Want to learn airbrushing. How much for a decent but cheapish airbrush.

[Funcoot]

I have been looking at this forum a lot, and I have never really messed around with painting too much until the past month. I have gotten ok at spray painting and have been doing (normal wood) sanding.

I am not a hardcore case modder, I did my first case paintjob about a month ago, took apart the whole case, did my thing. It wasnt bad, but not great. REALLY not great, but then again it was just a quick kind of thing and it was windy. I just kind of did it for the sake of not looking so ugly.

I know investing in an airbrush right now would be stupid, and it is, I just want to be ready and know which kinds to stay away from, and which kind to look at when I get into that. I plan to spend a bit of time trying to master spray painting.

My budget on one, would probably be anywhere from 50-75 dollars.

One thing for instance I was looking at was stuff from Testors Aztek. Any information on these guys? Any particular models I should look into?

Thanks it advance. Also this was my first post here!

Edit:
Also don't know if this helps or not, but I am pretty PC literate.

Edit:
I was looking at some stuff from Airbrush Depot and these caught my eyes. http://www.tcpglobal.com/airbrushdepot/abdkit180.aspx
Any ideas on if this is a good product?

[Talon]

Hey champ,

The resident paint guru Commando has some pretty cool tips and ideas about what you should be looking for. Check out his video tuts in the Tips and Tricks section

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...ad.php?t=13235

They are damn good stuff and well worth the watch. After which you should be able to judge for yourself.

(sorry I dont own one myself yet - still mastering the spray cans)

[Funcoot]

Hey champ,

The resident paint guru Commando has some pretty cool tips and ideas about what you should be looking for. Check out his video tuts in the Tips and Tricks section

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...ad.php?t=13235

They are damn good stuff and well worth the watch. After which you should be able to judge for yourself.

(sorry I dont own one myself yet - still mastering the spray cans)

Thank you VERY much for your help kind sir!
+rep!

[Talon]

lol cheers, but dont thank me. Its Commando's material that I referenced.

[Funcoot]

There is one problem though, I don't think he states whatever he is using. Plus, after seeing a lot of his tutorials and skills, I would think he would be using a better airbrush than I would end up getting. Unless if it turns out to be in my price range.

[Talon]

Hmmm ok try the wiki,

There are tons of different airbrushes that you can buy, so I won't go too into detail with brands. I personally, however, recommend Paasche or Iwaata airbrushes, if you have the money for one. You can get a pretty decent airbrush kit on eBay these days for under 100 USD.

When choosing an airbrush, you will definitely want to buy a dual action airbrush. With a single action airbrush, you simply push down the trigger for air and paint flow. To adjust the amount of paint flow, you have to stop airbrushing and change it. With a dual action air brush, you push down for airflow, and back for paint flow. This allows total control of how much paint you want to release, thus enabling you to create very wide or very thin lines, very easily.

[[1]] The Paasche VLS Dual Action Airbrush Set

The only other main thing to worry about when buying a beginner's airbrush is siphon or gravity feed. Gravity feed airbrushes don't need to operate at as high of pressures as siphon feed airbrushes, since the paint flows with the help of gravity. With the lower pressure, you can attain higher detail. So, gravity feed brushes usually go for a bit more than siphon feed brushes. However, with my siphon feed Paasche VLS, I can easily get a 1/32" line. So, it's up to you, really. Read into them a bit, and make a good choice. Really though, as long as you get a dual action airbrush from a respectable manufacturer, you should be just fine.

Retrieved from "http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/modwiki/index.php/Airbrush"

That should help a bit.

[SgtM]

I'm using a $13 airbrush from Harbor Freight.

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...ad.php?t=13221

[grizzlyironbear]

and i as well, the harbor freight airbrush has served me faithfully. in fact i went and bought some more parts for it so i dont have to do all the cleaning in between colors!

[Cobra]

to be honest with you 90% of airbrushing isnt down to the cost of the equipment. i have seen some top notch paintwork done with some of the cheapest equipment you can imagine.
whats vitally more important is getting to know the equipment you chose.
ie: single action (push button, paint and air both come out at the same time) dual action ( push down on button to start air flow then pull back on button to release and control paint flow)
the latter is the choice of many as it does give you more control over the material but they do tend to be a bit more expensive.
you also have the choice between internal mix and external mix guns. internal is exactly what it sounds like,,the paint travels through the gun to be mixed with the air then sent onto your project (these tend to be a bit more difficult to clean when done) external feed guns the paint never actually trafels through the gun. it gets drawn up from the cup and blown onto the project from the front of the gun( much easier to clean)

once you decide on a style gun to start using dont just jump in and try to create a masterpiece on your fav pc case right away. take the time to practice with it for a few weeks. so you know and learn the little variables that your equipment has.
practice on old side panels or even paper to start.and remember most of the top airbrush people in the world use alot of different methods to get the effects they want. your not confined to simply applying paint directly to something to create images.the use of masks to create sharp lines and shadows is essential to a good final product.

good luck with whatever type you chose to start with . stay positive and i am sure you will be astounding yourself and others in no time.