Airbrush qustion...

[bemidjibasser]

I just got an airbrush last Friday off ebay with a compressor and some paints for $125. It didn't come with a moisture trap or regulator. Are these absolutely necessary components? It is a badger cyclone II compressor if I remember correctly. I have tried it out on a few baits, and am pleased so far with how it works.

Thanks for the help in advance.

TL

[bobv]

I would want a regulator at least, I found a combo regulator,water filter on Ebay for less than $20. I am changing air pressure fairly regularly with different types of paints.

[mickalo]

if you us the compressor any type of air tools, a moisture separator is a must. Water moisture is the major cause of tool failure and pays hell with your paints, if air brushing.

The regulator is an important to protect your air tools, especially like air brushing, which normally operates at low PSI. Depending on the compressor CFM's, you want to be able to control PSI to your tools otherwise it can blow'em apart

Mike

[bemidjibasser]

Are the regulators and moisture traps universal or are they compressor specific or brush specific?

[Tman2]

I think they are universal. You are trying to regulate the air, not the tool.

[ipock2]

Air regulator and moisture trap is a must. They should be universal. If it should not fit usually all you will need is a thread adapter.

[BobP]

Regulators and moisture traps can be found at many home centers like Lowes or Home Depot, or you can find ones designed for airbrush compressors at dixieart.com or other airbrush stores. The hard part sometimes is finding the adapters to fit everything together. I took all my junk to the store to make sure I got the adapters I needed. Use some plumbers Teflon (PTFE) tape on all the connections. Moisture traps often come with an integral air pressure gauge, which is nice to have.

[bemidjibasser]

I ordered a combo trap/regulator off the web yesterday...hopefully it's here soon. Thanks again for the help and info.

[Sportyguy66]

I've been using my airbrushes for over a year now without a moisture trap and haven't had any problems

[BobP]

Sporty, guess it depends on your compressor and the environment where you paint. A tool compressor pumps out quite a bit of moisture because of its large volume and high pressure. If you run it outside in high humidity, the effect is exacerbated. I use an airbrush compressor in my garage and my airbrush spit water occasionally before I put a moisture trap on it. The trap came with a useful air gauge too.

[mark poulson]

Someone here posted that if your compressor is on the floor, and the airline comes up high enough before you tap into it for you air brush (3-4') the hose will act as a water trap. I use a water trap on my line, and it's about 4' above the pancake construction compressor I have on the floor, and I've never had any water in the water trap.

[rhahn427]

Hey guy ..... just call or email Badger ...... they'll thee you what you need and tell you where to get it

[Kevin70]

An elevated air hose can't act as a water trap because the moving air will push the moisture up the line. In my work, we use compressors on the ground and run hoses up 4-5 stories, and the moisture still spits out of the hoses and tools if the compressor hasn't been drained properly. I use an 8 gallon for airbrushing, and I have yet to put on a water trap. It's only a matter of time before moisture creeps into my line, so I better get on the ball. IT IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO CLEAR MOISTURE FROM A HOSE. You may get most of it, but once it's combined with dust and traces of oil (on oil-lubed compressors), it will continue to give you problems. Just buy another hose.

[hazmail]

Look up posts from 'KcDano', he had a great discription of how to make an 'inline water trap' (about 3 months back), cheap and simple too. pete

ONLY 9 DAYS TILL BLAST OF

Edited April 12, 2008 by hazmail

[JDW11]

I have been getting away with not using a moisture trap, but recently have purchased one and will be installing it on my compressor. I have been using metallic acrylic enamels for baits and am in the process of switchcing over to Createx paints. I will not miss wearing the respirator and making sure there was enough ventilation for the fumes.

[BizFromQC]

Here's a related question. My airbrush spits water (or paint) as well from time to time, totally messes up the paint job, a royal PITA. Could the airbrush be responsible (and it's paint coming out) for that or does it have to be the compressor. I unhooked the airbrush and let the air come out of the hose to see if any water was coming out but I couldn't "feel" any. Is it normal?

I would want to know for sure a water trap would fix the problem before I caugh up the money for one. I saw a Campbell Hausfeld one with built-in regulator (which I don't need since there's already one on the compressor) for 30$. Seems a bit expensive to me. Any recommendations (in Canada or a place that ships to Canada for cheap) for a good/cheap water trap?

Thanks again,

BizFromQC

[ipock2]

Moisture trap is a must. Well worth the money when you consider the time invested in a lure only to have it messed up in one "splat"

[mark poulson]

For me, paint spitting is almost always a sign of a dirty tip. Sometimes it can mean the paint you're spraying is too thick, or you're painting at too low a pressure for that particular paint.

I use water based paints, and, generally speaking, the opaque and pearlescent paints need more pressure than the transparents or flip flops. Thinning the paint should make it easier to spray, but the coats will be thinner, and it may take multiple coats to build enough for your paint scheme. I don't thin my paint, so I can't give you any advice as to how to do it. Just know that water alone isn't the best thinner for water based paints, according to the experts here.

I just keep my pressure set at 35-40psi, and adjust the paint needle and trigger for less paint when I'm painting thinner stuff.

Put up a piece of cardboard next to your paint area, and do a test spray to see if the paint's flowing right before you move to your lure.

Doing a good cleaning between coats, including using a small artist's brush to clean out the tip, is what I've found is the easiest way to avoid any problems.

For me, that means first cleaning most of the extra paint out of the cup with a finger and rag, filling my paint cup with water, using the artist's brush to get the paint that's down at the bottom of the cup, spraying the paint into my hand over my Tupperware water tub until the wash water comes through, covering the tip and back washing until the wash water come out of the back of the tip really strong, dumping the wash water and refilling, and doing it again, maybe three times. It takes two minutes per color change, so it's not time consuming.

Last thing I do is fill the cup half way with Windex, loosen the needle, and move it in and out, covering the tip of the brush with my hand so the Windex doesn't run out, re tighten the needle in place, and then spray and backwash with the Windex. I spray until all the Windex is gone, and again just before I add the new paint because there's always a little Windex that runs down the cup sides after I clean it.

The more you paint, the easier the whole process becomes. It will be second nature to you in no time.