<p>The problem with this I see is that the PLA takes and holds paint super well. I have painted it with acrylic a lot and it works great for models you want painted after printing.</p>

<p>I know next to nothing about airbrushing, but it seems to me like keeping a printed airbrush clean for re-use would be a big pain. It looks like they make the pro airbrushes with some kind of stainless steel most likely for the non-sticking purposes of re-use, which PLA just won't have.</p>

<p>That being said, don't be afraid to model it and try! I would make a suggestion that you switch to ABS and then do a vapor bath on the result to smooth out the material and possibly make it easier to clean excess paint out of.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-23T18:15:35.537Z
2017-10-23T18:15:35.537Z
Steve-O-Rama
<p>Could I 3D model and print a working airbrush in
PLA?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-23T07:55:19.280Z
Im not sure but there might be a .STL for one of those hand  airbrushes, where you blow into it with a paint bowl on to wich pushes out the paint. Not sure if this would be an ideal solution but its an option.
Granny
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-26T22:37:46.167Z
Dear Dylan Rollins Garfield, welcome to our 3D Printing SE site. Please be so kind to review our tour to make sure that your questions willl lead to answers that are beneficial for a wider group of people. What are your idead and where are your problems? From there we can take it to a fruitful discussion https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/tour
kamuro
<3d-models><pla><3d-design>
Could I 3D print an airbrush?
Dylan Rollins
# Could I 3D print an airbrush?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-10-23)

Could I 3D model and print a working airbrush in
PLA?

**Tags:** 3d-models, pla, 3d-design
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Im not sure but there might be a .STL for one of those hand  airbrushes, where you blow into it with a paint bowl on to wich pushes out the paint. Not sure if this would be an ideal solution but its an option.  
> **username_2**: Dear Dylan Rollins Garfield, welcome to our 3D Printing SE site. Please be so kind to review our tour to make sure that your questions willl lead to answers that are beneficial for a wider group of people. What are your idead and where are your problems? From there we can take it to a fruitful discussion https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/tour  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-10-23. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

The problem with this I see is that the PLA takes and holds paint super well. I have painted it with acrylic a lot and it works great for models you want painted after printing.

I know next to nothing about airbrushing, but it seems to me like keeping a printed airbrush clean for re-use would be a big pain. It looks like they make the pro airbrushes with some kind of stainless steel most likely for the non-sticking purposes of re-use, which PLA just won't have.

That being said, don't be afraid to model it and try! I would make a suggestion that you switch to ABS and then do a vapor bath on the result to smooth out the material and possibly make it easier to clean excess paint out of.


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