Buying an airbrush

[skeletondude]

Hey!
Since Im a brush painter,I finally decided to buy an airbrush.Now heres the catch:I dont want it to cost more than 50$ (Yeah,I know Im a cheapskate :D )I found one on luckymodel http://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?item_no=SPA DH103 Now tell me is this a good arbrush?I also plan on buying it a 0.2 mm nozzle.I have an old compressor at home,so I dont think I need one,but what else do I need to buy?:) Please help me out guys!:rolleyes:

[james84]

Well, $50 is a good price. I got mine for €40. The page on luckymodel.com doesn't work, but if it's a double action one the price is really good. You should only see if accessories are available, and which one you will have to use.
I've been a brush painter for lots of time, but I will wait to get a compressor... it costs from €150 to 250!
PS. do you know if luckymodels.com accepts payment with Visa Electron credit cards?

[Larry Bates]

Compressors are very expensive. I myself use an air tank, with a pressure gauge. They can be in a number of sizes, and can be had from a number of places. There is a place I heard of that actually rents them. I wonder if one could use a propane tank for O2?

Later.

[james84]

It's not a bad idea, Larry!

[robertgreen94]

The only issue you may have is with your old compressor. Many of the older models had an issues with oil and moisture in the lines, something you do not want to get into the airbrush. For $50 you might want to spend it on a service for the compressor and a good moisture/oil trap and an accurate regulator. I picked up my compressor at target, while good for high end pressures the reg was not designed for low psi, so I now have 2, one to regulate it to max 40PSI then another for fine tuning.

Nice airbrush btw, one can never have enough airbrush's

[César]

I´ve bought a Sparmax airbrush in Lucky Models. I opted for a model with 0.2mm nozzle and small cup. I´ve used today for the first time and I´m quite happy with it. It´s well-machined and spray very fine lines. It´s better than my old airbrush -a cheap Iwata clon- and cost less, and I bought the old one almost 10 years ago. At first I was a little reluctant to buy it because the low price. But a friend of mine was told by a top modeller friend that Sparmax airbrushes are actually quite good although not very known in the modelling world.

As for spare parts, Luckymodel stocks needles wich I think is the part that may need substitution more easily. In fact I ordered one spare with the airbrush.
The small nozzle can be damaged in the long run, but usually are very expensive and with cheap airbrushes you can get a new one for little more than the price of the nozzle.

Maybe they don´t make the best airbrushes, but I think price-quality relation is unsurpassed. For some 30 euros you can go wrong.