Regulator Recommendation

pmpski_1

Young Tutorling
Hi - I'm just starting out, and have everything ready to go this weekend. Airbrush, compressor, paint, stuff to paint on, a plan for what to start painting and practicing...But I want another regulator. I have one on the compressor, but the way the shop is set up, I'll be painting about 15-20 feet away from the compressor. So I want another that I can put right next to me where I'm painting.

I looked on Amazon and saw thousands of regulators, with reviews that are all over the place. So what do you, the experts, recommend? What works for you? I like the idea of a digital gauge, but it's not a requirement.

TIA!
 
so you are doing a remote regulator COOL ! .... I've just done one and its so much easier having the regulator handy rather than having to on the compressor regulator.
there is certainly nothing wrong with a digital gauge but the 'normal' ones are generally cheaper. mine was just an online cheapy.
Because I have the Grex Mac on the airline I leave the reg set at 30 (with trigger pressed) and just use the MAC valve to drop it down to where I need it, I don't use 'numbers' I go by feel until I have good spray.

The braided hose runs to the compressor at the back of the desk. (the silver frame can just be seen in this photo)

upload_2021-9-3_13-58-45.jpeg
 
Thanks! I saw the Grex Mac on Amazon, but I shied away from it because it doesn't have a gauge. I'm not experienced enough to immediately tell the difference between 20 and 30 psi (if I was turning it down from higher psi), so I think a gauge would still be helpful at this point.

Although, maybe it's a good idea to just go for it and learn how to do it by feel? I'm not opposed to that...The Grex Mac seemed to have a lot of favorable reviews due to how much you can adjust it.
 
With Mac valves it’s not a case of knowing what psi it’s spraying, it’s about adjusting the pressure so that your paint is spraying well and is controllable so you are spraying spiders (no control ) or at the ‘too low’ end, blobs and chunks. I have the Grex, H&S and Iwata. The Iwata is somewhere in the bottom of the drawer, rubbish compared to the Grex or H&S
 
With Mac valves it’s not a case of knowing what psi it’s spraying, it’s about adjusting the pressure so that your paint is spraying well and is controllable so you are spraying spiders (no control ) or at the ‘too low’ end, blobs and chunks. I have the Grex, H&S and Iwata. The Iwata is somewhere in the bottom of the drawer, rubbish compared to the Grex or H&S

Ok, sounds like something that I'll learn about when I start spraying.
 
I normally spray around 15-20 psi (set at the regulator) for spraying larger areas on my work. When I want to spray detail (eye highlight for example) I use the mac valve and drop the psi right down, do what I need to do then bring the psi back up to finish the rest of it
 
This is the one I use:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BPQDG62/

I've been very happy with it.

Note that it's a 0-30 PSI regulator instead of the normal 0-180 PSI. This lets me adjust in finer increments more easily. I use it to do all my fine tuning, rather than a MAC valve (I don't like adding length or chonk to the brush stem), and to that end I have it mounted to a steel bookend so I can move it around wherever I need.

*Edit- Was going to upload a picture, but apparently that feature has been disabled or something? How are people attaching pictures now?
 
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Nothing has changed, go to ‘edit>more options’
I did that. Didn't work. If I clicked the "image" toolbar icon, it only gave me the option to post a web link. If I tried to drag and drop, the text box highlighted red and said uploading wasn't allowed.

Seems to be working now though. I'm getting an "upload a file" button that I wasn't before. I had clicked the "more options" button the first time, looking high and low for anything that might be the right interface widget but didn't find anything.

I have no explanation for any of this. Best guess is a browser glitch maybe.
 
I did that. Didn't work. If I clicked the "image" toolbar icon, it only gave me the option to post a web link. If I tried to drag and drop, the text box highlighted red and said uploading wasn't allowed.

Seems to be working now though. I'm getting an "upload a file" button that I wasn't before. I had clicked the "more options" button the first time, looking high and low for anything that might be the right interface widget but didn't find anything. I have no explanation for any of this.
Don’t use the icons on the top tool bar. Just select ‘edit’ on your post then select ‘more options’ on the lower right.
 
Yeah, like I said, I did that at the time, and the "upload a file button" wasn't there. Probably a browser issue.
 
Screenshot_20220413-193128_Video Player.jpg Screenshot_20220413-193329_Video Player.jpg
so you are doing a remote regulator COOL ! .... I've just done one and its so much easier having the regulator handy rather than having to on the compressor regulator.
there is certainly nothing wrong with a digital gauge but the 'normal' ones are generally cheaper. mine was just an online cheapy.
Because I have the Grex Mac on the airline I leave the reg set at 30 (with trigger pressed) and just use the MAC valve to drop it down to where I need it, I don't use 'numbers' I go by feel until I have good spray.

The braided hose runs to the compressor at the back of the desk. (the silver frame can just be seen in this photo)

View attachment 66050
I purchased 5 of those regs for $5Aud each. I used 4 and gave 1 to a friend in need.
Because I paint lures 20 at a time it is not uncommon for me to have 3 or 4 brushes loaded and each hose has its own reg. Well while leak detecting with some soapy water I noticed a leak around that black hexagonal cap in the alloy body closest to the camera. So I figured I would nip it up a little with a shifter. Well it is made of plastic, I only bearly moved it. The plastic falling to pieces and shooting out like a shotgun with a steel spring chaser all bouncing of my forhead, Yes the system was charged. So keep a covered eye on those dam things
 
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One regulator to a manifold with individual air adjustment could have been an option as well,

upload_2022-4-13_21-9-8.png
 
I spotted one of those flow regulators from spar max on evil bay. Certainly a tidy solution I not a big fan of them the pressure are better solution for me.
 
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