Airbrush compressor

Magic_x_uk

Magic_x_uk

Magic_x_uk

Soldato
Joined
11 Oct 2005
Posts
5,712
Location
Derbyshire
60db is fairly loud for an airbrush compressor, the little ones are usually around 40-50db and you can sit with them next to you/under the desk for ages without too much of a problem.

The small one on amazon is a generic type and can vary massively in quality between batches (as can the brushes with it), but should be serviceable although you may need to check the bolts etc are tight as a friend got a similar one and it had a couple of loose parts which led to some issues initially.

Generally a smallish tank on an airbrush compressor for hobby/model making isn't much of an issue, we've got a compressor with an IIRC 2.5l tank and even when we're being quite heavy with the airflow it's only running about 25-30% of the time whilst we do model work, often a lot less.
 
If his existing compressor is anything like our big compressor it'll be extremely loud to run which makes in unpleasant to work with for airbrushing if it's in the same building (in our case the other side of the garage in a cupboard with some sound proofing), but also makes it impossible to use later in the evening or early morning.

We tried the big compressor route originally but it was very limiting in terms of when it could be used without creating a noise problem, even if we were able to put up with the noise whilst using it.

One tip with compressors, it's always worth looking for the likes of Bambi silent models being sold off by dentists and beauty parlours that are either upgrading or shutting down, as they're larger capacity units that are designed to be pretty close to silent (as they usually have to be running in the same/next room to where customers/patients/admin staff are).
 
I can only confirm Werewolf's comments on the generic AE186 styles. I bought one that was on offer and the craftsmanship is, lacking. Mine has bits of solder (I assume) rattling around the tank and I've not been able to get it all out. I did get a partial refund though.

It works fine but I also dismantled and rebuilt it before using. Hindsight, I should have spent a wee bit more and bought the same model from a 'better' manufacturer.
 
Cantankerous said:
I can only confirm Werewolf's comments on the generic AE186 styles. I bought one that was on offer and the craftsmanship is, lacking. Mine has bits of solder (I assume) rattling around the tank and I've not been able to get it all out. I did get a partial refund though.

It works fine but I also dismantled and rebuilt it before using. Hindsight, I should have spent a wee bit more and bought the same model from a 'better' manufacturer.
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I've read comments before from people in the trade that they and the airbrushes are often made using old tooling from the "branded" names without the QC, hence they're all pretty much the same to look at as theoretically they're often using the same parts, but the branded ones may be using parts that are of a better tolerance, and have been QC'd far better.

IIRC the Sparmax airbrush compressor I've got is basically the same (at least to look at) as a whole bunch of AS compressors with a cowling but cost 50-60% more, but has been flawless since day one, whilst several friends who bought the AS series ones had issues ranging from leaky joints* to a pressure valve that didn't work quite right.
I've also seen a number of people mention how going back 10-15 years the original cheap airbrushes often put people off airbrushing because they were badly made copies (so the control and spray wasn't there or they were very finickity to use), but that has improved a lot.

I think it's the same with a lot of the normal compressor fittings, you can buy cheap "quick releases" that don't hold pressure/don't lock/unlock cleanly even when new as the tolerances/machining isn't quite as accurate as the more expensive/branded ones (at some point I need to replace the quick releases on my garage compressor, they lose pressure).

*I think in one case it was as simple as an extra fraction of a turn with a spanner.
 
go Bambi. I got the Bambi BB8 and it is virtually silent. I can run it at 2am when I am getting my 40K painting fix and it doens't wake anyone up in the house. You will need to shell out around 300 notes though, but it is well worth the investment. It's also got an 8l tank so once it's full you can get a quite a fair ammount of work doen out of it before the compressor kicks in again.
 
One of my relatively few ebay related regrets is that back before I got my airbrushes set up properly I was looking at compressors on ebay and missed out on winning a bambi complete with a picture framer because I forgot to set a reminder, it went for something like ~100.
It was collection only and in my town.

The picture frame equipment alone was worth far more than that and would have seen use in my garage.
 
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