A New Bit of Kit

 I’ve not put on a new piece of “plant” in a very long time, but circumstances recently compelled me to update. For something like 35 years, I’ve run my airbrush on a cylinder of compressed air, which has worked very well indeed, however complications with supply forced a rethink. When the yearly hire cost of the bottle crept up toward a dollar per day, I knew I needed a cheaper alternative.

I’ve resisted the idea of a compressor for years on two counts—the noise they’re liable to make, and the cost. I looked at units years ago and they were still substantially more expensive than bottle hire, but, lo and behold, there are more modest units designed specifically for the hobby/craft marketplace that are not so expensive, and, being meant for domestic or public-contact business applications, also run quietly.

It turns out I didn’t have to look far. This is the Artlogic AC1418, which is compact and tidy. I originally looked at the 1318 model, but on having a chat with the customer service folk at Airbrush Warehouse, I found the 1318 was not recommended for use with syphon-feed airbrushes, like my Paasche VL. The 1418 has a 3-litre collecting tank, which smooths the delivery, and this is certainly essential. The 1418 was on special, only $20 more than its smaller counterpart, so I was very much into pocket.

The unit weighs only 4.15kg, and is small—370 x 170 x 350mm. It neatly occupies the same floor space that the gas bottle used to, and is less obtrusive in the room (I can get to drawers without moving the cylinder now!) Operation is very straight forward, and the first thing that impressed me was how quiet the unit it. It generates only 47 dB with the pump running, which is no louder than a normal conversation!

Default setting on the pressure control valve was 35psi, which turned out to be way higher than I’ve been using all these years. My CIG gauges (yes, they’re so old they predate Australia’s Commonwealth Industrial Gasses concern being taken over by British Oxygen Corporation!) read in flow (litres per minute) rather than pressure, while the compressor reads in psi, and there is of course no objective way to convert between those measurements. A comfortable spraying pressure for my settup seems to be a touch under 20psi. I dialled it way down in the first session of experimentation, and will take it even lower for some applications.

The Paasche connector’s quarter-inch thread screwed straight onto the compressor outlet, and didn’t even need thread tape. I find the AC1418 easily delivers more power than my usual applications demand: I could see using the higher end (up to 60psi) for painting something big, a large-scale tank or battleship kit, or perhaps doing airbrush art in which I’m laying a solid base colour onto a large panel area—say a solid black over which to do spacescapes. I used to do paintings like that back in the 80s, with my old Badger 350—but I “blacked-up” the board with a 1” brush in those days!

I’ve done several sessions of work so far, and I must be using the unit well within its capacities. The instructions caution the user to let the compressor cool down before touching, but so far it’s only been mildly warm. Also, this is my first time working with a moisture trap, and I have yet to see any liquid collect in the trap chamber.

The price was very attractive. The unit plus courier costs came in at under Aus$200, and I’m very happy with that. I’m optimistic that this will be a new lease of life on my hobby and art. The next step is to renew my workshop lighting—the old strip light gave up the ghost years back, so it’s high time to get back to bright, daylight-type illumination for both working and photography, and the real kicker is that I can probably do it and still be into pocket against the savings on a single year’s tank hire . This blog could do with some serious revitalising, and soon I might just have a work flow worth talking about again!

Cheers, Mike Adamson