’d recommend the following items:

1) 10’ Braided air hose w/ built in QD and MAC valve: the CRPlus Airbrush will already come with a male 1/8” QD fitting, which will work with this hose. The MAC valve offers extra flexibility and adjustment of air pressure right at the gun.

2) Spatter cap: this is a nice extra feature to app for spraying grainy or stipple patterns. Slips on in place of the normal spray regulator and uses the same nozzle and needle.

3) Cleaning station: these are lifesavers for eliminating overspray during cleaning between color changes. I use an Olympos Clean Pot but there are modern alternatives as well. Fill with a thin layer of water at the bottom, and when you’re ready to clean it up, disassemble it and wash your dishwasher. You can also use a cotton ball as a replacement air filter.

4) Airbrush holder: this is a must for securing your air brush at your workstation, when not in use. Some models can clamp to a table, some are free standing. Some also offer brackets to mount pressure regulators on as well.

 

[Franc Kaiser]

From my personal experience: skip the Sparmax airbrush and go for a Iwata right away. You need to know that the specific airbrush does not help to create detailed lines… you can create anything with any (quality) airbrush with the right settings and practice - it doesn’t matter what needle size and so on they have.

 

[Nessus]

I've never used an H&S airbrush, so I can't make a true comparison including that.

But I can second what Franc above says about the Iwata Eclipse. If you have one of those, you won't need the Sparmax, as the Eclipse can do its job as well as the fine detail stuff. It's very versatile, super easy to use, and very durable. The only reason you might want a second airbrush for primers/clears is if you're using acrylics for one job and enamel or lacquer for the other, and don't want to deal with the extra deep cleaning when switching between.

Though TBH, I'd expect that's true of the H&S as well. I've heard their nozzles and needles are less durable than Iwatas, but that's just hearsay for me, as I have no personal experience.

From the pictures I've seen, I do like H&S's drop-in nozzle design better than Iwata's, and if you're into MAC valves, I really like how H&S's replaces the valve stem instead of attaching separately and adding to the overall stem length.

 

[BlackSquirrel]

@Franc Kaiser @Nessus
Maybe it got lost in the wall of text, but I plan to use sparmax dh 810 for isolation coat / varnishing because of decently wide fan spray pattern and good price for that. Eclipse can't compete with its nozzle size nor cup size afaik.

Other sparmax mentioned was just to show that I've considered other airbrushes at the beginning (several days ago) but with further research I went other route and decided for infinity 4.0 (still didn't order it, I don't want to rush), and my reasoning between eclipse and infinity is in the lists at the bottom

Thanks for other thoughts, it confirms what I've concluded so far

I don't know if I'm into MAC valves, since I haven't tried any, they seem useful so I'm making shopping list of reasonable things to consider whilst checking with the budget. 0.2 needle set will probably wait a bit, and price wise 2in1 costs me the same as 0.4 + additions for 0.2 set anyway.

 

[BlackSquirrel]

The Infinity CRPlus is an excellent airbrush and the 2 in 1 set is loaded with features. One thought when comparing Harder & Steenbeck products to Iwata is that Iwata needles are a little harder and more resistant to bending or dinging by contact with a work surface than H & S.

Thanks for the heads up. I was thinking about immediately ordering 0.4 replacement set to have 'just in case'. And I saw needle sharpener/repair tool, called "SharpenAir", <link>, but reviews are scarce to find, so I don't know if that thing is worth to have.
I'm aware that if I smash the nozzle (tear, bend, squish) I need a new one, so this tool is just for the needle.
I'm not generally clumsy, but I expect I'll hit it because that's how it goes with things you're the most afraid to damage

If you do go with the CRPlus, I’d recommend the following items:
1) 10’ Braided air hose w/ built in QD and MAC valve: the CRPlus Airbrush will already come with a male 1/8” QD fitting, which will work with this hose. The MAC valve offers extra flexibility and adjustment of air pressure right at the gun.

I was thinking about that cfp valve from H&S, what would be pros/cons of this one instead if you know?
And about braided hose, I think I've read they're heavier, and I saw they're more expensive than clear pvc ones. Pro of clear is that in case there's moisture building up you can see it (hopefully in time). I do have compressor with a tank, plus 5m away will be moisture trap + valve, but it's ordinary one, not fine.

I'm still on the fence about hoses... Textile one might be bigger lure for my cats to try to grab them and play with them, so clear pvc might be better.

2) Spatter cap: this is a nice extra feature to app for spraying grainy or stipple patterns. Slips on in place of the normal spray regulator and uses the same nozzle and needle.

I need to check this further what it really does, I can't remember if I saw example in use/video yet, just read about it.

3) Cleaning station:
4) Airbrush holder:

Yes, those two are already in the list, but hidden in that wall of text in the first post I plan to see what's 3d printable, since we have that new toy as well so it's fun make things with it Not to mention that now once we have the printer, cost of things it makes in comparison to store bought is significantly lower.

Thanks for providing more things for the list! Now I'm even more confident that I've covered almost all the bases

 

[Nessus]

That would be overkill for 8x8 to 20x20 (that's well within an Eclipse's capability; a bigger gun would be faster, but only by maybe 2 minutes), but looking back, you say it'd be useful for household stuff, and that's true. I'm not familiar with that specific model, but that general size of gun would be ideal for painting things like furniture, bicycles, stuff like that.

I'm primarily a modelmaker. I have an HP-TH that I got for the same reason (primer and clears on similar sized surfaces to your canvasses, if not a bit larger), but I've ended up using it less and less over time. My Eclipse doesn't cover as fast, but it lets me get into nooks and crannies more effectively.

In regards to pressure: I've taken the Eclipse down to around 10 PSI for detail work before. You need to thin aggressively when operating that low, but it's doable, and can help with the subtleties. I have found that atomization suffers progressively below 20 PSI no matter what though. The brush can technically spray at lower pressures than 10 PSI, but that was the point at which I decided the atomization was getting too grainy for my taste. Was still way better at that pressure than my old Paasche brushes (a VL and an H) were at any pressure though. I'm doing miniature work, so it's possible my standards for such things are unreasonable.

Mind you what paints and reducers you're using makes a big difference. At low pressures, I was getting the best results using Aztek paints (colors, not black or white) thinned to around 1:5 with 90% isopropyl. Though the paints I use do not have a lot of brand variety (Golden High-Flow, Aztek, Model Master, Tamiya, and the occasional foray with craft paints), so take that as you will.

 

[BlackSquirrel]

That would be overkill for 8x8 to 20x20 (that's well within an Eclipse's capability; a bigger gun would be faster, but only by maybe 2 minutes), but looking back, you say it'd be useful for household stuff, and that's true. I'm not familiar with that specific model, but that general size of gun would be ideal for painting things like furniture, bicycles, stuff like that.

I probably forgot to type that's 8x8 to 20x20 inches ops:
So 20x20 to 50x50 cm, currently being on the lower side since I'm still practicing / testing things.
And yes, those are flat surfaces (in comparison to models). I also plan to do several at once when they're really cured, plus varnish has to be put the fast as possible from what I've gathered so far so that surface is unified. 2 minutes seems like crazy long time to be fiddling with varnish, at least that's how I understood it so far.

Eclipse has 2inches / 5cm spray pattern at best, no? But cup size is I think most limiting factor for doing several at once. I expect my future infinity with 0.4 nozzle will have similarly big pattern like eclipse, around 5cm, but that just looks too cumbersome for being swift with doing full coverage of canvas. Granted, I haven't tried so I'm just guessing based on dozens of videos I've watched so far. On the other hand, I don't remember seeing someone varnishing paintings with airbrush, they used spray guns, but that could be my biased google-fu...

Furniture also immediately jumped into picture because we have several items waiting to be painted over. Deep cleaning is not an issue

In regards to pressure: I've taken the Eclipse down to around 10 PSI for detail work before. You need to thin aggressively when operating that low, but it's doable, and can help with the subtleties. I have found that atomization suffers progressively below 20 PSI no matter what though. The brush can technically spray at lower pressures than 10 PSI, but that was the point at which I decided the atomization was getting too grainy for my taste. Was still way better at that pressure than my old Paasche brushes (a VL and an H) were at any pressure though. I'm doing miniature work, so it's possible my standards for such things are unreasonable.

Thanks for the info! This is valuable.

Mind you what paints and reducers you're using makes a big difference. At low pressures, I was getting the best results using Aztek paints (colors, not black or white) thinned to around 1:5 with 90% isopropyl. Though the paints I use do not have a lot of brand variety (Golden High-Flow, Aztek, Model Master, Tamiya, and the occasional foray with craft paints), so take that as you will.

I plan to start and stick to golden high flows and maybe liquids + mediums to thin if I can't get some color in high flow.
For my regular painting I've started with liquitex basics and added some heavy body, but I've found that liquitex might have some issue with lifting or something when used in several coats of airbrushing, and since I want to try golden anyway this is great excuse to set my paws onto them before I finish my liquitex tubes and can buy new replacements...

Plus golden has crazy amount of technical information available, unlike liquitex.

I want to work with single pigments and mix own colors in predictable way, and from short peeking into few model paints, they aren't keen on sharing the pigments involved, plus no info on lightfastedness, so I lost my interest... maybe I change my mind in the future Every community I've entered in last month brought a ton of new useful information

 

[Electric Cat Dude]

Thanks for the heads up. I was thinking about immediately ordering 0.4 replacement set to have 'just in case'. And I saw needle sharpener/repair tool, called "SharpenAir", <link>, but reviews are scarce to find, so I don't know if that thing is worth to have.
I'm aware that if I smash the nozzle (tear, bend, squish) I need a new one, so this tool is just for the needle.
I'm not generally clumsy, but I expect I'll hit it because that's how it goes with things you're the most afraid to damage



I was thinking about that cfp valve from H&S, what would be pros/cons of this one instead if you know?
And about braided hose, I think I've read they're heavier, and I saw they're more expensive than clear pvc ones. Pro of clear is that in case there's moisture building up you can see it (hopefully in time). I do have compressor with a tank, plus 5m away will be moisture trap + valve, but it's ordinary one, not fine.

I'm still on the fence about hoses... Textile one might be bigger lure for my cats to try to grab them and play with them, so clear pvc might be better.



I need to check this further what it really does, I can't remember if I saw example in use/video yet, just read about it.



Yes, those two are already in the list, but hidden in that wall of text in the first post I plan to see what's 3d printable, since we have that new toy as well so it's fun make things with it Not to mention that now once we have the printer, cost of things it makes in comparison to store bought is significantly lower.

Thanks for providing more things for the list! Now I'm even more confident that I've covered almost all the bases

I recommended the hose with the integrated air valve simply because it has all the components you want in one package. As to whether you want a braided air hose versus a standard plastic one, that would be up to your choice. I personally like the braided air hoses as they just have a little bit higher quality feel to them, but it’s a personal preference. As to whether your cat is more likely to chew on a braided air hose versus a plastic one, who knows? You can obtain deterrent sprays from a pet store, like bitter apple, etc. that sometimes have the capability to deter pet chewing.

 

[Nessus]

I switched from braided hoses to lightweight poly hoses years ago, and have never regretted it. The weight reduction is so worth it. So much nicer.

A braided hose is probably more durable in an environment like an auto shop, where there's all kinds of heavy and sharp things about, but for studio work like illustration or model building the lightweight hoses have no issues.

I will say that of the two I have, the Iwata one seems to have stiffened slightly over the last half decade or so, but the Badger one is still supple as ever. The Iwata one has better fittings though.

TBH, even if they didn't last, the cost is low enough that buying a new one every few years would be more than worth it for the ergonomic benefits. But like I say, mine are still truckin' fine.

 

[Nessus]

I probably forgot to type that's 8x8 to 20x20 inches ops:
So 20x20 to 50x50 cm, currently being on the lower side since I'm still practicing / testing things.
And yes, those are flat surfaces (in comparison to models). I also plan to do several at once when they're really cured, plus varnish has to be put the fast as possible from what I've gathered so far so that surface is unified. 2 minutes seems like crazy long time to be fiddling with varnish, at least that's how I understood it so far.

Eclipse has 2inches / 5cm spray pattern at best, no? But cup size is I think most limiting factor for doing several at once. I expect my future infinity with 0.4 nozzle will have similarly big pattern like eclipse, around 5cm, but that just looks too cumbersome for being swift with doing full coverage of canvas. Granted, I haven't tried so I'm just guessing based on dozens of videos I've watched so far. On the other hand, I don't remember seeing someone varnishing paintings with airbrush, they used spray guns, but that could be my biased google-fu...

Well if you're doing batch jobs, that makes sense.

I've not experienced the the issues you describe with varnish having to be laid as fast as possible, at least not with the ones I work with (mostly acrylic these days, but lacquers dry really fast, so they might).

I plan to start and stick to golden high flows and maybe liquids + mediums to thin if I can't get some color in high flow.
For my regular painting I've started with liquitex basics and added some heavy body, but I've found that liquitex might have some issue with lifting or something when used in several coats of airbrushing, and since I want to try golden anyway this is great excuse to set my paws onto them before I finish my liquitex tubes and can buy new replacements...

Plus golden has crazy amount of technical information available, unlike liquitex.

I want to work with single pigments and mix own colors in predictable way, and from short peeking into few model paints, they aren't keen on sharing the pigments involved, plus no info on lightfastedness, so I lost my interest... maybe I change my mind in the future Every community I've entered in last month brought a ton of new useful information

Golden High-Flow is good stuff. Very strong color, and very good binder adhesion.

I agree with you about model paints, actually. Plus fine art paints have way more consistency in behavior between colors within a single brand, I've found. I've been gravitating from model paints to fine art paints over the last couple years for exactly the reasons you describe. As a direct consequence of my airbrushing experiences, actually.

Only pluses model paints have IMO is wide variety of colors, and fine pigment grind. But the former has become way less meaningful as I've learned to mix colors more confidently (and actually becomes a liabilty from a cost standpoint once you don't need it), and the latter is a trait shared with airbrush paints and better fine art paints anyway, soooo....

 

[Nada]

IMO The eclipse is a much better overall investment over the H&S at least in the USA. It is going to be a bit more durable.. you can get pretty startling detail with an eclipse after using it a while. The trigger delay is an issue that some don't seem to mind.. drove me absolutely crazy. Dred's Hack looks like a pretty good workaround. And I may just go ahead and start looking for an H&S to give that a whirl.. They are awesomely easy to service. But even with that said, the eclipse is definitely more durable nozzle and needle wise. Not to mention there is an unwritten law that says everyone must try an eclipse :0
Now where it comes to "detail" Fine lines are not any reason to buy a detail airbrush. The reason to have a detail airbrush is how well it can blend and shade at ridiculously small spaces. At least that is how I look at it. And the eclipse is average in that category Maybe slightly above average.(this would be dependant on the contenders.. it would seriously outperform many brushes) The H&S i THINK would outperform it there... however its been a long time since i've even held one.
While I have and like a lot of airbrushes, if I had ONE airbrush and could only have one. It still would probably be the eclipse.. HP CS
Easy to get parts, durable, easy to clean, handles fairly thick paints and can be converted to .5 as well. Capable of a great deal of details and pretty much never fails. But if I were only painting very small things that would swing in another direction. But I certainly have painted some pretty small things with an eclipse.


Best to you on your journey
Bill

 

[BlackSquirrel]

I've not experienced the the issues you describe with varnish having to be laid as fast as possible, at least not with the ones I work with (mostly acrylic these days, but lacquers dry really fast, so they might).

I haven't done anything yet, I'm gathering information first and taking notes (plus budget, ordering etc).
When people put varnish with the brush, it's 'do not go back and touch again', and 'go swiftly'. I probably am assuming such carefulness won't be needed with spraying method, since you can't really mess it up since you don't really touch it.

I decided for golden polymer varnish, but I can't to find it in several european shops, it seems that there's supply issue.
I want it because it's water based and after drying can be removed few years along the line if needed.

So, it might take quite a while until I put my paws onto it to test in practice :/

Golden High-Flow is good stuff. Very strong color, and very good binder adhesion.

I spent some time on their blog reading about various tests they do and their mediums and airbrush advice.
So yeah, I like what they're doing. And since I've spend hundreds of hours on figuring out 'how the heck this painting works', and especially color mixing (if you want crazy deep theory based on real measuring - http://handprint.com/ ), I really don't want to play guessing game with 'sunshine yellow' type of declaration

My current shopping list for GHF is
- Benzimidazolone Yellow Light
- Diarylide Yellow (looks interestingly warm - I bought the hand painted color chart)
- Pyrrole Red
- Quinacridone Red
- Dioxazine Purple (because I really like that violet tone)
- Ultramarine Blue
- Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)
- Phthalo Green (Blue Shade)
- Phthalo Green (Yellow Shade)
so to cover the widest gamut possible
- I'd like cobalt teal, but jacksonsart.com doesn't have it :/

- Titanium White
- Carbon Black
- Transparent Red Iron Oxide, Raw Umber - still thinking about them, but I'll probably get them
And Interference Blue (Fine), Interference Gold (Fine) because they look fun...

But it's still around 150 just for the paint (from UK with importing, still cheaper than here in Switzerland :/) So I'm learning about everything I can and collecting money for big shopping

All but dioxazine purple if I remember correctly have lightfastedness 1, so 100+ years d purple is 'just' 50

I have similar set in liquitex (basics + heavy body, several colors more + set of metallics and flourescents because they're fun) and mixing is totally fun I wonder how I'll do it with liquids, maybe with pipettes directly in the airbrush cup...

I mostly invested time in color mixing theory as a way to understand how to do it, but also to save money and not be dependent on someone else doing mixing for me. It's a TON of theory, but getting out the color you want is worth it. I still am really bad in correctly estimating how much color I need at once, but also I'm perfectly fine with not hitting the previous color 100% accurately As someone said - thing on your painting is of the color YOU want it to be

 

[BlackSquirrel]

IMO The eclipse is a much better overall investment over the H&S at least in the USA.

I must admit I just didn't grow fond of it... no matter the amount of reviews I've seen, I get it's good brush, however, infinity is also an eye candy and for some reason that part has bigger impact than I'd expect from myself so I'll definitely go with the heart for the first one. Price wise they're similar... I usually don't care at all about color of things, especially tools so it took me by surprise when I reacted with 'oh boy this one is pretty, I want it'.

And parts for eclipse here are almost double the price of parts for H&S and since it seems that everyone has to bend some needles and tear some nozzles, I'm kinda inclined to do it the cheaper way

Not to mention there is an unwritten law that says everyone must try an eclipse :0

It definitely looks like it, and I'm known to go against the flow, so no issues with that... ::

Now where it comes to "detail" Fine lines are not any reason to buy a detail airbrush. The reason to have a detail airbrush is how well it can blend and shade at ridiculously small spaces.

Thanks for this perspective! I definitely want 0.4 as my first, and I probably won't get 0.2 for a while, since I'll have to juggle with household budget quite a lot for this 'start with airbrushing' hobby

Best to you on your journey
Bill

Thanks, and thanks for making great videos! You're the one who is the reason I went with 'industrial' compressor
And I've learnt quite a lot (of theory) from you already

 

[Nada]

I must admit I just didn't grow fond of it... no matter the amount of reviews I've seen, I get it's good brush, however, infinity is also an eye candy and for some reason that part has bigger impact than I'd expect from myself so I'll definitely go with the heart for the first one. Price wise they're similar... I usually don't care at all about color of things, especially tools so it took me by surprise when I reacted with 'oh boy this one is pretty, I want it'.

And parts for eclipse here are almost double the price of parts for H&S and since it seems that everyone has to bend some needles and tear some nozzles, I'm kinda inclined to do it the cheaper way



It definitely looks like it, and I'm known to go against the flow, so no issues with that... ::



Thanks for this perspective! I definitely want 0.4 as my first, and I probably won't get 0.2 for a while, since I'll have to juggle with household budget quite a lot for this 'start with airbrushing' hobby



Thanks, and thanks for making great videos! You're the one who is the reason I went with 'industrial' compressor
And I've learnt quite a lot (of theory) from you already

I saw that. I keep my 4.3 under the desk where I have carpet on concrete. But it’s a bit much straight on a wood floor. The smaller ones are a bit less noisy.
I’ve debated an airbrush compressor for pulling around in the large studio area but eventually went with a 1 gallon harbour freight. I killed the first one however painting canvases just to see how it would hold up. . Seems 35 40 psi for 3 hours straight was too much for the little guy. But I replaced it and keep it around when I’m demoing in the large studio. And keep my bigger one in my mini spray area

Yes the H&S prices are not the same in European countries as here. Which is part of the reason they are not as popular in the states.

I’d imagine the Dred FX fix works great. They are beautiful brushes and the easiest to service.

 

[BlackSquirrel]

I’ve debated an airbrush compressor for pulling around in the large studio area but eventually went with a 1 gallon harbour freight. I killed the first one however painting canvases just to see how it would hold up. . Seems 35 40 psi for 3 hours straight was too much for the little guy.

Poor one
Did it work for 3h straight pumping, or pump the tank a bit, pause a bit, pump again?

 

[Nada]

It was filling and pausing a lot. It was about a week of work to kill it
So it was filling and stopping a lot. If I’m working hard the 4.3 gallon probably refills every 10 to 15 minutes. The little 1 gallon probably had to refill every 4-5 minutes. It definitely would get hot in an hour Now painting smaller things or anything I’m pausing a bit of time it’s plenty.

 

[BlackSquirrel]

It was filling and pausing a lot. It was about a week of work to kill it
So it was filling and stopping a lot. If I’m working hard the 4.3 gallon probably refills every 10 to 15 minutes. The little 1 gallon probably had to refill every 4-5 minutes. It definitely would get hot in an hour Now painting smaller things or anything I’m pausing a bit of time it’s plenty.

Thanks for the numbers! I couldn't find such precise info so far! I just hoped I bought big enough
It seems that my 24L/ca 5 gallons should have more than enough time to cool off, especially since I'll probably more sit and look and think than push the trigger in the beginning

 

[Nada]

Thanks for the numbers! I couldn't find such precise info so far! I just hoped I bought big enough
It seems that my 24L/ca 5 gallons should have more than enough time to cool off, especially since I'll probably more sit and look and think than push the trigger in the beginning

Thats also dependant on what and how you are running. In my case when its Christmas time and im painting 18x24 inch canvases doing pets, im usually running a .5 airbrush and can change colors in under 30 seconds or so. the air will be on without a break for a few minutes at a time.. So the air is held down constantly. Its been a while since ive been jamming that hard. T shirts and murals are the only things that demand more air A 5 gallon CA should do anything you want.. you could even run some mini spray guns with that.
I had to use my quiet tech in the living room a bit when I was remodeling in the studio, I set my compressor on some heavy items and used some foam pads, and set the compressor pressure switch to max out at 90. put some soft stuff around it and that took it down a few decibels.