Search the Community

Mornings folks, I recently bought a portable spray booth, the ones with the flexible hose you shove out of the window. It's a bit of a hassle having to shove it out of the window because of where I spray and other factors, so I was wondering as I only spray with water based Acrylics could I just make another filter to sit at the back of the unit using foam filters and maybe filter papers you'd use in a kitchen extractor and allow it to re-circulate into the room. As there are no nasty smells from the acrylics and they are mixed with water, would it be safe? Has anyone tired it or does anyone know a bit more about when the paint is atomized is it harmful (and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has licked the end of a paint brush to re-shape it over my 30 years of doing the hobby)?

I thought I would share my experience of my "new" Badger Patriot 105 airbrush for other Frater considering investing in a set up and see what other more veteran hobbyist have to say on my thoughts. The intent isn't to complain, but to explain the situation and see if others have experienced similar, as well as be a heads up for those considering., I had been waiting to buy an airbrush set up for a while now and earlier in the year Amazon ran a discount on the TC910 compressor which was my sign as to take the plunge! Annoyingly at the time Michael's wasn't running one of their 40-50% discounts so I also purchased my Badger airbrush through Amazon too. (Note: I regularly do shopping online and generally do my research on these kind of large purchase) The compressor arrived and was expected in new packaging and pristine as you would expect. The airbrush however did not seem as "clean" parts of it seemed tarnished, however I figured it may have just been slow moving stock for the people who fulfilled the order, hence the discount vs retail. The order was fulfilled by ToolTopia, which seems to generally specialise in auto. (A quick search of my purchase would appear that ToolTopia no longer offer them on Amazon.) Not knowing what to expect and given the many glowing reviews of the Patriot I just accepted it and carried on. Also given it is not clear what comes in each Patriot package mine was delivered with hoses, which meant a trip to Michael's anyway and the total count being similar to what I would have spent there with one of their regular discounts. After a few sessions of using the brush with GW, Vallejo and Badger paints and primers I started to get a bit frustrated. I struggled to mimic many of the videos and blogs I had read. Despite using various combinations of thinner, flow-aid and pressures my airflow was fairly sporadic. Last night I did some more research and watched a few videos, particularly those on tearing down the Patriot. I noticed a somethings as a result: An o-ring on the front end of the airbrush (gravity cup) was missing The tube shank (that holds the spray regulator in place) was extremely over tightened when I went to unscrew it The spring screw that adjusts the trigger pressure was wound all the way (I may have possibly been the culprit on this one) Without having anything to compare it too and no visual way to confirm, the internal needle bear does seem a bit loose? To see if these were causing some of my issues Used plumbers tape behind the head assembly Didn't over tighten the shank when re-inserting it Eased off the tension on the trigger to give a lighter smooth actuation I did some black base coating with some Vallejo black this morning and it was almost a different brush! The air flow was a lot more consistent and didn't splutter anywhere near as much. I used the same pressure and mixing ratios has I had previously to get some what optimal results. I have noticed others on Amazon make similar observations with the condition of the brush the received and mine did look slightly different to those reviewed on YouTube. I may consider replacing the brush all together at some point and selling this one off. However for now the minor changes above seem to have helped. Has anyone else encountered similar, or am I just crazy?

++EDIT: Solved - I got a Harder & Steenbeck Evolution and Sparmax TC-620. Hi guys, I’m thinking of getting an airbrush and compressor, and could do with some recommendations/guidance. I’m initially looking for it to help with quickly priming, base-coating, and varnishing models, as well as blending power weapons, although I would like to get one I can “grow into”, should I decide I want to make greater use of it. Airbrush: I’m looking for a gravity-fed model, which is easy to clean, and preferably has a chrome exterior (I have fairly acidic hands, so a chrome finish will “wear” better than a nickel one). I mostly use Vallejo’s Game- and Model Colour ranges, along with their polyurethane primer and acrylic varnish, so it needs to play nicely with those. I don’t really know about needle sizes, beyond Badger saying it’s more determined by the medium you’re using, and to look at a ~0.3mm for acrylics. I was originally looking at the Harder & Steenbeck Ultra (£60), as it gets very good reviews and is easy to clean. However, I was wondering if an Evolution Cr+ (£120) might be a better idea due to having a hardier finish, being able to accept a wider variety of needles, and being slightly better-engineered. Other options would be the Badger Patriot 105 (£85) or Renegade series (£110), which seem to be about as easy to clean, but don’t seem to be as modular (fixed cup, fewer spares, etc), and parts are more expensive. There’s also the Iwata Revolution (£110), although it’s not as easy to get apart, and parts are more expensive. The Sparmax SP models, which I don’t really know anything about, seem to get good reviews and are the same price as a Harder & Steenbeck Ultra. Compressor: I’m looking for a quiet, relatively portable compressor (I’d probably be doing airbrushing in the garden…), which also has a pressure gauge and pressure adjustment. Unfortunately, I’m somewhat tight on storage space, so I’m ideally looking for something smaller than 12”x8”x12”. Whilst I was originally drawn to the Iwata Neo due to its tiny size, I’m guessing this may not be a great long-term idea, as it may not be as durable or controllable as some of the other options. Iwata’s Silver Jet (£150) looks like it should meet most of my requirements, although it’s noticeably more expensive than the Sparmax AC-27 upon which it’s based (which is also out of stock everywhere). Sparmax’s AC-501 (£130) is a little cheaper than the Iwata, and seems to be a bit more fully-featured. Having said that, Sparmax’s TC-610H (£170) isn’t much more money, but adds a 2.5l air tank, which should mean it’s quieter and is a bit more durable (although it fairly large). I’m not sure what others I should be looking at..? I've had a quick look at the "trade" compressors, and whilst they're cheaper, they're generally bigger and louder (one was 97dbA!) Finally, is there anything else (other than cleaning supplies) I should be looking at? And can anyone suggest a good UK supplier? (I've seen air-craft.net and Everything Airbrush mentioned in a few places) Thanks for any input!