SELECTING THE RIGHT AIRBRUSH

SINGLE ACTION airbrush has a trigger that controls the airflow only. A pre-set amount of liquid is sprayed when the trigger is depressed. You can only adjust the amount of fluid released by turning the liquid cap on the paint tip located at the front of the airbrush.

DUAL ACTION airbrush has a trigger which controls both air and color by pressing down for air and back for color. This trigger allows the artist to change the range of opacity and the width of the line easily, without stopping the spraying motion.

INTERNAL MIX means the air and paint mix inside the airbrush. Air and paint come together inside the head assembly to produce a thoroughly atomized fine point spray pattern.

EXTERNAL MIX means the air and paint mix outside the airbrush. Air and paint come together outside the head, or fluid assembly. External mix airbrushes produce a larger point spray pattern than internal mix airbrushes.

GRAVITY FEED AIRBRUSH is the choice of professionals for fine art in almost every Airbrushing operation. The Gravity feed requires much less air pressure to operate, as the paint is supplied to the air mix chamber by gravity, thus eliminating the high air pressures required to siphon up the paint materials from paint jars siphon feed units use. The finest of lines are acquired from an airbrush by using  the lowest possible air pressure settings, thus  making gravity feeds much superior for fine detail. This also makes the airbrush easier to clean, and you well have much less clogging problems. Most fine Gravity Feeds are Dual Action, Internal Mix.

AIRBRUSHES will convert liquid into a fine spray. Most models will perform this task to a standard that is way above the beginner's needs, so in most cases your choice of model will be determined by whichever style of paint cup suits your type of spraying. If you want to spray a ceiling, for instance, then you will need a model with a swivel side cup, so that the airbrush can point vertically, while the paint cup remains horizontal. If you plan on changing colors often, then consider a model with a removable bottle. These simply pull out of the airbrush body. If you are using tiny amounts of color, in nail-art for instance, then the smallest of paint reservoirs will be adequate. This has the added benefit of giving a clearer view of your work piece which is ideal for fine detail. One other consideration is the type of paint to be spayed. If you plan on using cellulose based paints, then you will require a model that has PTFE (Teflon) seals inside. These are resistant to aggressive solvents, whereas rubber seals are rapidly degraded, and fail leading to poor spray performance.

CHART below gives suggestions of which airbrush to use use for a particular application. Although the author of this chart feels that the airbrush listed for each application is the best choice for that application. Example; The Airbrush City AB-105-2 is suggested for Airbrush Tanning applications, but many other airbrushes will work well for applying tanning solutions.