compressor questions

SalonGeek

Help Support SalonGeek:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

essexgirl

Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2004
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Location
essex
hi oh wise ones!
I would be grateful for any advice on buying a compressor/airbrush as i am doing an airbrush tanning course wednesday and thursday and airbrush for nails course end august.
I would like a system that can be used for both, (if possible?!). the training academy that i am training with suggests the Su-Do TC5ooo(?) which is about £380! This seems a lot for just little old me who may not use it from one day to the next. Dose anyone do the two, and have suggestions as to which compressor to buy?
Thanks you! Kerry
 
speak/pm chocolate from ka-sa-ra or Mellle at allthingsnails.co.uk. I (think!) i have the same compressor you talk about...I do spray tanning as well as nail art and just about to embark on body art both on the move and static. What you need to make sure is that you have a regulator - different psi values for different jobs, about 20psi for tanning and body art and 40psi for nail art. Also, you don't want to get some obscure make that you can't get serviced/spares for if you need them, having said that i have never had a problem to date! The actual airbrushes you can get, come with different sized needles, so you need to make sure that you have the correct one for the correct job. I'm not too hot on this bit, but i think 0.4 for nail art and 0.3-0.6 for tanning and body art. You need to consider how many guns you want to run at anyone time. I can run up to 4 guns (obviously with an attachment) but can only use 1 gun at a time (ie., wouldn't be suitable for a multi-use salon). It's worth doing your homework, as its a big investment. To be honest, i didn't get anywhere near my investment back just doing art, but people came to me because i did offer this service whereas other techs in my area didn't. But since i have been spray tanning which brings in more revenue, it has paid for itself. I would be lost without mine...it's so much fun! I struggled airbrushing my own nails (best form of advertising!) and had to rope kids/hubby/friends in to hold the stencils until i discovered the Medea self adhesive stencils. They come in a fab range and make life so much easier. I don't use these on clients as they are expensive but geat for yourself. Once you know what you are looking for, if melle or chocolate aren't able to help you, check out ebay. I am sure i have seen this compressor on there in the last couple of days - or advertise on this site that you want one. I know my training course (not with melle or chocolate) weren't happy if you didn't buy their compressor but none-the-less, students did buy them from elsewhere!)
HTH
 
Maybe a little compressor knowledge would be useful ... because this is one item that provided it has the right 'bits' will work with any airbrush whether it is for tanning or nails.

First of all, a compressor is a very simple machine. It sucks air in one end and blows it out the other!

Sometimes it will have a tank for holding stored air, which allows you to use the compressor silently until the tank needs refilling, when it does the machine will automatically switch itself on again.

If you are going to use a compressor for working on a person's body, then it is essential for the machine to have a pressure regulator to control the pressure of the air coming out of the machine. Too much pressure and you could drive the paint or taning solution too far into the tissue and thus the blood stream. Pressure is measured in psi (which stands for pounds per square inch) in other words, the air coming out of the machine comes out with a force of so many pounds per square inch. I know nothing about tanning, but most airbrush artists for nails work between 25 and 28 psi pressure. the regulator allows you to set the pressure on the machine to your requirements.

You can add all sorts of different bits to the compressor that allow you to have many different guns attached to it at the same time. I always used to work with 3 or 4 airbrushes attached to the machine. This allowed me to have one gun for white, one gun for black and a couple of others for frequently used colours. This saved me allot of cleaning and rinsing. I spoiled myself! Many who do not use an airbrush that frequently, use just one airbrush.

That's about it for the technical stuff ... not really very technical is it? Just a very simple machine.

The above may explain why air cannisters are not very controllable or suitable for what we are doing, plus they tend to freeze up and stop working which is a complete pain in the bum.

My opinion is to buy a compressor that is the best you can afford. The more you pay the more you get, but sometimes you can be offered compressors that are way more than the job you are doing requires. I would go for a smallish compressor that has a tank for holding air (more silent) and runs fairly silently and has a regulator. If the compressor has these things you can use it for anything.
 
thanks guys! at least i know what i DO need now, regulator ect.

Tickled pink, as you do the both, i assume that you have to clean out the airbrush if going from nails to tanning ect, or could you do as geeg does and have two brushes, but use one for each? Is this a mamouth task, and therefore better to have two cheaper compressors/airbrushes that you have soley for one purpose?

Sorry for the rambling!
 
essexgirl said:
thanks guys! at least i know what i DO need now, regulator ect.

Tickled pink, as you do the both, i assume that you have to clean out the airbrush if going from nails to tanning ect, or could you do as geeg does and have two brushes, but use one for each? Is this a mamouth task, and therefore better to have two cheaper compressors/airbrushes that you have soley for one purpose?

Sorry for the rambling!

you're not rambling! Yes, clean the airbrush if going from tanning to nails...easy to do though and not that time consuming. You will only need the one compressor...I have a total of three guns...2 x Evolution which i use for nail art and 1 x simair xl2000 which is for tanning. However, i can use all three for body art. Hope this makes some sense. (there are different sized needles for different jobs) Initally i only had the one airbrush for nail art and needed to clean before a colour change. This is only a quick clean to remove the colour - at the end of each day do a big clean! I have added an extra nail art gun as i tend to base a lot of my designs in white and it just made my life easier. Then i added spray tanning and needed a new gun which was side fed which i can also use for body art. This all sounds very complicated but it's not - trust me! If i were you, i woud stick to one gun to start with for nail art and increase if you find a need. There is a new post today, someone selling a compressor and airbrush...check it out
 
I use the same as Tickled Pink - an Evolution airbrush for nails and an XL2000 for tanning. I bought the airbrushes seperately from the compressor (a SimAir TC2000). This compressor will only run one airbrush at a time but there is only me so its fine. As a guide the compressor was £239.95, the Evolution was £124.95 and the XL2000 was £109.95 all from Aston & Fincher. There is also a Focus airbrush used for nails which is slightly cheaper at £89.95 but I have not used this one.

HTH.
Shaza
 
The Iwata Smart Jet Pro costs about £240 (ish) and does both - I use this for airbrushing nails, tanning and body art. It has an air regulator on it and is nice and compact. Rachel at K-Sa-Ra (www.netnails.net) sells them, here's the link

https://sslrelay.com/s75849961.onea...nid=15410950da65be2/shopdata/index.shopscript .

It gets used and abused by me when I do the airbrush demos at the shows, it's on constantly from 10am to 6pm, is used without a break and I have never had any problems with it.
 
thanks all for your replies!

Jackie, have you had any problems getting parts ect, if needed? Or can they all be bought from the same supplier? £240 sounds a bit more like it! Is it "idiot proof" and easy to use, (im not the brightest)!
kerry
 
The Smart Jet Pro is one of the best compressors i have ever used, It runs all day, will run 2 airbrushes, has a moisture trap, regulator and is automatic (turns intself off when you are not using it) and can be used for nails, body and tanning. Its small and light enough for mobile to!

We sell them at £212.76 plus vat = £249.99 and we sell loads, will have them on specail offer at the excel show.
 
essexgirl said:
thanks all for your replies!

Jackie, have you had any problems getting parts ect, if needed? Or can they all be bought from the same supplier? £240 sounds a bit more like it! Is it "idiot proof" and easy to use, (im not the brightest)!
kerry

I've never had a problem with it or my other smaller Iwata compressor which gets a hammering on my airbrush classes. I can highly recommend it. Being such a well known make I would imagine if you did have a problem it would be far easier to get parts for, but you probably won't need to.

Yes, it's idiot-proof! :biggrin: You just switch it on set your pressure and empty the moisture trap when it needs emptying - it's maintenance free.
 
Hi

Just thought you'd like to know I have just seen an Iwata compressor on Ebay. It doesn't say which model it is but comes with Badger 200 airbrush (it did say can be used for nails/body art/tanning). It ends today and there had not been any bids (starting price £150 with Buy It Now for £200) so it might be worth a look. The item no is 5510517366.

HTH
Shaza
 
I have an Iwata Smart Jet Pro Air Compressor and Iwata Eclipse HP-BCS airbrush for sale on Ebay right now.

If you are interested, do a search on Ebay for my store Ajae Make-Up, or drop me a PM.

Ail )O(
 

Latest posts

Back
Top