Which Airbrush should I choose?
You will need to consider the major factors in your requirements for an airbrush:
- What type of paint or fluid do you wish to spray?
- What detail or areas require spraying?
- What degree of instant control would you like?
- What are your future needs?
- What is your budget?
Our list of technical terms may help you to decide which airbrush to choose for your particular application. If you are unable to decide, ask someone with the appropriate knowledge or contact us.
When choosing your airbrush, you will want it to meet your current requirements and probably go beyond those as you progress and you’ll want something that is going to last for a long time. So we’re happy to offer as much assistance as we can until you’re completely satisfied that you’re making the right purchase.
Glossary of terms
The fluid is mixed with the air right at the tip of the head assembly inside the cap, and because the air passes all around the tip the fluid is thoroughly atomised to micro dot size.
The paint and air are mixed outside the airbrush as the air passes over the fluid tip. An external mix airbrush will produce a less atomised spray with a larger dot pattern, and is less capable of fine line work.
Airbrushes which when the trigger or button is depressed the air flow is turned on and a pre-set amount of fluid will be sprayed. The amount of fluid is controlled by turning, with the other hand, either a fluid tip or cone on external mix airbrushes, or a needle at the back of a handle on an internal mix airbrush.
Airbrushes on which the button or trigger controls both the air and the fluid. The trigger is pressed down for air and pulled back for fluid, the further you pull back on the trigger the more fluid is introduced. This type of action allows the user to change the width of line as well as the volume of paint and its coverage, all with one continuous finger movement.
Airbrushes which have cups or cut outs in the top of the body. Less air pressure is required as the fluid is dawn to the tip partly by gravity, and is particularly useful for finer and slower detail work.
Airbrushes which can have either cups or bottles plugged into the side which can rotate allowing the user to work at most angles. Allows fine detail work without the eye been obstructed by a cup on the top. Useful where many colour changes are required as colour can be kept in a bank of cups or bottles, or where a differing amount of quantities are used, from a few drops to large areas, by using different size containers.
Siphon feed airbrushes that use cups or bottles that plug in below the airbrush are also called ‘bottom-feed,’ ‘bottle-feed’ or ‘suction-feed’ airbrushes.
Bottom-feed airbrushes are particularly useful if you use large quantities of paint. The bottom-feed airbrushes have larger bottles available than the side-feed type.
The same advantages as side-feed of having a bank of pre-mixed colour bottles applies to the bottom-feed airbrush, although the angle of working is not quite as versatile as side-feed as the bottles are in a fixed position and cannot be rotated like side-feed bottles.