Badger 250 Airbrush

I have a model 250 Badger Airbrush kit. I was wondering if this is adequate for using to apint my rolling stock and locomotives.

I have never used an airbrush before to do etal painting and the like and I am hoping that this one is good enough or can be upgraded somehow if it isn't
 

Graham Hoffman

New Member
The 250 was the first one I owned and I used it for many years for spraying all types of models, wood, metal and plastic. It's not really an airbrush, rather a sprayer. Good for general spraying but not too good for detail work. I have an old model 200 (single action, internal mix) that I would recommend for all-around airbrushing. Very good for fine detail work as well as general spraying. And despite all you hear about it being hard to clean, it's really not....takes less than five minutes.
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
Chessie1973 said:
I have never used an airbrush before to do etal painting and the like and I am hoping that this one is good enough or can be upgraded somehow if it isn't

Next time you are at a swap meet, GAT Show, etc. pick up some old junk shells or freight cars. Usually some of the vendors will have a "junk box" of misc. incomplete or broken cars for sale cheap. Pick up a bunch for air brush practice.
 

Glen Haasdyk

Active Member
I have the Badger 250 and I think it works great for what I use it for. If you are just painting engines and rolling stock it will do the job quite well, but it won't sprat fine enough to do any weathering. I do have a small, piston-type compressor running it since canned air was getting to expensive.
 

cpNscale

Member
I am looking at buying the badger 250 today.I was wondering how it works with arcrilic paint and how much water to paint ratio for spraying.
 

Glen Haasdyk

Active Member
Mine works okay with acrylic paint, but seems to work better with enamels. I don't use straight water to thin acrylics. Water has surface tention in it that will make the paint 'bead' on your painting surface. Use the recomended thinner for the paint (although I have heard of using blue windshield washer fluid)
My rule of thumb for thinning is I thin until the paint has the consistency of milk. That means you splash it up against the side of your glass jar and it will run back down, leaving a film like milk would.
 

cpNscale

Member
I have heard the same thing about windshield washer fluid to.Thanks for the advice.BTW won't the washer fluid change the color ofthe paint,mainly light whitish shades?
 

Glen Haasdyk

Active Member
I supose it would. I've only used washer fluid to thin acrylics for making washes though. As I said I use mostly enamels through the badger, since they tend to flow and cover better for me.
 
I actually use acryllic airbrush paint sold in the small bottles like the Ceramcoat Wal-Mart sells .

The brand name is Createx Opaque Airbrush Colors. I mix mine buy putting roughly 1/3 of the mixing bottle with paint and adding in rubing alcohol and shaking it until thinned nicely. It does a great job on plastics and resins with very little if any running and when it dries it has a nice even coat.

The Createx apparently has very small pigment particles because it doesn't clog the airbrush like the typical acryllic paints do. I need to see if I can find some mor eof this paint. I bought this stuff years ago.
 
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