Long post incoming....

So, I don't think I've seen many airbrush discounts. Badger did a nice promotion where you could buy any airbrush for $55 for their 55 year anniversary this summer, but other than that it's kind of hard to find discounts. As far as Prime Day, I doubt they're going to have discounts on airbrushes, that's a pretty niche product they don't really get into. If you want to get started with that, I'd do something like this:

• Paasche D3000R Compressor this is the one I use... it's held up over the past 10 years quite well, painted some ~12,000 points of Marines, Guard, Knights, and Chaos with it.
  
  
• Iwata Neo Airbrush Iwata airbrushes rock... I use an Iwata HP-CS, which is really good, but like 3x more expensive than this. This would be a good starter brush that should do the job though.
  
  
• Airbrush Hood You can put this on your desk and you just spray into it. It has a fan which pulls paint dust through the filter in the back, very important to prevent you from breathing paint and getting colored dust everywhere.
  
  You then need a cleaning pot, some cleaning fluid, and an airbrush hose All told, that's like $300.
  
  Then you need paint, paint brushes, a hobby knife, super glue, a mini hand drill, some small drill bits, sprue cutters, basing materials (cork board, model railroad ballast, etc) and I find a pair of tweezers helpful. That could add up to another $200 in materials (and obviously can cost way more, paint is expensive). So of your $550 budget, you would then have $50 remaining for models... which will buy you one model kit. So if you're looking to get started for $550, I'd probably forget the airbrush for now, and just get paints that can be used with one later. I recommend Vallejo paints. The eyedropper bottles work great for airbrushing, and you can just thin them with water. I haven't met one yet that doesn't work. A paint set like this would set you up nicely for doing an Imperial Guard army.
  
  As far as what army to play... Guard is fun, but if you like the modern military aesthetic, Space Marines might be more what you're after. The new Repulsor Executioner tanks look awesome, and the new Primaris marines are great looking models... some of the best GW has produced. The Guard kits are looking kinda... dated IMO.

A couple questions to consider:

• Are you in the US, EU, or Asia?
  
  
• How much do you want to spend?
  
  
• How comfortable are you with DIY and home improvement projects? How good are you with tools?
  
  
• How much do you want instant gratification vs having to debug, learn, and troubleshoot on your own?
  
  I assume you're in the US because you linked to Amazon US. And because you came to the conclusion that you should get an Iwata or Badger.
  
  Let me address the spray booth first. The main selling point and feature of the booths you linked on Amazon is portability. They're not that portable, but because they fold up they are more portable than something you might build out of a plastic storage bin and some fans. If you feel like you can build your own (there are lots of articles on the internet for this) that meets your (safety) requirements/desires for less than the portable spray booths online, than you might want to consider building your own. Otherwise, what you're paying for is the ability to fold it up and bring it on trips to group builds. Also keep in mind that these used to go for $60-70 USD and seem to be getting more expensive with time.
  
  As for the airbrush, if you have the money and want stuff that works out of the box, then you should just get a kit. There are other vendors (Chicago Airbrush Supply off the top of my head) outside of Amazon that could potentially get you a better deal.
  
  If you are a DIY person and potentially have need of power/air tools in the future, you might want to consider a mini shop compressor. This one by CA air tools is recommended by some people here because it's supposed to be pretty quiet while delivering pancake compressor pressures. The caveat is that you have to be comfortable with buying the right fittings/adapters to make the airbrush/hose work with the compressor.
  
  If you don't have or aren't willing to spend money, then you can just go to Harbor Freight tools and get a compressor, hose, and accessories, then go to Hobby Lobby with a 40% coupon and buy an Iwata Neo or a Badger Patriot 105.
  
  edit: Definitely agree with /u/Funakatown that you generally get what you pay for. If you're really into the hobby, investing in good tools from the beginning is totally worth it. These tools and skills are good not just for gunpla, but all plastic model/miniature hobbies, cosplay, and general DIY. On the flip side though, if you live in an apartment and you never know when you might be moving, or there just isn't much stability in your life now, it's understandable to not invest too much in. Especially since it might be hard to get your money back if you have to sell your stuff down the road because you can't take it all with you. Or you find that you hate airbrushing, which does happen to some people.

I do not live in the salt belt but I am under the impression water cases iron to oxidize (rust) but salt accelerates the reaction because salt increases the conductivity of water. So from that logic, seems like the best bet is to rinse the undercarriage as much as possible to remove the salt. If you are super concerned which sounds like you are, I wonder if picking one of these up would help. If you have a garage for after the rinse to let the undercarriage dry I think would be ideal. https://www.amazon.com/BE-PRESSURE-85-400-062-Undercarriage-Cleaner/dp/B0065OYYQQ

I posted this in a now deleted thread a few months ago. I'm sure there are better options but this is what I bought and it works well for the price. The blast media is a higher grit than Cerakote recommends but I haven't had any issues with using it, my finish comes comes out nice and smooth. Here is a link to the Cerakote training manual, give it a read to see the process.

$120 Benchtop Blast Cabinet (make sure you use a 20% off coupon)

$45 50lbs Aluminium Oxide blast media (make two trips, use another coupon)

$40 Dewalt Touch-up Spray gun

$8 Oil/Water Separator

$18 3M Respirator

$8 Powder Free gloves

$14 5ml Glass syringe for easily measuring small amounts of H-Series catalyst. Not necessary but nice. (Grainger.com)

$20 Gallon of Acetone (hardware store)

$30 for misc hoses/fittings

$$$ Container for soaking parts in acetone. I use a 50cal ammo can for almost everything

$$$ Oven for curing if using H-series. I use an old large toaster oven.

$$$ Air compressor with regulator (I already had this)

$$$ Cerakote (plus mesh strainer, graduated cylinder, tape, etc)

$300 not including the compressor, Cerakote or oven.

​

Like the other guy said, there are other finish options available but I've never tried them (yet) so I can't comment there. I have been very happy with Cerakote. Proper preparation really can't be stressed enough, I'm sure that applies no matter what finish you decide to use.

I have been working on this over the past 2 years. This will be my 4th HvZ game using this rig. We normally have a game in the fall and then in the spring. I got the idea when the magstrike saved my bacon and I wanted to fix the small bladder issue. The speed of them was awesome but pumping it every time was a pain. I looked up some other mods and didn't see anything I liked. I decided I didn't want to the noise of an air compressor so I went with a large backpack mounted tank.

The magstrikes don't fire much stronger than a stock one. I shot them with a stock magstrike and matched them pretty close. Since basically its just a magstrike with a huge bladder, there wasn't much argument against it. I had the mods come personally over to check it out before hand. The fact that I continue to improve on it and make sure it's safe has earned me respect and I even have people referred to me for help to keep them within reasonable limits.

I've worked up a master part list for you with links of where to get most of it too:

---

Parts List

• 2 Magstrikes x $20 = $40
  
• Screws and Misc Parts = $20+
  
• Elastic = $2
  
• 8 Magstrike Mags = $32
  
• 3 Magstrike Mags = (received in a trade)
  
• 100 Whistler Darts = $15
  
  Subtotal: $109
  
  ---
  
  Clothing/Storage
  
  
• Carrier Vest - $17
  
• SAW Ammo Pouches x3 - $24
  
• M4 Magazine Pouch (fits the power bank) - $3
  
• Bike Tool Bag - $9
  
  Subtotal: $53
  
  ---
  
  Air Tank Parts - All fittings are 1/4" NPT
  
  
• Viair 1 Gallon Air Tank - $40
  
• Safety Release Valve - $7.37
  
• 1/4" Schrader Valve - $4.85
  
• Pressure Gauge - $5
  
• Viair Braided Air Hose - $13.80
  
• Elbow Pieces x3 = $12.51
  
• Regulator - $21
  
• Ball Port Valve - $8.50
  
• 45 Degree Elbow - $5.57
  
• 10Ft of Tubing - $2.40
  
• Nylon Push-to-Connect Adapter - $3.07
  
• Push-to-Connect Adapter x2 = $5
  
• Wye Adapter - $4.65
  
• Threaded 1/4" Push-To-Connect - $4.70
  
• Quick Disconnect Adapter - $5
  
• Baby carrier (Pawn Shop) - $15
  
  Subtotal: $158.45
  
  ---
  
  Lighting
  
  
• 226 Lumen Maglight - $25
  
• Wide Angle Lens (for bike light) - $5
  
• 1200 Lumen Bike Light - $20
  
• 10000 mAh USB Power Bank - $33
  
  Subtotal: $83
  
  ---
  
  Tools
  
  
• Air Compressor - $60 (Got a deal on it)
  
  Subtotal: $60
  
  ---
  
  Unknown Prices/Misc Pieces
  
  
• Wood
  
• Brackets
  
• Screws
  
• Foam
  
• Epoxy Putty
  
  Estimated Subtotal: $10
  
  ----
  
  Grand Total: $473.45
  
  This includes all the parts currently being used in the mod. It doesn't count the two magstrikes I broke/parted out from experiments, other gun parts, extra fittings and all my tools I purchased to build the stuff. Most of this was broken up into small purchases over the past 2 years. $5 fitting here. $50 order there. I also purchased mostly things I could use outside of just HvZ like the bike light, ammo pouches, etc so it's not all wasted on nerf stuff.

- What PSI is needed? I see that the actuators list a max capacity, but what are your 15 actuators lifting (heavy or light load)?

- There are many "air manifold" options on the market, or you could cut and design one yourself (again, dependent on operating PSI)

- Also air pressure regulators and moisture regulators are easy to come by.

- Multi-media? is volume of operation a concern?

That PSI question is your biggest consideration here. If you don't have the pressure- you don't have the power to "push" those actuators. You may need multiple compressors, or just one. Any consumer product on the market is probably fine. But you gotta shop to meet your needs. This seems like a fun project. I hope I provided some help. Good luck!

Thing is you really need to know what tools they already have, and why they got the compressor. Did they get it for running pneumatic automotive tools, or to spray paint, or because they want to redo all the trim in their house or outside (for nailing). Otherwise you stand a good chance of getting them something they already have.

Anyhow, I think these are the most useful pneumatic tools in order:

1. Impact wrench and sockets. I get mine in 1/2".
   
2. Ratchet
   
3. Blow Gun
   
4. Die Grinder especially if there's any restoration or body repair to do.
   
   The #blow #gun might be your safest bet since no one without a compressor is going to have one. I would look for one with the ability to take attachments ie not this but rather something like this.
   
   Also, tire fillers like this are super useful. There are cheaper ones that only have the filler, but then you have to get a seperate gauge. I love the idea of having the gauge built in, I just received this one and can't wait to use it.

Well I am by no means an expert but here is what I got:

Paasche Talon TG-3f - It does the job. I am not painting eyes with it, mostly priming, and wide cloak and base colors.

I too had a compressor but needed to grab a Water Trap the compressor I have is super load and not 'made' for airbrushing 'per se'. So I need to regulate the water in the paint.

Then get a bottle of Air Brush Thinner. You can then use any paint you want through it (make it much thinner than normal skim milk painting consistency).

I did pick up some airbrush paints to practice with on cardboard and canvas ... figured the more I use it the better I will get. My intent is to use Vallejo Black/White primer through it. Save me from having to use so many cans of spray paint.

edit Also should mention a couple videos that influenced me/I am using to learn from: Tons of airbrushing stuff later in the video of this BIG resin kit, Tested beginners guide, more resin kit with an airbrush, and just for giggles how to clean it which in my humble opinion is the largest deterrent of the process.

I have this one (as well as a Krome) and aside from being a bit louder than I would like, but it does a great job. If you have amazon prime, it is even better; you'll save a ton on shipping

Without tools, the best you can really do is look for oiliness on the pipe. When you find a joint that feels oily (look for dark colours on the pipe, usually covered in very fine dust. Once you rub the dusty area with your fingers you'll feel the oiliness), spray/pour a small amount of washing up liquid over it and look for bubbles. If there's any refrigerant left in the system, you'll usually see bubbles appear (or over a longer period, foam). Of course if the gas has all escaped already - and we're only talking a couple of hundred grams here - then you won't see any bubbles.

Most domestic gear has no access fitting at all so even locating the leak can be difficult if there's no visual indication. You need to get pressure in there so you can leak test - this means adding a bullet piercing valve (like this).

Then you need to put something in via your bullet piercing valve to raise the system pressure. It's best to use dry nitrogen to leak test to save wasting refrigerant, but since you most likely don't have that on hand you could buy yourself some refrigerant (most likely R134a) and pressurise with that. That's a big no-no here (both disposable cylinders and dumping gas to atmosphere by charging a system with a known leak) but I'm guessing your in the US, and those sorts of laws seem remarkably lax so go for gold. It's not like you'll be ruining MY ozone layer too, right? ;)

You also need to regulate the pressure going in to the system. This is where you need gauges. Connect the yellow line to your bottle, connect the blue line loosely to your bullet piercing valve, purge from cylinder to piercing valve by opening the cylinder tap + gauges tap, and releasing some pressure via the loose fitting, then tighten the fitting and close your gauges tap. Open the bullet piercing valve. Open the gauges tap slowly and give it ~50psi of system pressure.

Then you can go for gold with your soap, or you can lash out and grab yourself some "proper" leak detection fluid (like this), or better yet an electronic leak detector (like this one).

Once you've found your leak, you want to release your nitrogen (or reclaim your refrigerant using a reclaim plant and a spare cylinder), then repair it using an oxy/acetalyne set, or since it's only tiny pipework you can get away with a MAPP gas set.

If it's a copper->copper joint, you're laughing - polish the pipework up with emery cloth, heat the pipe until it's just this side of glowing red, and feed the joint with brown tip silver solder.

If it's a copper->steel joint, then it's a bit more of a pain. You need blue tip silver solder and flux. Clean your joint with the emery cloth, give it a nice coating of flux on every surface you need solder to stick to, then heat it up until it's a fair way short of glowing red. Feed the blue tip solder in and STOP. Unlike brown tip (15% silver) you can't just keep feeding blue tip (45% silver) as it ruins the weld.

Now, since you put on a bullet piercing valve and they leak like a sieve in the long term, we need to replace that with a schrader access valve. Since it's most likely going to be in a straight through piece of pipe, you can save time and grab yourself a pre made access valve in 1/4" pipe. Cut away the hole left by the bullet piercing valve, polish the copper and cut the pipework with a ~10mm gap using a tube cutter. Then slip your access fitting assembly in there, and follow the copper->copper joint procedure.

Of course, now that we've done all that you need to change the liquid line filter drier too. I'd recommend a 1/4" solder in core drier in place of the original copper spun drier because... well, copper spun driers are terrible. Follow the pipe cutting procedure from the piercing valve instructions and the soldering instructions from the copper->copper joint instructions and that's done too. Remember - always try and mount the drier so it's outlet is LOWER than its inlet. This turns the drier into a small liquid receiver and helps ensure a good liquid seal over the capillary tube. Speaking of capillary tubes, if it was inserted straight into the original copper spun drier CUT the capillary, don't try and unsweat it. The chances of blocking it up are about 82.5634% (approximately) when you unsweat capillarys. You're much better off chopping it with a set of capillary tube cutters and ensuring a good clean capillary. The ~30mm of wasted capillary will affect performance, but almost certainly not to any sort of measurable degree.

Then give the system a good evacuation using a vacuum pump and ensure it reaches a good vacuum (sub-500 micron) with a digital vacuum gauge.

Then using a set of electronic scales, charge your freshly evacuated system (remembering to purge!) to the charge recommended by the manufacturer.

Voila! You have just fixed your chest freezer.

..... Alternatively, pay someone to do it for you and/or recycle the components and buy yourself a new one.

Man there is a lot to cover.

But to start, get a compressor with a reservoir so you can have extended paint sessions without overheating the pump. Something like this, Also some Dentist supply depot have oilless compressors with reservior ( the oiless part is very important for painting) that are really quiet but can get a bit expensive.

Get a good airbrush, you can find good quality airbrush in amazon but skip ANY of this type you won't get much out of those. This is a very good gravity fed airbrush.

I make 40-50 gal batches for the nursery where I work and we use this pump for aeration. Poly tubing from the pump into a section of black soaker hose bent to a figure 8 shape with the cap on the end of the hose. Pushes out a great column of bubbles when weighted down (I use a 2 ft. piece of rebar tied to the soaker hose) to the bottom of the barrel.

My recipe for 40 gallons:

• 2 cups liquid kelp extract
  
  
• 8 cups alfalfa pellets
  
  
• 8 cups of finished, screened compost
  
  
• 1/2 cup unsulphured black molasses
  
  All the solids go in a mesh bag intended for grains in a homebrewer's setup. Alfalfa expands/floats, so put some rocks in there. We also have a smaller pump with an airstone inside the bag to force microbes out into the solution. 48 hrs. or so of bubbling/foaming. I run it through a Dos-a-tron at the highest setting it will allow, 2% solution. I wish I could get up to about 15% tea in that solution for out potted plants and maybe even 50% on our propagation beds. I've just poured full strength tea on our beds from a watering can before. I alternate with a fish emulsion fertilizer, so it's hard to say exactly what effects are attributable to either fertilizer regimen, so hope this helps.
  

So I checked out Lowes and Home Depot and neither had a concrete paver that was either thin enough or small enough (surface wise) to fit on top of the expedit. And as for rubber mats, they had the PERFECT sized ones, but there were like 40 to a box and 30 dollars for the case, I couldn't just buy one, so I'm going to have to figure something else out.

What about something like this?

EDIT: Or if I'm throwing money at it– these, or these?

Also, in the short term, would a foam exercise mat cut to fit under the speaker do any good?

It all depends on the temperature of your tank and hose. I can't say how long it will take because there's a lot of factors, but if it's been sitting there long enough to be around the ambient temperature, then it will condense in the tank and pool at the bottom (this will cause corrosion unless you drain it weekly). If your hose is the first time it reaches dewpoint, then you will be spraying a bit of water with the air. This is what happens most of the time if you are using the air soon after it is compressed.

Basically if you move very little volume like cleaning the occasional case, then you would be fine to buy something like this which gives you a few things. First is the trap. This needs to be downline from the compressor enough for the air to cool sufficiently for the water to condense into the trap. If you place this immediately after the compressor while it is running, it will do nothing. Second, it has a regulator to accurately change the pressure which would be nice for not blasting and breaking a fan or something. Third, it has a gauge to show your delivered pressure. With this you can fill your tank to as high of a pressure as it is rated for and fine-tune the pressure here.

Anyway, like you say, it's probably not much of a big deal and the average person will be fine, but it's something to be aware of.

Here's how you can figure out what the dewpoint of your compressed air is if you want:

1. Find your air temperature and relative humidity. (google "weather [your city]")
   
2. Input those values here to get your atmospheric dewpoint.
   
3. Then go to this page and put the dewpoint in "Known Dewpoint".
   
4. Put "0 psig" for "Pressure for Known Dew Point".
   
5. Put your tank pressure in "New Pressure".
   
6. Hit calculate.
   
   The air in your tank needs to be under that temperature for water vapor to condense and for a trap to be useful. It's hard to say for sure without measuring it, but air can be around 300 F after being compressed, so it could take some time to cool sufficiently. Hope that wasn't too wordy.

you can build the exact same thing diy for about $70. and im sure you can source cheaper parts. you get 2 brass hose barbs with the pump below as well.

• 2gpm Solar pump - $30
  
• Ball lock disconnects - $12
  
• SS T FPT fitting - $5
  
• 1/2" NPT diffustion stone - $15
  
• 1/" npt hose barbs $7
  
• vinyl tubing and clamps $4
  
  That said, being able to keg and serve in the same day with perfect carbonation is pretty awesome.

it really depends on your budget. One of my favorite brushes is a badger 105 patriot found here

This brush will last you a long time with proper care. It's also reasonably priced and has a great spray pattern (pencil line to almost three inches). As for a compressor I personally use a California air tool - quite air model found here

I use this guy because of the large tank and because it has a rust free tank. Most model or little compressors have tanks that are made out of iron which will rust after some time. But depending on how much you wanna spend here are ones I would recommend because they come with a tank and an adjustable regulator/water trap (but as you can see they are not to far off from the California one)

Paache
PointZero

I have the second one in that list, however after a year the tank rusted even with proper care :(

Air compressors with a water catch are your best friends! Canned air costs too much and blowing dust in your house with those little blowers just isn't worth the mess, just get a cheap air compressor, a water filter and boom, you're set forever with easy cleaning...


EDIT: A link to what I'm talking about for filtering out water from your air line when using an air compressor to clean your electronics. Unless your playing in 100% humidity and working your air compressor hard, these devices usually filter out all the water in the air line.

Talk with your local paint supplier on that particular brand's processes - but you will likely want/need to reprime it so it is sure to stick (and the primer you want to be compatible with the paint you use). I know the primer I used, you wanted to lay paint on it within 48 hours or so for best adhesion.

• After initial sanding, make sure to wipe down with a cheese cloth, then follow up with a solvent on a clean rag (paint thinner, mineral spirits, etc)
  
  
• Your time between coats will be specified by the paint you buy, it'll probably 30-60 minutes. Then the clearcoat is probably the one you'll have to wait a day to put on
  
  
• Again talk to your supplier, but usually the fine grit sanding is done between clear coats, then buff at the end
  
  
• You will find there is more to buy than just "paint" - usually you need the paint and a catalyst, plus a thinner. You will probably leave the store with 8 cans of stuff
  
  
• The big thing to think about after you setup your booth - how are you going to hold/hang all the pieces? Can be tricky. Hanging works ok for some pieces but they tend to move around (just the air coming out of the paint gun can blow a piece around). Make sure to set each piece such that you can get to all sides and you aren't spraying at a different piece behind it
  
  
• Buy a drier
  
  
• Get all the other stuff with your paint gun, like a holder, mixing cups, strainers, etc.
  
  
• Buy a quality respirator
  
  It takes some practice to get the amount of paint correct, as well as dialing in the gun (watch some Youtube videos). There is a somewhat fine line between putting the final coat on too light and it showing up dry, or all of a sudden you put too much on and you have a run. Don't forget to clean the gun thoroughly after each use.
  
  Final advice? Don't sweat the imperfections, it's a track bike and we aren't pro racers. Also accept that your first full paint job or at least the first couple pieces you do will probably not look great as you learn how to setup the gun and control how much paint to lay down.

You'll probably get a better response over at /r/modelmakers or /r/modelcars.

A 30+ year-old airbrush probably isn't too good for a beginner to start with. Depending on your budget, you can get airbrush kits from Amazon for under $100, or go all out for a Paasche, Badger, or Iwata setup for $200 and up.

This is the kit I started with. The brushes are surprisngly well-made, and I haven't had any problems with them, except the big one's plastic handle broke. The compressor isn't that good, but it's good enough to get some experience. Mine won't hold pressure after 2 years, and the regulator sucks, but I've painted some pretty cool models with it.


Again, it all depends on your budget. If you're under $100, check out the Master Airbrush stuff on Amazon - if you have more to spend, look for a compressor with a storage tank like this.

like i said, if you're gonna use a standard compressor you really want to use a variable valve air nozzle, as opposed to the trigger based ones. most air compressors are 120 psi.

a nozzle like this would be good to use, but not at 120 psi. if you were going to use a 120 psi compressor, then a nozzle like this would be much better to use, since you can adjust how much air is coming out of it.

This right here 👆
Energy audits are the first place to start $100-$200

Also You also never want to power ventilate an attic.
It will just suck your conditioned air out of your house. Passive vents are find.

As for the New AC unit, make sure it came with a hard start hooked up to it. Those things are lifesavers for your ac. Instead of pulling 50-69amps at start up it is a lot lower like 20-30 amps. Reduces amp draw by up to 50%. Saves wear and tear on the ac. Y

 http://www.five-two-one.com/compressor-saver-how-it-works.html


CPS 5-2-1 CSRU1 Compressor Saver for 1 to 3 Ton Units https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FNMADE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_45OLDb51E776H

You will need to size it to your AC unit. Super easy to install. Also look into getting a backup capacitor for you unit. It will be nice to have if you unit goes out.(most likely cause of AC not working if the unit was installed correctly)

I used cheap-ass Master airbrushes and a 3-gal shop compressor with a digital regulator and a moisture trap in between the compressor and the brush. The below, plus a few trips to a hardware store for pneumatic fittings, should be enough.

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-Multi-Purpose-Gravity-Dual-Action/dp/B00EKUU0WY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1527561384&sr=8-4&keywords=master+airbrush

https://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-C2002-Oil-Free-Pancake-Compressor/dp/B000O5RO1Y/ref=sr_1_3?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1527561398&sr=1-3&keywords=compressor

https://www.amazon.com/PointZero-Airbrush-Compressor-Regulator-Water-Trap/dp/B004KNAHE2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1527561429&sr=8-6&keywords=airbrush+moisture+trap

https://alclad2.com/finishes/

People regularly say you should get a more expensive, higher quality brush, but to date I've yet to have major problems with my cheapo ones. It seems like the main benefit of the better brushes is ease of cleaning and durability.

never heard of point zero, looks like they are rebranded masters stuff. The paasche is known brand, quieter, but less powerful. If you plan on using the compressor for airbrushing you won't need it more powerful though.

Thank you for the response. How much time do you usually airbrush for? Do you do a lot of detail work with it? I was thinking I would just be doing base coats and the initial highlights, then finishing with a brush.

These Master or Paasche tanks seem good. I am concerned about the 1 star reviews though, seems like they can break.

For now I think I am going to try my Hitachi and see how it goes. I can always get an airbrush compressor later.

do you have a compressor? I think it'd be pretty easy to rig it to go both directions, just have the tube open at both ends, and use one of these guys at each station to create a venturi effect kinda deal

An oil-free (diaphragm) compressor doesn't introduce oil. And the only water it would introduce is what's in the air to begin with. Generally the air will come out more dry than the water going in, because much of it condenses inside the compressor tank, lines, etc. as it cools.

And if you are concerned about oil or water (basically if you have a piston compressor), you can get devices to filter them both out — they are very common for people doing paint-gun work, where the oil would ruin the whole thing. The air won't be sterile or anything, but if it's good enough to paint with it probably won't contain a significant amount of oil.

If you're really concerned, though, companies sell filters that will take air from an industrial compressor, remove the oil and any air, run it through activated charcoal, and make it suitable for breathing in a supplied-air respirator. I've breathed air coming off an industrial rotary-vane compressor through something like this, and it was fine, not even any odor or anything. The filters are expensive, though, and it's probably overkill unless you're actually breathing it.

Just pin the fan with something to keep it from spinning. Put a pen through it. As for the compressor itself you need to be careful with that. Compressors tend to condense moisture in the tanks. I keep mine stored with the drain valve open so anything that condenses in is during times it's not in use drains out. Even that isn't a sure thing though so before I even considered using it for a purpose like this I installed an oil/water separating filter in line to make sure any leftover moisture got filtered out. They are not expensive and a good thing to have as they protect your air tools from corrosion as well. A desiccant dryer works even better, but is a lot more expensive. Here is what I have on mine. https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-30252A-Water-Separator-Outlet/dp/B002GQ3SUA/ref=pd_sim_469_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=R9QATQYGZXACBZ21C5J9

thanks.

My badger compressor uses 'bleed-through' as well. (I think) It always runs no matter what.

I ended up ordering these two.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BROVMK
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004KNAHE2

Thanks for your suggestion!

Wanting to get a decent airbrush compressor with tank. Amazon recommends this unit and I'm not sure if that'll work or not. Reviews are good and its in my price range. Would be open to suggestions if that's not a great idea or whatnot.

Thanks for the help!

Like everyone else said about an oil and water trap. I would also add a connection to the bottom of your compressor to bleed off the water. You could set it to open for 5 seconds every half an hour or something that matches your requirements and then run a hose to a drain. It makes life a lot easier. Something like this

these things work great. You can set the timer for how long it opens and how often. We have them on all our compressors since people can't be bothered to drain them.

Don't do compressed air. Either a CO2 tank with a good regulator, or a comressor. I have this one, I think, got it for something like $120. Very quiet, about the size of a laptop, you can use the plug in the picture for scale.

https://www.amazon.com/Active-Commercial-AAPA45L-Outlet-Liters/dp/B002JPRNOU

Love this thing

My setup cost me around $300.

Airbrush: Iwata HP-CS

Compressor: California Air Tools Quiet something or other

My compressor kicks on for about 30 seconds every 5 minutes or so, and when it does it isn't terribly loud - I can still hear the TV and normal conversation over it, but it's not whisper quiet or anything. It's bigger than your average airbrush compressor, but it is also more capable.

Don't forget to get a moisture trap, something like this https://www.amazon.com/PointZero-Airbrush-Compressor-Regulator-Water-Trap/dp/B004KNAHE2 because compressing air wrings the humidity out of it, which can throw off the spray balance with acrylics. Other than that, any compressor will do, like most folks suggest. Depends on your tolerance for noise.

Same, it does a great job, and also works for cleaning the deck of my riding mower. I got mine much cheaper at Amazon, by the way.

> The way hard start kits work is that you place a relay and a capacitor parallel with the run capacitor that is already connected to the PSC motor.

Ah, I see. Now that I look at a picture of one I can see what is probably a relay on top. Assuming you don't use a thermistor type (bad for intermittent use), how does it detect when to switch out?

The application is for small refrigeration or small window A/C units running off an inverter. Optimizing for minimum inrush would let you use a smaller inverter.

Here are three tips:

>>First thing to try is to try adding some capacitance to the starting
side. More capacitance will increase the torque and will usually
reduce the inrush current. We use that trick in the refrigeration
field to make compressors start on low voltage. Try approximately
doubling the start capacitance.

>>A large run cap across the main terminals of the motor will help
with the very low power factor when starting. In other words, it
will supply the reactive VARs that the generator can't. I'd start
with about a 160 microfarad motor RUN (different from a start cap).

>>Having another motor running, particularly if it has a heavy rotor
and/or flywheel, will also help. When the compressor comes on, the
other motor will act as an induction generator and supply power to
the starting motor. This is the trick I use to get my restaurant's
walk-in freezer compressor to start on my emergency generator. An
old motor is a lot cheaper than a new generator :-). Motor should
be larger than the compressor motor. The bigger the better.

So my mistake was assuming a "larger start capacitor" = "hard start kit". I corrected that part above in text post area.

Those ratings are for fish tanks. You want as much air as possible. If you want to split an air pump between multiple buckets, get a more powerful one like this.

>where did you find that bucket lid? I've seen that sort of bucket all over the place on this subreddit, but never actually found out where to buy them, my bucket ended up being a full DIY.

I found them at a local garden center that carries some hydroponic equipment. I don't know where you're from but if I can find them where I am from I'm sure you can. You can always get them online too just search "6 inch net pot bucket lid"

>Any specific reason for putting the check valves at the air stones instead of at your pump or your splitter?

No, that's just how I did it. The check valve could go anywhere in the line really. My train of thought was just the less water that gets in the line the better, so I put it as close to the air stone as possible.

>Are you running 4 buckets in (R?)DWC? Whats the output/capacity of your oxygen pump?

I run 4 separate DWC buckets. My pump is a Hydro Farm AAPA45L

>would you say that your seedlings are stretching a bit or is that the natural length of them when starting them in rock wool cubes?

I've used different lights for seedling starting and I find they always seem to stretch like that, I combat it by planting the rock wool cube low in the net pot so I can build the clay pellets up around the stem as they grow. Unfortunately I must have been a bit too rough when I was moving the net pots into the buckets, or I dropped something but I broke the stem on GSC #1, the one that was in the pic. I found it with the stem bent past 90° with the leaves resting on the clay pellets. I propped it up with some toothpicks and hoping it'll pull through.

​

​

It came in a standard air hose kit which included a tire nozzle, and a trigger type blow gun thats perfect for this application and it accepts different screw on tips for blowing up pool toys to air needles to blow up soccer balls.. http://www.amazon.com/Air-Blow-Gun-Kit/dp/B000FVUO4G/ref=sr_1_9?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1425923489&sr=1-9

https://www.amazon.com/BE-PRESSURE-85-400-062-Undercarriage-Cleaner/dp/B0065OYYQQ

You're welcome.

I’ve been using this Paasche compressor and it’s been excellent so far. Precise control of pressure with a gauge and a moisture trap built in. It’s decently quiet too. I’ve heard tankless compressors can cause issues with sputtering paint due to potentially inconsistent airflow so a compressor with a tank could likely resolve those issues. I’m also using an Iwata eclipse.

This is what I use: Active Aqua Commercial Air Pump, 12 Outlets, 112W, 110 L/min https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JPPFJ0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_bZ27AbR3R4NBW Seems sufficient for my needs

Also, if you have a CO2 tank you should be prefilling the racking carboy. Get an air nozzle. Something like this.

Just need a sprayer nozzle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017JSD34

Be careful with an air compressor by the way. If you're spraying 150 PSI at PCBs from 3 inches away, you'll have more than enough power to rip surface mount components right off a PCB.

Keep the nozzle like 2 feet away, use the regulator to keep your PSI lower, I keep mine around 70ish, and even that much is probably unneeded.

Also keep in mind, air compressors do tend to blow out a little bit of water from condensation. I've never had an issue with it frying components, but make sure you're emptying out your tank frequently. It should have a drain valve somewhere. They actually make really expensive compressors specifically for electronics though to get around the condensation thing.

[Something like this?] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0065OYYQQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_k9ydAbZ6NZDVK)

I've always used something like this.

https://www.amazon.com/CENTRAL-PNEUMATIC-Neighborhood-Corner-Store/dp/B01LWUJZQ4

With a with a blower
https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-31112-Interchangeable-Nozzles-Over-Sized/dp/B000FVUO4G

Been using them for years in IT, makes quick work of dust bunnies.

You're looking for something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/PointZero-Airbrush-Compressor-Regulator-Water-Trap/dp/B004KNAHE2/

It's almost the same as mine.

Optimally you would want to get an air pump where you can draw air in from the outside. I'll explain why.

Typically the CO2 levels in your house are anywhere from 500 - 800 PPM (sometimes even 1000 PPM) higher than the constant 400 PPM outdoors.

One nasty side effect from pumping CO2 rich O2 into your nutrient solutions is it will start to lower your PH. By running an air line outside for fresher air- you can avoid this. This also sets you up for running CO2 in the future if you want.

This pump will allow you to attach a hose to pull air in from the outside.

This fan

This pump

Right now it's venting outside but I'm looking into at least some filtration to not upset the neighbors.

Hose (I'm using it with an iwata eclipse): https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01KDNSU4G/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Moisture trap/second regulator: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004KNAHE2/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I highly recommend a moisture trap with another regulator on it like that. It will give you fine control over the pressure. This one is a knock off of a few others that look/function exactly the same. The psi readout seems a little funny as pressure drops a full 10 psi when you start the air, but it doesn't seem to affect anything.

As for adapters, I needed a quick release tip, connected to an adapter, connected to a nipple (to extend the moisture trap further out because it touches the air tank), connected to the trap, connected to an adapter for the hose, connected to the hose. I can take a pic later if you'd like.

Yeah, I would think that it would work fine. Just attach a regulator with a water trap to the beginning of the line going to your compressor. Edit: to your airbrush.

https://www.amazon.com/PointZero-Airbrush-Compressor-Regulator-Water-Trap/dp/B004KNAHE2

Can you buy one of these and a pressure washer?

BE PRESSURE 85.400.062 16" Undercarriage Cleaner, 4000 PSI https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0065OYYQQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_H0m6BbE99140Q

I live in South TX, never had to worry about rust..

The air compressor I use with my laser is similar to this one. It has been working quite well so far and isn't too noisy despite what the reviews on Amazon say. My exhaust blower is much noisier and drowns out the compressor noise. It puts out enough air to keep my cutting clean, but I will probably upgrade later so I can get more airflow.

http://www.amazon.com/Paasche-D3000R-Compressor-Regulator-Moisture/dp/B001CJPWYM?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

You really should have an inline filter on your air line.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GQ3SUA/ref=s9_acsd_topr_hd_bw_b3jQpjX_c_x_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=QZVN29F2X7P526SCZ3TT&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=dc68059f-0cd4-554c-860c-419946e51f9b&pf_rd_i=3419729011

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00889ZYD8/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

look at the warehouse deals, its about 140 or 150 depends on your state.

Here is a youtube video of a much larger model... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZryRKHrCKc

http://www.amazon.com/Airbrush-Compressor-Regulator-Water-Trap-Filter/dp/B004KNAHE2/ref=sr_1_2?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1411683902&sr=1-2&keywords=airbrush+regulator

this
http://www.amazon.com/Air-Blow-Gun-Kit/dp/B000FVUO4G/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1395584938&sr=8-7&keywords=air+blowgun

>https://www.amazon.com/BE-PRESSURE-85-400-062-Undercarriage-Cleaner/dp/B0065OYYQQ

​

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/b7jqtk/how_to_wash_your_undercarriage_at_home/

attach this to your compressor.

http://www.amazon.com/PointZero-Airbrush-Compressor-Regulator-Water-Trap/dp/B004KNAHE2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

Fill with hot tap water and if you have an air compresses with an soft rubber tip to pump air into it till it pops back into place then close the spigot and let sit for a day or so.

Found this one - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JPRNOU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

for 40 bucks. I think for what I need it should do fine. I mean, I was prepared to go with something 3x weaker just last night. It's a 20 watt/45 LPM setup. Getting damn near everything else off amazon except the buckets and the grommets/water level indicator setup so I figured it's not bad, free shipping with prime and all.

I use an air compressor with an inline moisture trap and there has never been an issue. I've been doing this for 20 years and not once have I ever had a problem.

EDIT: If the compressor has this on it http://www.amazon.com/Airbrush-Compressor-Regulator-Water-Trap-Filter/dp/B004KNAHE2 and you clean it properly, then you will NOT have any issues. I would stake my house on that.

An air compressor with a moisture trap and a narrow nozzle. You can get a small desk-sized compressor for under $100 from a pawn shop. A filter and moisture trap is cheap on Amazon.

You just can't get the power of compressed air from a little electric pump.

The reason why /u/triviper said it's about $200+ to start airbrushing is because you need not just the airbrush, but the compressor, moisture trap, hose, and adaptors if you're buying everything separately and want a setup that will last you a long time.

My setup isn't the best, but I got

• the Neo for Iwata airbrush - $48 at hoby lobby
  
• badger 80-2 compressor on ebay - ~$60 when I bought mine
  
• 10 ft hose with 1/8" fittings - $10
  
• [moisture trap - $13](https://smile.amazon.com/PointZero-Airbrush-Compressor-Regulator-Water-Trap/dp/B004KNAHE2/ref=sr_1_1?
  *ie=UTF8&qid=1469082512&sr=8-1&keywords=moisture+trap)
  
• hose adaptor -$8; not sure what the fitting was, you'll have to research what size the attachment is for the airbrush and the hose
  
• thread seal tape; my dad had this already -$6
  
  Total = ~$145
  
  Hope this helps. Brings me back to when I was researching all this for myself.
  
  My setup isn't the best, but it's the bare minimum that I was comfortable with. Two years later and I'm still using the same stuff except I got a spray booth and respirator since I'm using lacquers now
  
  /u/MacdougalLi /u/xhui /u/arkanoid2520
  
  Edit: my bad, this doesn't factor into the paint, alligator clips, and various topcoats. Note that I had all of the former because I started out with spray cans. The cost will probably go up to $170 - $200 depending on what you also get