lovekraft Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 OK, got a place and a plan, and after weeks of stalking little old ladies for their retirement checks and stealing the neighborhood kids' lunch money, I've got a spray booth set up and a little cash to buy a spray rig, so here's my question: Is it smarter for me to get a Paasche H airbrush to use as an all-purpose tool for spraying bodies/necks, or would it make more sense for me to buy an automotive detail gun and hope that Santa brings me an airbrush. I've never airbrushed before, but I do have some experience with an auto gun (on cars, but how much different can it be?), and I'm planning on doing mostly solid color/ transparent finishes, but would like to be able to do bursts if I need to. I've read all of the tutorials several times, and I think I understand the basic differences/trade-offs with either choice, and I know that I'll eventually have to get a dual-action airbrush so I can do all that fancy stuff Jeremy does (yeah, I wish),but my current need involves a very young friend who carved his (now ex) girlfriend's name into the top of his guitar, and wants me to refinish it for him. I spose I could "re-ranch" it, but I've grown to hate rattle-cans, so I'd like to do it right. Any ideas, anybody? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 I go with the auto touchup gun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted October 29, 2003 Report Share Posted October 29, 2003 I have 3 (pint/door jamb) touch up guns, and 2 different types of airbrushes. But over time, I have really started to use a very basic and inexpensive pint gun (the Campbell/Hausfeld $40.00 Home Depot special) as my primary gun to do almost everything, and the $80.00 Sharpe with it's finer tip for everything else. What I'm trying to say is that I've made that one gun versatile enough to be able to do almost anything I need it to now, I've almost completely stopped using the airbrush lately... I have learned different 'bursting techniques that allow me to use just that gun to do almost anything. Almost. Learning to vary the fan pattern and gun pressure goes a looong way. If the rain lets up around here, I'll take a shot of my spray rig, mine has got to be the cheapest thing going, but I've used nothing but it for 8 years now. I use a propane gas grill container (free) and a 1/4 hp compressor (under $100.00 I think) a few line driers, and a $40.00 gun primarily. Top that for cheapness! PS, there is a bit of danger to using a propane container so I'm told, but I don't take it over 70psi at any time, and I keep the moisture down to a bare minimum, the 2 danger points of such a system is having the propane tank blow up in your face from too much pressure (i've been told they hold about 130 psi comfortably, so I should be OK) and moisture buildup inside the tank can weaken it's inherant strength from internal rust. But you can buy a holding tank from Home Depot for $20.00 that is the proper deal, I just have no reason to go buy one. If I had to do it over, I'd probably opt for the compressor/holding tank all coupled into one portable unit, but this is the way I started out, and it's still working fine... Get a pint gun as your starter gun, not an airbrush! I believe the Badger pint gun has different tips, I think it's $200.00??? but with different sized tips (and if you don't mind changing tips...I do, I'd rather use 2 guns) then that one gun would really cover almost everything. You could go from laying fat clearcoats to very fine airbrush quality mists. I consider having to change tips a pain in the arse tho...for the same money, you could buy the C-H and Sharpe guns and be set too... Again, I have stopped using my airbrush almost completely now and I'm getting fantastic 'bursts with the pint guns. I think my point here is that lots of fancy equipment can, to some point, make up for lack of good technique. But once you get enough experience, you don't need as much equipment. Analogy = Jimi Hendrix could make a $20.00 Sears Special sound good, while I see lots of people spending thousands of dollars on gear and they still suck. It ain't the equipment, it's learning to use what you got to it's fullest potential that really counts. Spend the time learning to use that one pint gun and all that it can do, you'll be surprised how much you can do with it. JMO... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted October 29, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2003 Thanks, guys, that's more or less the way I was leaning, just looking for some confirmation. Drak, I used to fill propane tanks for a living, and i know for a fact they'll take 100psi or better, cuz the owner always overfilled his RV tank for football games, every weekend. The only thing I would worry about is using a tank that hadn't been purged of the propane. Rust is an issue, but even industrial compressor tanks rust out eventually. Your setup sounds ideal, and the price is right! Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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