Airbrushing

[hires54]

:confused:My daughter has just bought an Airbrush and has been told she can use an inflated tube for the air pressure. We inflated a 13" tube, but when we got it home, it had burst. Any ideas appreciated. Some sites have said to have a rim. A compressor is a little out of her budget at present.

[Auld Bassoon]

:confused:My daughter has just bought an Airbrush and has been told she can use an inflated tube for the air pressure. We inflated a 13" tube, but when we got it home, it had burst. Any ideas appreciated. Some sites have said to have a rim. A compressor is a little out of her budget at present.

G'day Hires54

Depending on the type and manufacturer, you may be able to use an aerosol of compressed air - some of the less sophisticated airbrushes I've seen use this approach. Not sure how it's regulated though!

Cheers!

[hires54]

Yes, she had a can with the kit. It lasted about 10 mins of airbrushing. Gets a little exy at $12 a can.

[Auld Bassoon]

Yes, she had a can with the kit. It lasted about 10 mins of airbrushing. Gets a little exy at $12 a can.

Hmm, $12/can - that is expensive:mad:

However, if compressed air is required, and aerosols are out - might an electric tyre inflator type of gizmo work - guessing wildly here (what Engineers call a WAG), otherwise an el cheapo compressor might have to find its way onto the pressie list! (BTW I have just such an el cheapo GMC 40l 1/2hp compressor - around $99 at the local Bungoes - and it's still going strong a year+ after purchase, used for some very limited nail gun, spray gun, etc usage).

Cheers

PS You could always get a local pollie to sound off on his/her issues by blowing into a tube...

[hires54]

Yeah, might have to do some saving for the real thing.
from $200 upwards.
The pressie list has already been taken care of.
I have read about using the tyre, but I need more info.

[Chesand]

A tube on its own will not work as it will not produce the pressure you need.
Use a spare tyre with a tube in it - I picked up an old rim and had my local tyre man put a tube and old tyre on it and it works a treat. You can take it down to local servo and pump it up. Another way is to have 2 valves put in the rim with a tubeless tyre and then you can use a 12v compressor off the car cigarette lighter socket to maintain the pressure. The tyre acts as a reservoir in the same way as a compressor tank.
I used this method when I used to build and spray model railway wagons.
Hope this helps

[Auld Bassoon]

Makes sense!

[Ratbag Oz]

Great tip! Greenie for Chesand Yay!

Ratbag

[hires54]

Thanx for that info, that sounds better to me.
I'll give it a try.

[Chesand]

Thanks for the greenie Ratbag
I should have added that the simplest way to get started is to use the spare tyre of your car - pump it up to a higher pressure and let it run down.

[Cagey]

hires54, depending on how keen you are, you can get small diaphragm compressors for airbrushing, that dont have a tank. they are very cheap and will work fine for a beginner. either model shop or local airbrush classes may be able to help. if you have no luck there try Airbrush Venturi based in melbourne. sorry i dont have the number but he had some cheap stuff a few years back, and they are very small (size of a shoe box from memory), and reasonably quiet too.

[hires54]

Would I be able to use a 2hp/24 litre electric compressor with the tyre instead of a 12 volt?

[Dean]

I use an airbrush for plastic kit model painting. I have hooked it up to my 2HP 24L compressor and it works fine off that, with pressure regulating down to around 20 PSI. Buying a $99 compressor will cost more to setup because you will need to buy a water trap/regulator and a couple of fittings which perhaps adds up to another $30-$40 minimum. Then you have the noise issue if you want to use it at night.

So, I went to Supercheap auto and they have a small airbrush compressor for $99 which is designed for airbrushes. Has no tank so it runs continuously as you spray but its rather quiet and I can use it no problem at any time of the night, even with the young ones asleep upstairs. Pretty much no further expense either, however, it is not as easy to regulate the pressure with this airbrush compressor as it doesnt really allow regulation, but it spits out about 30 PSI which works fine for me. You just adjust your paint consistentcy to match.

[Pauly]

hires54, I have seen tanks from k-mart (arlec brand I think) that you fill with compressed air as per your tyre tube. Like a compressor tank just without the compressor, you then connect your air brush to that.

I think they are about $30.00 don't quote me but.

regards pauly

[hires54]

Thanks for all the great ideas. Will be checking out all the options.
Keep 'em coming.