Did I mention that the desk cost $20. . . .yes, very fortunate. I couldn't believe that I got it for that price. I paid the guy cash on the spot and told him I would pick it up in a few hours. I was so afraid that someone was gonna tell me no way when I picked it up. and it has been well cared for. Really well.

MY WIFE WOULD LITERALLY SHOOT ME IF I TRIED THAT IN THE KITCHEN!

Thanks Tom and Damon.

I'll definately think about getting one now. It'll be a lot better than spraying cleaner into a rag to soak it up and sparying grafitti on the wall to test start the flow.

I like the look of your booth too Damon. Gives me some ideas as I'd like to replace my dodgie one. It was only ever built as an intrum but has lasted 5 years so far. Could you post some pics once you get the blower fitted? I've watched badgrendals on youtube make his but it was a little bit above my skills when it came to the wiring. Yours is very practical and simpistic plus well inside my skill range.

Man....$20. Awesome score. I so hate you right now .

Cheers, John

I'd hate me too, no worries. I have a friend that I am going to bribe with beers to do my wiring as I am an idiot when it come to things like that. I can fake some of the handi work/carpentry (poorly) but electrical is WAY beyond my safe zone. I am hoping that i can have him hook up a switch box with a couple of extra outlets so that I can use the booth as a proper photo booth too. I am sure I can find a few lights that can be clipped on and some filters too.
I will say the the booth was made from spare wood that I bought for another project and has cost me less than $100 total all inclusive so far and I am sure even less than that. Its not pretty but it works and I did not spend too much money which leaves more cash left for that M1070 when it comes out. . . . he he.

I've been tardy on my own thread Thanks for keeping it going folks. I haven't sat down at my bench/booth in well over a month. Summer time and all the fun to be had outdoors makes it difficult. Hoping to get back at it soon though. I've got projects I need to get back to. Hope everybody is having a great summer...
"Q"

Better late than never, I say...So here's my setup:

My weapons of choice: An Iwata Revolution CR (left) and an Iwata HP-CH (right). I use the HP_CH more than the Revolution and it's simply amazing to work with.
I also have a Paache H that I use exclusively with metallic paints and for large surfaces (i.e. ship hulls, etc).





This is my humble compressor. It's fairly quiet when running and works nicely. I'd still like to get one of those SilentAire compressors one day but this will have to do in the interim.





This is my homemade paint rack. I made it large enough to hold most of the paints I currently have (not many). Very convenient and sturdy.



Lastly, this is a general shot of the painting bench. I do all painting and finishing on this area. The Ottlite lamps I purchased have greatly increased my ability to see true colors. Great stuff!





Hope you all like it.

Rob

Severely tardy on my own thread.....again Very nice set up Rob. I bought an Ott Lite recently and loved it for the short time I had it. It quit working on me one day and I can seem to get it going again. Two new bulbs, but it still won't work. Would love to get that fixed as it truly made a huge difference. Thanks for sharing your set up pics. "Q"

My old compressor that died a few years ago, but now lives in someone elses work shop:
First two-my spraybooth:


Next my everyday compressor:

next, my back up compressor, incase the other one craps out and needs repairs

Next my four mainly used airbrushes:


There's an Iwata HP-B, an H&S Infinity, a Badger 150 (with medium head set up-for gloss and flat finishes) and my old work horse a Badger 100G with a fine head set up.
I've got a few others tucked away in their boxes, and this is the newest one I picked up at an AMPS show:

For the price Badger was selling them for that day, I would have been a fool not to pick one up. (plus they threw in a set of their acrylic paints fpr armor.)

i personally just use an empty gatorade bottle or an empty thinner bottle (the bulk sizes) when cleaning my airbrush. i absolutely hate to waste material so i have reused thinner that i have sprayed through the brush into the bottles.

But, if you do, the more you run that same thinner through over time, the more paint that it will have in it making it a very bad choice as a cleaner to spray through. Once it comes to that point, i still use it, but mainly for cleaning up. if you try to run it through an AB once it has too much paint, it will clog the nozzle and become more of a hinderance when simply trying to clean the AB. once it cloggs it, then you have to remove the tip and try to get it out of that before spraying more through.

Rob;
I have paint shelf envy. . . . .damn that is sweet. Makes me feel so inadequate. . .
But I do have pics of the new booth:











I now have a dual connection for the brushes so that I do not have to keep unhooking one hose to hook up the other. I just need to get a quick release for the Paasches. . . .

Here is my set up, Aztek compressor with tank, Paasche VL and Iwata CR. I got the T and moisture trap and local hardware store. The top is a kitchen overhead unit with 110 CFM fan, I use a mess type filter and carbon filter vent out the back of the unit. I use mostly acryliics, but still where a mask, I am hoping to convince my wife to let me vent it outside, but need to punch a hole in concrete wall.

Hi Damon,

Thanks. Took me about 4 hours to get it all together. Got all of the wood pieces from Home Depot and it cost me at total of $40. It really does save lots of space and it's nice having all the paints right in front of me. Only wish it was bigger but...I'll make another one day when I get a bigger sized wall I can put it against.

Oh, and I'm now paint booth-envy! THAT is one nice booth! Don't have one as I don't have any way to vent the air out. One day, maybe...

Rob

Rob;
I loved your paint shelves so much I asked a friend to make me some just like them. Those are sweet. If I wasn't so mechanically challenged I would do it myself, but I suck at those things so he is the go to. Also, just found this out, that my desk is more commonly referred to as a "Tanker Desk'. Seriously, no kidding. Cheers.

Glad you can get someone to help, Damon. As I said, I wish I could have made it taller but because, as you can see from my pics, I don't have much wall space, I had to settle for a shorter one. If you happen to have more wall space I's suggest you make yours taller as you'll be able to store much more stuff on it.

By the way, here's where I got my inspiration for my paint rack:

http://www.florymodels.co.uk/site-news/

Click on the video and look toward the back of his workbench. That's the size I wanted to do mine but no can do now. I'll get it done one day though...

Please show pics of yours when you have finished.

Rob

Sorry if I revive an old thread, but after reading it, I felt that I needed to make a comment.
About nozzle sizes and model paint.
I have several micron airbrushes, as well as other small nozzle airbrushes. The microns doesn't react different to paint than other similar sized nozzle airbrushes. If anything, they are probably a bit more forgiving than many other airbrushes, since they have a better distribution of the airflow around the nozzle, and better polished needle than most brands.
The microns main advantage compared to other cheaper small nozzle airbrushes is in their ability to atomize paint at low pressure. This will give less overspray, and better ability to get close than less costly models.
Also, they are not more complicated than other airbrushes. But the parts are expensive, so they need to be cared for.

That is good to know, Magnus. I've been wanting to get one of the Microns for ages but, so far, it's a bit price-prohibited. Will get one someday though...

Rob

They are expensive. And as everything that is geared towards professionals, the gain in performance might not feel worth the increase in price. But for the enthusiast, that difference is everything.

My experience is that a lot of Micron buyers get disappointed. They have problems drawing thin lines with their airbrush, and believes that all problems will be solved if they get a high end airbrush. And then their new expensive toy doesn't help that much. Thing is that thin lines can be had from almost any airbrush. Its a question of cranking down the air pressure, getting close and thin the paint properly. From every airbrush, the paint comes out as a cone, starting as the same size as the nozzle. The angle of the cone might vary, depending on things like the needle and shape of the aircap and so on, but it is always coneshaped. There's no laser beam airbrushes.
So, painting at an inch with a 0.18mm Micron might give the same result as painting at half an inch with a Eclipse. It is a lot less expensive to get half an inch closer with the Eclipse than buying a micron. And to get the really thin lines, you might get as close as 1/4" or 1/8".
So, what's the gain of getting the Micron instead of a HP-B, that has almost the same size nozzle?
It's in the air distribution, and the trigger. The Microns has better distribution of the air over the nozzle. It comes into the nozzle chamber by three channels instead of the normal one. This is supposed to make the air flow more even across the nozzle. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. But they atomize paint very well, and I have no airbrushes that spray at lower pressure. So, something must be right. And the low pressure is the key. It makes close up work possible. With the Micron I can get close enough to risk damaging the needle.
The superb atomization also makes spraying at larger surfaces different. It is somewhat easier to get thin layers of good cover, since the paint is atomized better. And making things like shades and tones is easier, because of the better control.
The second thing is the trigger and airvalve. They are super smooth, which makes controlling the airbrush easier. If you want to get up close and spray minute detail, you really want that control. Nothing is more annoying than getting too much paint in the wrong moment.

Here's a couple of pictures of some of mine, to keep the thread on topic:







These are my Microns. Three Olympos made ones, one of each size, and an Iwata CM-B.
I prefere the Olympos made ones. Smoother, and something of a luxuary feel about them.