Air Brush Propellent

From the name of the tool, alone, you get the point that some kind of "air" is needed for an airbrush to work. And yet, from what I read in Yahoo Answers, it seems to be one of the most neglected topics. It appears, to most novices, that the propellant sources are limited to the cans of compressed propellent or some kind of compressor. And, regarding compressors, many think only of those noisy garage compressors one can pick up at the hardware store.

There ARE more choices. Each will be appropriate for particular application and the individual artists. There is no right or wrong choice. Your selection will depend on what you need and how much you can afford.

CANNED AIR

First, regarding those cans of compressed air that are sold in most art and craft stores, and often come included with airbrush kits: They are fine and a good way to explore what a new airbrush can do. With minimal expense and fuss, a beginner can start spraying right away and begin to get the feel of the tool. I wrote quite a bit about these in my previous post. I also described the serious problems with the continued use of these cans. Today's post will discuss alternatives to these.

GARAGE COMPRESSORS

Whan I discovered the problems with canned air, I began research and experimentation with other sources of propellent. One direction, and the one I tried first was to get an inexpensive, (relatively) garage compressor from an auto parts store. It was a name brand (Campbell Hausfield) and had the features that I thought were appropriate for my airbrush. While it was capable of generating over 100 psi, it had the capability to be dialed down to the ten to fifteen psi range in which my airbrush would typically operate.

I took it home, bought and fitted the adapters, plugged it in and found that it raised a heluva racket. It was just too noisy to run indoors. Even in the confines of my open garage, the acoustics were such that it actually hurt my ears. It wasn't exactly condusive to creative artwork. I eventually found that the noise could be made tolerable by working it in my backyard while I wore earplugs. It wasn't a perfect solution, but, it allowed me to gain valuable experience and practice in using the airbrush and it's techinques. Besides the noise, there was another issue. With each stroke of the compressor's piston, it would drive a pulse of air through the hose and out the tip of the brush. These pulses could be visibly detected in the spray pattern as a thicker, more dense application of ink. It was particulary noticeable at lower pressures and in drawing the thinnest lines. Every artist wants control of his medium and I wasn't getting the control I needed at the most critical times.

I did some further research and spoke with other airbrush artists to learn about alternatives and solutions to the noise issue. One was to get a tank in which to store the air compressed by the machine. The compressor only needs to run long enough to fill the tank to capacity, and then the airbrush could oprate from the tank. A hundred pounds of pressure, crammed into a ten gallon tank provides HOURS of airbrush time. The couple of artists I know that went this route swear that it works well for them. However, before I made this addition I went another direction.

Costs associated wth this solution: About $100 for the compressor, $50 for the ten gallon air tank, about $5 in brass fittings and adaptors.

AIRBRUSH COMPRESSORS

There ARE compressors made just for artist's airbrush applications. They plug into an electrical outlet, sit on the desk or drawing table and are relatively quiet. Not to say they are silent, but more like someone operating a jack hammer ... two or three blocks away. Really, not a bad choice for using indoors, in a studio setting. But, I have to say that I don't have any personal experience with these, other than what I learned when researching my first airbrush tools. Some pros use them. These compressors are not hard to find. Any craft store that sells airbrushes and kits will have one or two of these models from which to choose. Same with any online source. But, since I don't know much about them, I'll leave it up to you to research and learn about various makers, costs and features on them.

For my application, these desktop compressors were not the way I needed to go.

COMPRESSED GAS

My intended use for the airbrush was to go in business, making custom airbrushed tee shirts and craft fairs, art and music festivals and holiday boutiques. Many of these events, particularly the outdoor ones, don't have electricity available at the booths. More and more, larger tanks of compressed propellent were beginning to look attractive. Among the pros I spoke to, their two most popular choices were nitrogen and CO2. Neither gas is toxic, except when they replace the oxygen in the air you breathe. But, since the safe operation of ANY kind of spray gun requires a well ventilated space to work in, these gases present no health hazzard.

They liked compressed nitrogen because there was no moisture in the tanks. Moisture in the propellent is a bad thing. It can momenarily thin the mixture of ink, changing the color and texture of the spray.

But I decided that, for my purposes, compressed CO2 was the way to go. Partly because of the cost, but, mostly, because CO2 is so readily available. I would use the same tanks and refill sources that are used by restaurants, bars and other businesses that dispense carbonated bevereges. Many welding supply shops also do CO2 refills. And moisture isn't an issue because, spraying on tee shirt fabric is more forgiving than working on paper. So, I purchased a tank, a two stage compressed gas regulator, (measures the pressure in the tank and the pressure at the output) and the fittings and adaptors to make it work with my set up. Make no mistake. The tank is heavy, but can be carried by hand. (weighs about 40 pounds) But, because the booth set up at the various fairs and festivals could vary, I would need a moving dolly to carry all my gear and booth parts anyway. For those of you who'd work from home or a studio, you'd only have to move the tank to get it refilled.

The great thing about my set up was that a refill of CO2 cost less than $20 and a tank would last about a year of weekend festivals and working at home to fill mail ordered shirts.

Total costs included: about $ 100 for the tank (used), about $50 for the regulator (new), and less than $10 for fittings and adaptors.

ON THE CHEAP

While working those fairs and festivals, I got plenty of opportunities to see, work with and observe what others in the same situation did. One of the most clever set ups was a guy who bought a used auto tire and rim from a junkyard and adaptors to fit his brush. He got his refills either free or for a quarter at a gas station. One fill up of air would last him a weekend.

So, what you might want or need for a propellent source will depend on your individual preferences and situation. Look around. Do some research. Ask questions and be creative. Above all, have fun!

luv,
vince