Need recommendations for airbrush compressor.

[customline]

The title says it all, folks. I'm upgrading my airbrush setup and I want a compressor that is equipped with a good regulator and moisture trap. At one point I used a small pancake job that I bought at Harbor Freight. The compressor is good but the regulator didn't last long. Then I got a cheap airbrush compressor I found on ebay and that regulator doesn't work well. If you have an airbrush compressor that has worked well for a few years or if you know of a good regulator that can replace these cheap-ass regulators that come with "budget" compressors, I would love to hear about it. Thanks.

[NOBLNG]

I have a huge compressor in my garage. The regulator that I use is just a cheap one from Princes Auto. You could attach something like this near your paint booth and run a hose from your compressor to the regulator inlet. Then an adapter fitting from the regulator outlet to your airbrush hose.

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by NOBLNG

[MeatMan]

I bought my replacement regulator off Amazon that's worked of the last two years but it was Paasche and wouldn't fit your compressor but most name brand airbrush companies sell them so you might look there. Since you're upgrading your airbrush you might want to see if the brand you're buying sells regs.

Before going the reg route though, remove your old one and check for rust in the tank. If its present, get a whole new compressor.

[Dave G.]

Point Zero has a good regulator/water separator that you can mount near your work area and run compressor air to that, regulate. Then run your airbrush line from the regulator. This works great because it traps more moisture the further the separator is from the compressor. It gives the water cooling time to separate out of the air and be caught at the regulator.. I think that regulator is around $12-$14 at Amazon and comes with a bag full of adapter fittings.. The one I have is very well  made but it's a few years old, I'm assuming they are still made as well.

My compressor is an 8 gal portable on wheels, so not an airbrush compressor at all. It generates 135 psi and 4.5 cfm air flow. I don't just have airbrushes but also LVLP spray guns, as well as nail guns.

[Roadrunner]

I skipped the compressor thing many, many years ago, and now just use a 20lb CO2 tank.

[935k3]

Check out the noname compressors @spraygunner.com

[Dpate]

19 hours ago, 935k3 said:

Check out the noname compressors @spraygunner.com

That’s what I use and there great. 

[MeatMan]

21 minutes ago, Dpate said:

That’s what I use and there great. 

Ditto!

[Bills72sj]

On 9/25/2023 at 5:32 PM, Roadrunner said:

I skipped the compressor thing many, many years ago, and now just use a 20lb CO2 tank.

Do you ever have issues with moisture? I have CO2 available to me as well.

[customline]

On 9/25/2023 at 8:34 AM, NOBLNG said:

I have a huge compressor in my garage. The regulator that I use is just a cheap one from Princes Auto. You could attach something like this near your paint booth and run a hose from your compressor to the regulator inlet. Then an adapter fitting from the regulator outlet to your airbrush hose.

 

Your setup is kinda what I want to do. I have a big loud compressor that I can use and it's probably a lot better than the "airbrush compressor" I have. An external, stand alone, in-line regulator would be great as long as it delivers pressure accurately. The cheap ones all look like they are made by the same manufacturer ( like the one on my cheap "airbrush compressor"). Except the Iwata. But that's 3X the cost, which I'm OK with as long as it does what it's supposed to. When regulating to 15 psig you need accuracy. If a cheap one will perform properly, great. Thanks, Greg.

[customline]

On 9/25/2023 at 11:06 AM, Dave G. said:

Point Zero has a good regulator/water separator that you can mount near your work area and run compressor air to that, regulate. Then run your airbrush line from the regulator. This works great because it traps more moisture the further the separator is from the compressor. It gives the water cooling time to separate out of the air and be caught at the regulator.. I think that regulator is around $12-$14 at Amazon and comes with a bag full of adapter fittings.. The one I have is very well  made but it's a few years old, I'm assuming they are still made as well.

My compressor is an 8 gal portable on wheels, so not an airbrush compressor at all. It generates 135 psi and 4.5 cfm air flow. I don't just have airbrushes but also LVLP spray guns, as well as nail guns.

Is there a brand or some identification on yours that I can look for? Thanks for your input, Dave.

[customline]

On 9/25/2023 at 8:32 PM, Roadrunner said:

I skipped the compressor thing many, many years ago, and now just use a 20lb CO2 tank.

I'll bet dry nitrogen would work pretty well too. I wish I'd thought of that a few years ago.  Thanks, Kevin

[Roadrunner]

13 hours ago, Bills72sj said:

Do you ever have issues with moisture? I have CO2 available to me as well.

No, never.

38 minutes ago, customline said:

I'll bet dry nitrogen would work pretty well too. I wish I'd thought of that a few years ago.  Thanks, Kevin

I have no idea, but the CO2 works just great.

[customline]

On 9/26/2023 at 12:31 AM, 935k3 said:

Check out the noname compressors @spraygunner.com

OK, I did that. Do you have experience with their "No Name" brand products? They talk a good game. I just need some perspective. 

[Roadrunner]

The beauty of CO2, all the pressure you could ever need (and then some) perfectly quiet, and absolutely no moisture. One tank lasts my roommate  and myself an average of two years. Pressure regulator is a separate purchase, but will last for years.

[customline]

3 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

The beauty of CO2, all the pressure you could ever need (and then some) perfectly quiet, and absolutely no moisture. One tank lasts my roommate  and myself an average of two years. Pressure regulator is a separate purchase, but will last for years.

How much pressure on a full charge? 

[Roadrunner]

1 hour ago, customline said:

How much pressure on a full charge? 

The tank, when full, tops out at about 900psi. I think the pressure regulator limits that to about 50 or 60psi at the airbrush though, which is three times what's normally needed.. With this setup, you can also easily run a compact HVLP or LVLP spray gun, like the ones Iwata makes.

[Bills72sj]

11 hours ago, customline said:

I'll bet dry nitrogen would work pretty well too. I wish I'd thought of that a few years ago.  Thanks, Kevin

You get WAY, WAY more life out of a bottle of CO2 because it compresses into a liquid with many many times more molecules then Nitrogen which is still just compressed gas.

[Roadrunner]

I've known some chaps that have a compressor in their garage, and just hard pipe air lines to the interior spray area. If need be, you can also build a sound suppressor/barrier system around the compressor.

[Dave G.]

On 9/27/2023 at 2:24 PM, customline said:

Is there a brand or some identification on yours that I can look for? Thanks for your input, Dave.

Hah, I went to where I purchased mine and it's listed unavailable. But you could go to Point Zero's own site and see there what they have as well as suppliers. And that includes compressors. I do trust the name.

Now that said, at Amazon Paasche lists a regulator for not too bad a price. If you're gonna pipe in from a big compressor you want a regulator rated for 135 psi on the incoming side. Amazon has those as well. So does TCP Global, as they handle both airbrush air handling and bigger or more powerful compressor air management.

[customline]

3 hours ago, Dave G. said:

Hah, I went to where I purchased mine and it's listed unavailable. But you could go to Point Zero's own site and see there what they have as well as suppliers. And that includes compressors. I do trust the name.

Now that said, at Amazon Paasche lists a regulator for not too bad a price. If you're gonna pipe in from a big compressor you want a regulator rated for 135 psi on the incoming side. Amazon has those as well. So does TCP Global, as they handle both airbrush air handling and bigger or more powerful compressor air management.

I think that I will try my big compressor. It's oil-less but its close to 40 years old (it's a "Black Max" from Price Club) I can probably squeeze a few more years out of it with this sort of use. I'll just need a regulator at the booth. Hopefully,  I can regulate down at the compressor to the inlet pressure of the bench unit. Spray gunner has an Iwata regulator with moisture separator but it's 80 bucks. I may try a "Master" brand from Amazon since they all look like they came from the same factory anyway. For an airbrush, I decided on an Iwata Eclipse HC-CS (after much research) and maybe I'll get a break on Prime day or maybe Black Friday.  Thanks for your input, Dave ( and everyone else, too! )

[Dave G.]

55 minutes ago, customline said:

I think that I will try my big compressor. It's oil-less but its close to 40 years old (it's a "Black Max" from Price Club) I can probably squeeze a few more years out of it with this sort of use. I'll just need a regulator at the booth. Hopefully,  I can regulate down at the compressor to the inlet pressure of the bench unit. Spray gunner has an Iwata regulator with moisture separator but it's 80 bucks. I may try a "Master" brand from Amazon since they all look like they came from the same factory anyway. For an airbrush, I decided on an Iwata Eclipse HC-CS (after much research) and maybe I'll get a break on Prime day or maybe Black Friday.  Thanks for your input, Dave ( and everyone else, too! )

If you can get the compressor regulator output to 50 or 55 psi you should be fine. If not you could always add a secondary regulator that will. Most airbrush regulators should handle at least that 50psi or so on the input side. I can get my 8 gal noisy 125 psi compressor down to 0 if I want to, I output 25psi a lot though.

[customline]

23 hours ago, Dave G. said:

If you can get the compressor regulator output to 50 or 55 psi you should be fine. If not you could always add a secondary regulator that will. Most airbrush regulators should handle at least that 50psi or so on the input side. I can get my 8 gal noisy 125 psi compressor down to 0 if I want to, I output 25psi a lot though.

Yup. Gonna try this; no reason why it wouldn't work. Thanks, Dave.

[customline]

If anyone cares, I finally bought the Eclipse and a quick-connect and the pistol grip moisture trap. Yup, and also the cleaning pot and the painting turntable, all Iwata. The Master regulator was the deviation. Seemed good for the price. Now I need to create a proper workspace. Thanks to all!

[LDO]

I bought a regulator for Nitrogen tanks. The tanks get refilled to 3000psi. The regulator takes it down to 60psi max. I haven’t tried it out yet. I plan to fire it up next weekend for a tank model.