Air Brush Recommendations

Hi All,

I need to get an airbrush to apply a product that will apply a bit thicker that regular paint. ( That product is Cermark, which is used in laser engraving).
What should I look for in a quality air brush?

Thanks
Chuck Burke

I've just started looking at air brushes, too, so this thread will be of interest to me as well!!

i have five airbrushes. I have 2 double action paasche airbrushes, 2 single action paasche airbrushes and 1 thayer and chandler double action airbrush.

thayer and chandler are nice but i do not like the tips that they come with. I think that they are way too easily damaged. especially if you are clutz like me.

passche is my airbrush of choice. i would not go with anything less than paasche. badger is low quality and i did not like the feel of them.

if you are going to be doing anything that requires writing or more control over the color flow then i think that you should look into a double action. the VL line i used when doing t-shirts and designs. if you want to go from a thick to thing line in a single stroke then the double action is the one you want. if not then the H line single action will suit you just fine. i use the H line to do model painting, mainly HO trains. if you can deal with a single thickness then just get the H line because the VL will take much practice. also the large tip for the H line will give you the ability to spray some pretty thick stuff.

good luck and if there are any other questions let me know. i do not use my brishes for the same thing that you do but i hope this helps.

PS i am willing to trade one of my airbrushes for an extra laser engraver if you guys want. :D :D

You can use just about any airbrush to spray Cermark. I have used the real cheap airbrush sold by Harbor Freight and Northen Tools, I think they were about $9.95 with the small glass bottle. I have also used the higher quality Pasche airbrushes, more expensive but these are also good for painting.

Cermark is best thinned with alcohol, make sure that you mix enough to do the whole job whenever you can. Cermark is also very difficult to assure that you have the proper coverage, even when applied too thin it can look like it is thick enough. A better quality airbrush might be helpfull if you can swing the price, expecially considering how expensive Cermark is to purchase. I just finished engraving two license trim plates, sprayed them both at the same time, both of them side by side, one was too thin so the engraving was very light. Back to the drawing board :)

I'm not an airbrush expert by any means, I was hopeing that someone else might jump in on this thread and share their experience.