I would like to get my son an airbrushing kit. But I don't know anything about them. He lived with his mom and doesn't have access to an air compressor. What should I get for a soon to be 14 year old boy that is very artistic but not good at maintenance. I would prefer it be available on Amazon but that's not a deal breaker.

Check out Hobby Lobby if one's nearby. You can get ones that use small propellant cans, but you might quickly add the cost of those up to buying a tiny airbrush compressor. Michaels has some of the Testors kits, too. Note that I am talking about airbrushes for styrene plastic model kits. Airbrushes might be different for canvas art or other applications.

Good luck!

You can get them at Harbor Freight too.
These are generally not all that expensive.
The high dollar ones that the uber-pros use wouldn't be much help now anyway.
I use both single and double stage.
Single is like a mini-paint can output and the double stage you can control both the air and the paint flow when using but harder to use and perfect.
The latter is used for more fine detail like drawing and the single stage more for complete coverage.
Not expensive to get started.

I also use TCPGLOBAL as a site (also sell on Amazon)

LINK> https://tcpglobal.com/pages/category-airbrush

A decent brand is Badger and have units from low to mid to better quality.

Badger or Paasche. Look for double action, not single action.

I'd like one but I know nothing about what is what ... How they work or anything.

For a beginner, you will want a gravity feed style airbrush (the kind with a small paint cup on top). Personally, I would not use anything other than an Iwata. Even their low end airbrushes are fine quality and not all that expensive. If not Iwata, I have had success with a Paasche VL airbrush. Please, don't frustrate him with one of those that use propellant cans!! He really needs an air compressor to provide a consistent pressure airflow. There are some at the TCPGlobal link above that would be satisfactory for a beginner for under $50.

This Iwata would be perfect!
https://www.amazon.com/NEO-Gra...id=1573511343&sr=8-6

A compressor is a must. The propellant brushes are a waste.

You can get inexpensive compressors at Harbor Freight, although, based on my experience (not with HF, but cheap compressors), "buy once, cry once" is a much better path with compressors.

As far as the brush, I'd second a Badger. Probably the best bang for your buck. I use Iwata and Harder and Steenbeck, but the Badger Patriot is a great workhorse. I have a Paasche, my first brush, and it is OK for the money, but the Badger is a better bargain.

Double action brush all the way, gravity feed.

Don't worry about fancy coupling hoses, etc. Just a compressor and brush as far as peripherals at this point, though a stand to sit the brush on is a nice first add-on.

From there, worry about the following:

PRACTICE. Use paper and just do swirls and lines. Learn trigger control and air flow and paint flow. Learn distance from the surface.

THIN THOSE PAINTS. If you don't properly thin your paints, you'll hate an airbrush. It will clog or speckle or give otherwise poor results. Learning paint dilution is a bit of an art in and of itself.

STICK TO ACRYLICS. When just starting out, acrylics are the go-to. Non-toxic and easy to clean up with water and/or rubbing alcohol. Enamels generally spray well, but they're more toxic and harder to clean. Lacquers should be right out, unless you have a spray booth.

YOU CAN ALWAYS STRIP YOUR WORK. When stepping up to a model or miniature, you can always strip the paint off of it and start over, especially if you used acrylics. Soak the thing in Simple Green and go at it with a toothbrush and start fresh.

quote:

but not good at maintenance.

Something you'll have to work on with him. These thing don't like to work worth a darn unless they're kept scrupulously clean, and it needs to be done as soon as you're finished.

Thought I had a new Badger sitting unused in a box in the basement I could send your way, but of course now that I want to find it, it's vanished.

any thoughts on this kit?.

I am willing to spend more if it needed but would like to keep it under 250 if possible.

quote:

Originally posted by Apphunter:
any thoughts on this kit?.

I am willing to spend more if it needed but would like to keep it under 250 if possible.

It will work fine for a starter.

The compressor is on the small side but should work.
Harbor freight (for comparison) has the exact same compressor (dif name) for $69.

Since the kit is turn key.

quote:

Originally posted by zoom6zoom:

quote:

but not good at maintenance.

Something you'll have to work on with him. These thing don't like to work worth a darn unless they're kept scrupulously clean, and it needs to be done as soon as you're finished.

Thought I had a new Badger sitting unused in a box in the basement I could send your way, but of course now that I want to find it, it's vanished.

This.
You have to be religious with your cleaning regimen or the next time you go to use it, it will not work properly.

quote:

Double action brush all the way, gravity feed.

For art artwork for sure but I use an airbrush for Cerakote and also detailing using auto urethanes.
For those a siphon feed single action works well - in fact preferred.
I am not an "artist" so not sure how much of a benefit it is for art, I guess if you had a large single color background or something it might be a benefit.

CLEANING is imperative and if you can get behind do this religiously then you are in for disappointments and headaches.
Gotta strip it down and clean it all the time or suffer the consequences - you'll figure it out quick.

This kit is better:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001...dExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

A compressor with air tank is a much better setup. A compressor without a tank can cause sputtering and spitting which will ruin a paint job. No need for multiple brushes. This set includes a "stand" for the airbrush which is a must because you will need to set the airbrush aside at times.

I wouldn't dismiss a single action airbrush outright. I did this 1/48 scale model using one.



I think it is a good way to start off airbrushing, then, assuming he wants to stick with it, he can move up to a double action unit.