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mnmnmnmnm

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Hi,
Im a painter and currently studying art. A couple of years ago I bought a cheap airbrush equipment (total $100) but at the time I didnt have the patience to work up my skills and integrate the technique to my painting-style. I didnt take care of the airbrush and it broke very quickly.

However, now I want to try this again. But this time I want to buy a decent airbrush and learn what needs to be learned (cleaning etc) My ambition is to mix the airbrush technique with classic brush/painting on canvas. But I will get to that later when I have one.

Any tips what I should get to begin with? (i'm leaning towards iwata eclipse hp cs)
 
Welcome to the forum,The eclipse HP-CS is a great airbrush as you can do about everything with it from fine lines to covering of a panel! A lot of people on here use one as do I, most of the people I know have one and use it alot
 
Welcome aboard, @mnmnmnmnm ! Your intended choice for an airbrush, an Eclipse, is very good. Lots of folks here with Iwatas. I've barely started with Badgers, but also have an H&S Infinity. All pretty respectable.
Be sure to get a decent air compressor with an air tank. What sort depends on your and your neighbors' noise tolerance.
Several people do mixed techniques here (airbrush, pen/pencil, brush). What sort of paints are you planning on using?
 
Welcome aboard, @mnmnmnmnm ! Your intended choice for an airbrush, an Eclipse, is very good. Lots of folks here with Iwatas. I've barely started with Badgers, but also have an H&S Infinity. All pretty respectable.
Be sure to get a decent air compressor with an air tank. What sort depends on your and your neighbors' noise tolerance.
Several people do mixed techniques here (airbrush, pen/pencil, brush). What sort of paints are you planning on using?
Im actually not sure what compressor to buy. I've been thinking of buying this package https://hlstore.com/en/art-supplies/airbrush/highlights-airbrush-pack-set-b/ (its a swedish shop, the price is $570) which is like the cheapest Ive found in Sweden so far.
But I dont know if "iwata ninja jet" is a bad choice/too weak?

I dont know about which paint im about to use, some kind of ink or acrylic I guess?
Thanks for the quick response :D
 
Id probably skip that kit. An eclipse should run around $150. The kit includes about $80 worth of iwata accessories and wicked paint. So youre being charged like $290 for a ninja jet with pretty low capacity. $290 could buy you any number of choice silent compressors with a tank.
Plus the cleaning kit really has about $4 worth of useful items in it and I dont think an iwata spray pot is really superior to any generic spray pots.
 
Id like to give some useful suggestions other than , "not that kit" but I'm assuming you're in sweden. Best I could do is maybe link you some things out of US/UK and leave it to you to find similar items. If you'd like.
 
Id probably skip that kit. An eclipse should run around $150. The kit includes about $80 worth of iwata accessories and wicked paint. So youre being charged like $290 for a ninja jet with pretty low capacity. $290 could buy you any number of choice silent compressors with a tank.
Plus the cleaning kit really has about $4 worth of useful items in it and I dont think an iwata spray pot is really superior to any generic spray pots.

Id like to give some useful suggestions other than , "not that kit" but I'm assuming you're in sweden. Best I could do is maybe link you some things out of US/UK and leave it to you to find similar items. If you'd like.
That would be great. It was useful information actually. I was pretty much ready to buy that one but I wanted to check with experienced people first.
When you say low capacity regarding ninja jet, what are the difference between a good and bad compressor, generally?
 
Well, Ive never used a ninja jet but i can tell you this. The $50 chinese compressor (.7cfm, 1/6HP, 50psi) i did use has double the power, double the volume, and double the max psi and was inadequate . Just would barely get by slowly doing some smaller artwork.
At minimum something with a tank is what you need.
Something like this would get you by for basically any airbrushing you would ever want to do. (3cfm, 1HP, 5.5gal tank)
https://www.amazon.com/California-Air-Tools-5510SE-5-5-Gallon/dp/B00NOSCDPA
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ORAZIO-Sil...B-600W-9L-Garage-Workshop-Tools-/272252947520

Basically you want around double the CFM you will use. Average airbrush uses .5 (15lpm) average fan airbrush uses 1.1 (35lpm)
So 1-2 or 2-3 CFM or i guess around 50-90 lpm with a tank is good.
 
Welcome from New Zealand. Check out this video...
I would recommend a compressor with a tank.
 
I noticed you werent sure of the importance. The main reasons are these.
Most small compressors are only rated to run 50% of the time. So If your compressor cant output at least double what you need then it wont last very long. Plus the more it runs the hotter it gets and the more moisture it puts in your air. So with one thats barely adequate you get lots of moisture. With one thats even worse, you are actually stuck waiting on it.
So i would guess a ninja jet would be adequate to put a few details on a model or some fingernail stencils or something.
The cheapo aIrbrush compressors are ok if you are working very slowly on details and not for more than an hour or two at a time or so. The ones with a tank can take a little more than that.
Then you get into silent compressors with tanks or larger AB compressors that can go all day long, spray big backgrounds, whatever you want it to do. Heck even run a mini spray gun periodically. You're typical load is nothing to the compressor so even these off brands last ages.
 
I noticed you werent sure of the importance. The main reasons are these.
Most small compressors are only rated to run 50% of the time. So If your compressor cant output at least double what you need then it wont last very long. Plus the more it runs the hotter it gets and the more moisture it puts in your air. So with one thats barely adequate you get lots of moisture. With one thats even worse, you are actually stuck waiting on it.
So i would guess a ninja jet would be adequate to put a few details on a model or some fingernail stencils or something.
The cheapo aIrbrush compressors are ok if you are working very slowly on details and not for more than an hour or two at a time or so. The ones with a tank can take a little more than that.
Then you get into silent compressors with tanks or larger AB compressors that can go all day long, spray big backgrounds, whatever you want it to do. Heck even run a mini spray gun periodically. You're typical load is nothing to the compressor so even these off brands last ages.
Do I have to worry about hose etc not fitting? I dont have to buy iwata compressor to iwata airbrush?
The ebay link you sent me can ship to Sweden, and then I'll fix an iwata eclipse. But what more should I get? It is a lot of stuff I need to buy so thats why I thought it would be easiest to buy a "package-deal". But im glad you help me out :)
 
Do I have to worry about hose etc not fitting? I dont have to buy iwata compressor to iwata airbrush?
The ebay link you sent me can ship to Sweden, and then I'll fix an iwata eclipse. But what more should I get? It is a lot of stuff I need to buy so thats why I thought it would be easiest to buy a "package-deal". But im glad you help me out :)
You will probably need some fittings. Get an 1/8" BSP quick disconnect (male & female). The Iwata and many other airbrushes have 1/8 BSP air supply connections. Your compressor may have a 1/8" BSP male output or might have a 1/4" quick disconnect instead, depending on what you get. Air hoses may have 1/8 BSP on the airbrush side and 1/4 on the compressor side or be 1/8 on both ends.
No worries, adapters are easy to get in most cases.
 
Super! I will order everything during next week I think. The compressor in the ebay link was out of stock, but Im going to look for Orazio or something similar to it. It seems like it has a better price than the iwata ninja jet too?
So what else can you recommend? Some sort of cleaning and a good (long) hose I suppose?

Edit: I just saw your post. I will check on ebay tomorrow to see if I find what Im looking for, then I'll post here before I order
 
Paint-wise, Acrylic would be the way to go. While some people do use Urethanes, they require proper ventilation and organic vapor filtering respiration equipment. Createx paints are popular (Wicked/Illustration/AutoAir), but are a challenge for most beginners to thin properly for consistent results. Myself [especially] included. Golden High flow and Iwata Com-Art paints are much more friendly for starting out as I'm discovering.
 
I was gonna say.....I'd be a bad person to ask about paint for a beginner (i'll spray anything) but I'd probably go waterborne and if its just art on canvas or walls or indoors then createx illustration is nice and com-art. Golden I don't know about but it has a great reputation.
Etac and golden are the safest
I see no reason to use wicked if you arent doing multi-surface work.
To parrot others, whatever paint you decide on stick with it and learn it well, theres a lot of nuances to a paint system in an AB
 
The main issue I have with the ninja jet is there is no pressure gauge so you have no idea what your working pressure is, and it won’t be great !
The next step up in the iwata compressors (silver jet) has a max tank pressure of 40psi but when you attach an airbrush and press the trigger it will drop to ~22psi with the hp-cs. It has no tank so it will be constantly running which will burn it out quickly.

I’d suggest both the ninja and silver jet are aimed at nail art/cake decorating or those that do models.

Before you hand over cash for a air-compressor check in here and get opinions, it could save you some cash in the long run.
Iwata hp-cs, a great workhorse
Golden high flow or com-art, both great paints, they will get your confidence going.

One of our members has a great picture of adaptors etc so I’ll hunt it down
 
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