Got some upgrades for airbrushing

[trekriffic]

I have a small hobby compressor I got at Harbor Freight some years ago for airbrushing. It works well and is fairly quiet; it came with a pressure gauge and moisture trap but the only way to regulate the air pressure was by pulling on a needle valve! Not the best method to be sure. So I saw this pressure regulator in the Micro-Mark catalog and sent away for it:

https://www.micromark.com/pressure-regul ... 11621.html

It comes with a 1/4 inch NPT fitting for attachment to the compressor but after it arrived I found it was too large to fit the smaller hole in my compressor so I placed a second order for this adapter part which should work (I hope):

https://www.micromark.com/air-line-adapt ... 11618.html

I should have the adapter part in a week or so and am looking forward to my new setup with the new pressure regulator. One of the reasons I got the new regulator was so I could dial down the air pressure for use with my new airbrush, the Neo for Iwata:

https://www.iwata-medea.com/products/iwa ... /neo-cn-2/

I was able to use a 50% off coupon at my local Michaels which saved me 60 bucks. Woohoo! Anyway, I got the gravity feed version. I already had a Paasche VL siphon feed airbrush. It's sort of like the Buick to the Neo's Miata. The VL has it's good side of course, it's durable and easy to clean but it's not really good at painting fine lines.The Neo is considered a beginner's brush but from reviews I've read it seems to be of decent quality for the money and you can paint lines as fine as a ballpoint pen. Apparently the Neo works best at 15-20 PSI (and can operate at pressure as low as 5 PSI) and my compressor tended to run at 25-30 PSI which is too high for fine detail work hence the need for the regulator upgrade. The only negatives I've heard about the Neo revolve around it being somewhat of a pain to clean and durability questions; however, since I only spray enamels I'm hoping it will be easier to maintain than if I blew acrylics thru it. I also don't airbrush very often so it's not like I will be wearing it out thru overuse; in fact, for general purpose spraying over large areas I'll probably still use the Paasche.

Anyway, just wanted to share my excitement with the rest of you. Anyone here who has used one have any opinions about the Neo?

[RockyD]

I do believe my benchtop compressor is probably the same HF one you have I also added a regulator (also from HF) and it has served me well thru several modeling and R/C projects.

As far as the Iwata neo its next on my "to buy" list, a friend of mine has a couple that he uses to paint polycarbonate R/C car and boat bodies he has done amazing work with that brush for a lot of the local clubs with no issues so I think you will be very pleased

[curt]

The VL can work for fine lines but you have to change tips and needles, thats why I have 2 of them. I also traded for an Iwata a few years ago but have yet to use it. Have fun and let us know how it goes

[trekriffic]

Well I got the regulator and found out the 1/4' BSP Male to Male connector included with it was too large to fit the 1/8" BSP opening in my compressor so I had to order this 1/4" to 1/8" adapter:
https://www.micromark.com/air-line-adapt ... 11618.html

So I got the adapter on Tuesday and screwed it into the compressor before attaching the regulator. Then I attached the Paasche airhose and fired it up. The pressure rose to 30 PSI, which was normal, but when I gave the adjusting knob a few turns nothing happened?!! WTF??? I kept turning the knob though and after about 8-10 turns the pressure started dropping. I suppose the regulator must ship with the valve all the way open so it takes a few turns before it closes enough to start regulating the flow. I was able to turn the pressure all the way down to zero! Nice! I can hardly wait to use the new Neo now but I have to wait for another adapter to arrive next week (I hope). Turns out the Paasche hose fitting is too small for the Neo so I bought am Iwata to Paasche airhose adapter from TAG Team Hobbies and mailed the payment in on Thursday. Once it arrives and I get the Neo hooked up I plan to spend some time practicing my fine lines on some scrap styrene until I get comfortable with it.

Regarding the Vl, it does have three different sized needles, but, in the past when I went with the smaller needle, it was still hard to control the flow since I could not get the air pressure down below 30 PSI and it's not easy to regulate the flow using just the trigger. No doubt if I did more airbrushing with the VL I would have gotten better at it but I think the Neo is really designed more for painting fine lines and small details; the needle size is much smaller in comparison to any of my Paasche needles.