Single Action Airbrush for Spray Painting Metal Art

Single Action Airbrush for painting metal art

I like the freedom to mix paint of various colors and create my own unique hues and shades. The main problem is that normally leaves the painter to brushing paints only. Well there is another way and it is surprisingly easy and inexpensive. This is using single action model painting airbrushes to paint. These are capapble of painting lacquers, enamels, as well as the increasingly more available water based acrylic paints. They work by siphoning the paint through a nozzle where the air pressure atomizines the paint onto the substrate.

The airbrush

This single action airbrush is very simple by design. The model is this picture is a Badger 250. It consist of the main body which hooks up to the air supply and the cap for the bottle houses the paint tip. The paint tip has a tension spring to allow precise adjustment so the the desired amount of paint is pulled out the jar. When it is desired to paint, the paint of the correct consistency is loaded into the jar and the brush is screwed on and then the assembly is connected to the propellent or air compressor.

 Why I chose the Badger 250

Badger, the manufacturer of the Badger 250 refer to this as actually a mini spray gun as a opposed to being a airbrush for detail work. I bought it for the sole purpose of being able to control the amount of paint dispensed and getting better atomizing. These help to produce a more uniform coating that is hard to do with aerosol spray paints. In some instances, it might even be more economical and effective to decant spray apint into a bottle for use in the Badger 250 itself or for mixing with another color to come up with your own special hue.

Propellent cans

When starting out in airbrushing. Many hobbyist use propellent cans as the means to spray the paint. In fact many airbrush kits come with a small can of propellent to get you started. This is very helpfull as a good compressor for airbrushing can cost $150 or more.Some things you should know about the canned air. It is only for starting out or to use where electricity might not be available. In the long run they can be more expensive than the compressor as they do not last that long! Secondly, when you are not airbrushing, you MUST remove your propel regulator from the propellent bottle or all the propellent with seep out! Don’t ask me how I know this.

Airbrush Compressor

I really got tired of messing with canned propellent. I also realized it was going to be really expensive real quick. I finally got me a small oiless
compressor from TCP Global. It was only $79. Yeh it is not the quietest compressor., but right now I am only airbrushing to be able to mix and spray paint. I can appreciate what the finer tipped airbrushes can accomplish but they are not needed or in my budget right now.

Fading multiple colors together

Even though a single action airbrush does not have the precsion and control of its dual action cousins, it is still useful in sculpture and background painting work. A good example is this funky 3 tone candle holder. Three shades of blue where seemlessly faded into one another to create the gradual fade of colors. This is easier that using spray paint and the droplets from the airbrush are finer and the spray from the tip can be focused better.

Layered paint coatings for varied affects

Because you can control the flow, air pressure, and consistency while brushing, the finishing possibilities are endless. For example,this memphis style wall art.
It was primed then a silvered base coat was applied followed by transparent pearl colors. The gives metal art richness and depth.