Reddit mentions of California Air Tools CAT-1P1060S Light & Quiet Portable Air Compressor, Silver

Okay, that's a broad question you are asking.

First you need a brush. Get a double action. I recommend either the badger patriot 105, or the iwata neo for your first brush.

You need a compressor. I used a cheap one off amazon pretty well until I upgraded to a larger California air tools silent compressor.

You want a moisture trap as well, plus an air hose.

As far as paints go I really like the Vallejo model air and game air paints. The game air paints have very vibrant colors, whereas the model air line is more like real camo colors from WW2

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004INERK4/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1511452252&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=iwata+neo&dpPl=1&dpID=31GV4HFiqIL&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LYHYHEA/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511452308&sr=8-1-fkmr0&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=california+silent+compressor

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000BQO8W4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511452347&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=iwata+hose&dpPl=1&dpID=41K8ruY-CAL&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002SAO7QI/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1511452388&sr=8-11&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=1%2F4+to+1%2F8+npt

Sorry in advanced that this is so long! Tl;dr - your set up looks good overall.


Personally I would go with a cheaper compressor (One that has a tank) and spend the difference on a booth (You can get the exact same one as the Master Airbrush Brand on eBay for like $50 with the hose to blow out a window.) I went with this compressor. For one, it's cheaper, and two, it has a tank so it omits pulsing air. I ran into that problem with my old compressor. This will cause uneven spraying out of the airbrush. I'm sure for most people it's not a problem, and I know many that have that exact compressor you listed and like it. So ultimately, that's your decision. The downside to the compressor I listed is that you will need to get a hose, and adapters. I also bought another moisture trap for mine that has a regulator on it which required an extension piece I got from Lowe's. Another plus side to the compressor i have is that I can use it for other things too if needed like blowing up giant pool floaties and it's strong enough to put air in a car tire if I ever had to. It's fairly quiet and has an auto off switch, I live in an apartment and have never had any neighbors complain about it.


The cleaning kit, you'll need q-tips, microfiber pipe cleaners suited to clean out tobacco pipes, and dental picks like these. I bought the Iwata cleaning kit and those were the only two things I used from it. Waste of money imo. The cleaning solutions depends on what kind of paints you're using. I just use paint thinner for the most part because I already have to buy a bunch, not really gonna hurt to buy more to use it for cleaning my airbrush. But again, that's your decision. Also get some airbrush lube. I recommend Paasche lube because it doesn't gunk up and is a bit thinner than the iwata stuff. In total, I spent about $220 on my entire airbrush set up and I'm quite happy with it.


Ultimately, you go with what you want/like/budget. I'm sure you'll like the set up you have listed if you go with that, I just had to be pretty frugal about what I bought and what I needed, but wanted the best bang for my buck so I spent about 2 months researching the things I would need and want.

Buy from the source http://www.shoeboxcompressor.com/order/compressors/freedom10-shoebox.html.

Agree that you need a small compressor for the 1st stage, but many people into this sport already have one for some reason or another. I use this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYHYHEA and it's a great low cost garage compressor and 1st stage for the Shoebox.

There really are no pros of tankless compressor compared to one with a tank. A tankless one will run hotter and louder because it has to constantly run in order to maintain air pressure. The airflow is also more irregular which makes detail work with a airbrush much more annoying.

The first link is a airbrush ready compressor with a tank that should do what you need it to. The second is compressor that would need some fittings, hose, and moisture trap in order to work with airbrushing. The second one has the advantage of being a bigger tank and more horsepower so it would have to turn on for shorter amounts of time to fill the tank and you can go longer with the bigger tank before the compressor has to kick in again.

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-Model-TC-40T-Single-Piston/dp/B00WBT7PTW/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=airbrush+compressor&qid=1570806689&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.com/California-Air-Tools-CAT-1P1060S-Compressor/dp/B01LYHYHEA/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2HGLY5E1Q5YZ0&keywords=hitachi%2Bair%2Bcompressor&qid=1570807162&sprefix=hitachi%2Bair%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-6&th=1&psc=1

If you want quiet, give this one a try. If the size isn't big enough, they have larger sizes as well but their sound levels are great.

https://www.amazon.com/California-Air-Tools-CAT-1P1060S-Compressor/dp/B01LYHYHEA

This: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LYHYHEA?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_yo_pop_mb_pd_t2

This one is quieter. plus it has an air tank

Well, they didn't lie. It can create a pressure of up to 100 PSI and it can output up to 4 CFM.

However, what we need to know is how much throughput it can maintain at a given pressure level.

E.g. this one can do:

> 1.60 CFM @ 40 PSI
> 1.20 CFM @ 90 PSI

So, at 30 PSI, it can probably output around 1.8 CFM.

And this one can do:

> 3.00 CFM at 40 PSI
> 2.20 CFM at 90 PSI

Which means it would be an excellent choice.

Yeah, sounds like you've eliminated things down to a problem inside the compressor itself.

TBH those types of compressors are practically just repackaged aquarium pumps, and IMO aren't what anyone should use. Even when they work, they top out at such a rock-bottom low PSI and CFM that they're basically unusable outside of one or two VERY narrow use cases. For model airbrushing, you want something a little bit stronger.

The Iwata Ninja Jet is WAY overpriced for how inherently limited it is. Return it, and get something like this or this instead (I use the latter, and can vouch for it).

To be clear, this is the type of 120v air compressor you need to seat a bead.

You can get 12v car ones with a remote tank, like thisbut they’re designed to be permanently installed in your vehicle.

But, if you don’t have any other need for an air compressor, you’re probably better off with a pump designed for seating tubeless tires like this one.

With those prices you could even splurge and get one of the quiet air compressors at that price.