Spraying Acrylic Paint (without a compressor)

General Discussion
1

Can anyone give any tips for spraying acrylics without having a compressor. I saw one recent post about a Preval Sprayer that looks pretty good but are there are systems? Is there a way to use a true Airbrush with some type of bottled air source?

I was looking on Harbor Freight but didn’t see anything other than this refillable can thing. Not sure it looks like it would really work well though.

Thanks,

Herb Bean

2

Howzit HerbB, my first airbrush was a testors that used canned air. It worked but canned air is not cheap, about $8.00 a can, the refillable can would definately save you money. Aloha, Kokua

3

Thanks Kokua,

I willl probably just invest in a decent airbrush and use canned air (or small fillable tank). Looking around the web, I see that there are other guns that seem to fall under the name ‘detail spraygun’. I’m mostly looking to spray repairs and stripes. What type of sprayer would more apply to what I’m doing?

Do you have a recomendations - are any models more beginner-friendly - not so much concerned about the price.

Thanks,

Herb B.

4

Howzit HerbB, plenty of options here, Fiberglass Hawaii has a nice selection of sprayers. They sell the Astra brand touch-up gun which is a Binks copy that works really good but a lot cheaper. Your options are gravity feed or syphon feed, I have both and I use the one that works best for the job at hand. The gravity feed is a HVLP that works good for small detail ( pin lines and accents), the syphon feed will do whole boards or small detail. I’m getting ready to buy a new gravity feed which is bigger with a larger sized needle that will do whole boards even better. Do some research, I believe the larger rig I’m going to buy will do it all, whole boards and small detail. Once you get a sprayer it will take a while to get your settings the way you want so plan on doing some test spraying. Aloha,Kokua

5

Before I got a compressor I used a 5 gal air tank and added a regulator and filter (all from Home Depot). The tank had a tire-type valve and you could fill it at a gas station. You can also fill it with those 12V inflation compressors that plug into the lighter socket of your car. Some airbrushers use a Co2 tank and get it filled at a welding supply. Harbor Freight sells a real cheap airbrush compressor, but with no tank it’s on all the time and noisey.