Hi! I'm looking to get into the airbrushing business. Can anyone give me some pointers on what I need to get started?
I actually saw someone a week ago airbrushing shirts in a park and I think it will be something I can offer my customers that they will like. I'm just trying to be versitile.
Bear Air is a great place to get stuff.
What kind of painting are you looking at doing?... T-shirts only or tags and other thing also?
BearAir.com (1800 bearair) has a VL 3 pen/gun only (No hose or bottles {not the KIT}) for around $35. so if you wanted to get a hole set; one for each color, that would be the way to go.
Then you will need to think of hoses or a single hose set-up.
You will also need to think about what type of paints you want to use.
I'm getting to be an old gun slinger as I have been painting since 86'.
Let me know if I can help you.
I've been airbrushing for 30 yrs and I can tell ya that it's something that you'll want to practice (a lot) before you jump in to offer it to your customers.
I agree that Iwata airbrushes are the way to go.
BearAir, however was cut from distributorship with Medea (Iwata) a few years back and so you can check with Dixie or Coast Airbrush.
Just remember, practice practice practice.
Also, the guys at Coast actually are well informed, airbrush artists themselves, so feel free to pick their brains, too.
Hi! I'm looking to get into the airbrushing business. Can anyone give me some pointers on what I need to get started?
I actually saw someone a week ago airbrushing shirts in a park and I think it will be something I can offer my customers that they will like. I'm just trying to be versitile.
Hello!
I used alot of Frisket and cardstock for my stencils and always used new blades when cutting. it is a must and will pay off with saving time.
What little stencil work I've done has been on duralar that has been pretty much the same gauge as transparency films except I can buy it at my local arts supply store for less than two dollars for a 2'x3' sheet.
I also use a stencil burner rather than cut with manual exacto blades because I find I can get cleaner and tighter results. Burners are really cheap. The first one I got was a multi purpose guy that also does wood burning, leather burning and light soldering. It works okay but I find that the second one I got was much better. It was around $15 rather than the $30 I spent on the first one and is solely intended for stencil cutting. It operates at a slightly lower temperature so I can get in closer without worrying about my stencil having a spot go insane-o-melt and ruin an hour's worth of cutting. Ugh. I found my current favorite one at Michaels with the rest of their stencil stuff.
Bear Air is a great place to get stuff.
What kind of painting are you looking at doing?... T-shirts only or tags and other thing also?
BearAir.com (1800 bearair) has a VL 3 pen/gun only (No hose or bottles {not the KIT}) for around $35. so if you wanted to get a hole set; one for each color, that would be the way to go.
Then you will need to think of hoses or a single hose set-up.
You will also need to think about what type of paints you want to use.
I'm getting to be an old gun slinger as I have been painting since 86'.
Let me know if I can help you.
Thanks for that link I see that they have great prices and list everything I would need.
I plan on starting with t-shirts, because I can't see myself knowing how to airbrush anything else.
What kind of tags do you mean?
I actually don't know what other than t-shirts that can be airbrushed. Can you throw me some ideas.
Put your money in a quality airbrush. Next up is a good comp. with a tank, regulator and water trap. Next is quality paint. Next is a heatpress for color setting. Most of the really good artists doing shirts are free handing. For auto work and helmets, cycles etc you will need to learn masking.
I use a vinyl cutter to cut stencils, takes about 20-30 seconds in most cases for a simple design, i think the most detailed one i did took about 2 minutes, but it was stupidly detailed! weeding takes from 1 minute to 10 minutes.
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trying to help, sometimes i don't!
I would suggest a Vega 2000 air Brush they are about $45 dollars from Dixie art. As far as paint goes I would only use the createx brand I have shirts and displays that are fifteen years old and still look good. As far as everybody doing freehand I beg to differ, take it from someone who has airbrushed for a living for more than twenty years, Stencils are your best friend they allow you to do jobs in a fraction of the time it takes to paint the same design freehand. If you are painting at fairs and events time is money I would rather do 50 stupid stencil designs a day than 10 really detailed free hand pieces. As far as what you can airbrush on If it will stand still long enough you can paint on it. I would recommend you look at the silent Air brand of compressors they are very quite so you can set up where ever. I hope this helps last but not least go to your local fair, flea market, etc... look for a guy set up airbrushing and ask him for lessons it is a very difficult tool to master.
__________________ Daniel Slatkin TroopFuel we support our troops.
Last edited by Daniel Slatkin; July 25th, 2008 at 10:51 AM.
Reason: typo
I would suggest a Vega 2000 air Brush they are about $45 dollars from Dixie art. As far as paint goes I would only use the createx brand I have shirts and displays that are fifteen years old and still look good. As far as everybody doing freehand I beg to differ, take it from someone who has airbrushed for a living for more than twenty years, Stencils are your best friend they allow you to do jobs in a fraction of the time it takes to paint the same design freehand. If you are painting at fairs and events time is money I would rather do 50 stupid stencil designs a day than 10 really detailed free hand pieces. As far as what you can airbrush on If it will stand still long enough you can paint on it. I would recommend you look at the silent Air brand of compressors they are very quite so you can set up where ever. I hope this helps last but not least go to your local fair, flea market, etc... look for a guy set up airbrushing and ask him for lessons it is a very difficult tool to master.
If you are talking hand held stencils and guides I agree. A full image stencil per customer one off cut and weeded or mylar cut I completely disagree.
Hand done lettering is an artform all by itself with an airbrush, calligraphy pen or bamboo ink brush.
An airbrush in the hands of real talent is a beautiful thing to watch come alive.
The pros can grab a photo and make it come alive without creating a stencil.
True but most pros. would not touch a T-Shirt with a ten foot pole. I retired from airbrushing after a very prosperous 25 years. As far as T-Shirts go I agree with you on the fact that if you can't hand letter with the best don't bother 90% of T-Shirt work is lettering. On the other hand if you spend lets say 25 min at a fair doing 1 hand brushed piece for high end $35 to $45 dollar that's about how much you can expect to get paid for a rely good portrait on a shirt. Or you could in the same amount of time do ten grate stencil designs that you can easily sell for $10 to $15 dollars. All I am saying is that if you try to base an airbrush T-shirt business on freehand work only, your dollars and cents are not going to add up for you in the long run. Time is money at fairs and events you have a short time period to maximize your earning potential quick catchy stencil designs are the key to that. That being said though I have never seen a good stencil Design that did not require you to also have good fundamental free hand skills. A good airbrush artist makes it look effortless but believe me this is a skill few can master after many years of hiring apprentices and helpers this became painfully obvious. Tell the customers with the high end jobs that an event is no place for that kind of work and that you would much rather give their piece the attention it needs and do it back at your studio.
__________________ Daniel Slatkin TroopFuel we support our troops.
Can someone help me with airbrushing? 
Re: Can someone help me with airbrushing? 
Re: Can someone help me with airbrushing? 
Daniel Slatkin 
