EngineerJeff Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 (edited) An airbrush is a tool, and just like a hammer or a drill, it requires practice to go from beginner to journeyman, proficient, master.. No one learned to swim by just looking at the water. You gotta jump in! :) :hint Watch videos on YouTube. Listen to what people are saying, let it bounce around in your noggin, try some things, and formulate what works best for you. There are lots of "experts" out there and some general practices to using an airbrush/compressor, but figuring out what "clicks" for you is the trick. Most importantly, have fun!! Edited November 2, 2015 by EngineerJeff 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malynor Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 Feeling just a bit frustrated. The badger airbrush hose fits the airbrush fine... But the other end doesn't fit the compressor. I hit both the local hardware stores, but apparently the smaller size connection of the compressor isn't standard, and I couldn't find anything that would reduce the badger hose down to the right size. I know the board rules don't allow linking to the pages with purchase buttons, so an Amazon link is a no go, but does anyone know what these sizes are even called so I can find the right adaptor? (Either from the original small size blue hose to the airbrush, or the bigger badger hose to the smaller compressor size.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heisler Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 (edited) Check Chicago Airbrush Supply you should be able to get the right adapter from them. What brand and model is the compressor? Edited November 2, 2015 by Heisler 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malynor Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 (edited) It's a "Pro Model AS186". According to the Amazon reviews (which I only read now...) on the badger hose, it needs a 1/4" to 1/8" adaptor to fit Master and TC air compressors, which from a quick google image search appear to be the same as mine (although I can't really tell the size of the dooflicker bit where the hose screws on). I found a "Master Airbrush® Brand 1/4" Male X 1/8" Female Fitting/adaptor for the Tc Air Compressor" on Amazon, which looks like it'd thread onto the compressor's dooflicker bit, and let the badger hose thread onto it. It's only $5 but shipping to Canada is $30, and it'd take over a week to get here. I'll check Chicago airbrush supply next. And I was planning on checking Michaels and Home Depot tomorrow (I work right beside both). Edit to add: Assuming that's the right adaptor I need, Chicago airbrush supply has it for $2.50 but won't ship it to Canada. (They'll charge me a penny to pick it up in store though). Edited November 2, 2015 by Malynor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heisler Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 (edited) Michael's is more likely to have it than Home Depot since they do carry airbrush supplies and I'm not sure that Home Depot does. Harbor Freight is likely to have it as they do sell airbrushes, airbrush compressors and a few other supplies. Other mail order options are TCP Global unless that was the $30 shipping option that you had already mentioned. Edited November 3, 2015 by Heisler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malynor Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 (edited) There's no Harbour Frieght in Canada (or at least on the Atlantic coast), I'll look into seeing if they'll ship here. TCP Global was the company selling through Amazon with $30 shipping. Edited: Harbour Freight doesn't appear to have the right adaptor, and they don't have international shipping prices online, they get someone to look it up and email you the shipping cost. Edited November 3, 2015 by Malynor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malynor Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Do airbrush hoses and connectors use NPT threading? (National Pipe Thread) I was looking up airbrushes on PrincessAuto (they sell almost everything), and they had an airbrush kit that came with an 1/4" to 1/8" NPT adaptor that looks suspiciously like what I want. Searched for it separately, and they have it in their hydraulics section... The price, and shipping costs, aren't bad at all, but I have no idea if it's the one I want.. I'll post a picture of it, hopefully that doesn't violate board rules (if it does, I'll remove it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malynor Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 This whole ordeal makes me realize how much I absolutely loathe "not knowing". And poor instruction manuals. My compressor has a 1/8" connector, but it doesn't say if it's BSP or NPT. And seriously, it's the largest 1/8 of an inch I've ever seen - I felt for sure that the 1/4" labeled on the badger hose would fit it (and that 1/4" is pretty damned close to 1/2" IMO), and that's not listed as either BSP or NPT either... There's adaptors that go back and forth between them, but I don't know which way I need to go. Although slightly crazy is looking like a decent option... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willen Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 (edited) So, with a quick glance online, it looks like your compressor is fitted with the mostly-global standard Iwatta connector. Only Iwatta and Paasche differ from it it seems. I found this in another forum I usually check for airbrush stuff: "Badger airbrush uses metric M-5 size thread. I heard the latest Badger Krome comes with an adaptor for the Iwata hose. I am not sure what the Aztek and Paasche size are. Most airbrush compressor has 1/4" BSP female output fitted with a male-male connector. The Iwata airhose works in that case. A cheap generic airhose from Harbor Freight also fits." But also this: "Compressors and regulators use 1/4" NPT connectors. I'm sure there are a few exceptions, but not many. Iwata, Harder & Steenbeck, Grex etc use 1/8" NPT at the airbrush. Iwata and Grex hoses use 1/4" at the compressor side and 1/8" at the airbrush side." So it looks your compressor is 1/4", of course, but the sources cite different standards. I would assume because the standard is Asian, it is more probably BSP (since American standards are mostly weird and not widely used other than in the US Now, your hose... no idea what kind of end fitting it has. See above the claim about a metric M5 (weird), but I think it refers to the airbrush end of the hose, not the compressor. Also, see this from a different source: "With airbrushes, the connector may seem to engage if you screw a BSP female hose onto a male NPT pipe, because the BSP connectors tend to be shallow, and may only engage the first three threads. That’s not enough for the difference in thread pitch to be apparent. A 1/4†NPT fitting needs to be about 0.4 inches (10 mm) deep to properly seal with a metal-on-metal connection. This, incidentally, is why Badger hoses don’t have O-ring seals on the compressor end; they don’t need them since they use correctly-sized NPT fittings." "According to online information, the majority of airbrush compressors appear to use 1/4†BSP male connections as their output. This includes Iwata, Harder & Steenbeck, and Grex. Sparmax compressors use a 1/8†BSP male fitting.Badger compressors are said to use a 1/4†NPT male fitting, however I believe this is actually a 1/4†NPSM male fitting (see the Standards page for further detail). NPT could be read as shorthand for this, but technically it isn’t correct since NPT is tapered and NPSM is not." There is a lot more in that very interesting website, which I hadn't come across before. I will send you the link by PM. Edit: to remove commerce links that got copy/pasted over, sorry. Edited November 3, 2015 by Willen 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnjeeps Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I have this same compressor and also had to buy an adapter. DON'T go to your harware store for an adapter they won't work. The thread style is British pipe thread or something like that. NPT or compression fittings won't work propperly. I went to chicago airbrush supply (helps that its a 20 min drive from the house) and ordered everything I needed. The adapter was around $10 and was made by Iwata. You could probably find the Iwata adapter on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malynor Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Thanks Willen, That link gave me exactly the information I needed. You're a superstar. I've found a 1/8" Female BSP (to connect to my non-American compressor) to 1/4" Male NPT (which is actually an NPSM since it's not tapered) (that my American Badger airhose will connect to) Adaptor on amazon.ca that I can have here by Thursday. Only a few more days of waiting. I hate waiting. But at least this time I think (and hope) the waiting will be done with. On to the AIRBRUSHING! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malynor Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 (edited) The adaptor came yesterday. It fits, and with a little wrench tightening, is leak free. I sprayed some water around the kitchen last night, and I'm all set to get some airbrush learning this weekend. I'd like to thank everyone in the thread that helped me out with my ignorance. You guys are the reason I come here. Edited November 6, 2015 by Malynor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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