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Airbrush Recomendations


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I plan on investing in a good airbrush with my upcoming tax return and want to hear some feedback on a good one for me to start out on. I know the good stuff costs more and I'm fine with that. I'm completely new to this so ease of use would be a factor, preferably a single action if possible. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

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If your going for a single action, I've been using a Paasche H series for a number of years, and had nothing but praise for it, I got the kit with 3 different needle set ups, I've used for enamel, acrylic and lacquer, easy to clean and maintain, and even living in the U.K I find spares easy to obtain direct from Paasche.

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Patrick, read Don Wheeler's advice and reviews, and you're sure to find what you need: https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/

It's IMHO the best airbrush review and advice 'site on the 'net, and it's pretty clear from reading his reviews what the limitations and strong points of each airbrush are. That said, I suggest you go with a dual action airbrush, as there's not much more cost compared to a single action, and a dual action will do everything you need it to, probably for as long as you own it.

I finally bought an Iwata Eclipse HP-BCS and it was just over $110, so not very expensive at all. You can probably find a good used pancake style compressor on your local craigslist for $50 or so, and be in the airbrush game for less than $300.

There are a bunch or reviews here on the forum, but the gist of what I read was this- decide which features you want an what you'll use it for, then buy the best airbrush which meets your needs. If you stay away from the cheapy disposable 'brushes, it should last you a lifetime, and with different size needles and tips available, you can change between very fine linework and broader, larger area painting with ease. I went with the .05 mm tip/needle, which will be fine for painting bodies and parts, as I don't forsee myself doing much fine, detail work. If that changes, I can always change to a .35mm tip/needle for $35 or so.

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Although its very basic, and single-action, I love the Binks Wren. Kinda hard to find these days. It was my first airbrush, and 40 years later I still prefer it over my Badger and Paasche.

A Paasche H operates almost exactly the same as a Binks Wren, or a Badger 350, with these advantages, from my years of experience: All three are external mix single action units, and give great paintjobs on model car bodies, although they really cannot do really fine custom paintwork (they don't have the fine, small spray patterns necessary for really delicate fogging or flame paintjobs.

On the other side, they are extremely simple to use, given that being "internal mix" (that is, paint and the airstream come together outside of the body of the airbrush, as opposed to internal mix units, which blend the two inside the front of the airbrush body). As such, they are also quite simple to maintain, to clean up after use.

As for durability, Paasche H beats the other two, hands down: The H may seemingly weigh a ton, due to its heavy, brass body, but it also has a very forgiving nose to it, the venturi chamber being plated brass, the material control (the nozzle if you will) being made in Nickel Silver--which alone makes that part very resistant to splitting or cracking. Binks Wren and the Badger 350 have their material control nozzle (two part unit, a sharp, long, hollow "needle) surrounded by a very finely machined "cone" which meters the material (paint), all of which is adjustable, made from brass, which can crack or split easily. The Badger 350 has it's hose couplings and material control/venturi merely pressed into a plastic body, while the Binks Wren has a soft, cast aluminum body, which has it's venturi cast in place on the body, and is very prone to damage if you drop it on the floor (easy to do with any airbrush, BTW.

Price-wise, all three are in pretty much the same ballpark, with this additional: Over the years, Paasche H-series has great replacement parts availability, where Binks has sort of fallen by the wayside (Binks is much more into professional spray equipment for industry and the autobody trade), and Badger? That all depends on where you are.

Just my .02 cents worth as a very satisfied Paasche H airbrush user for nearly 40 years now.

Art

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well what are the pros and cons with a single action and dual action?

I'm going to recommend the dual-action Paasche VL. I started building as an adult about eight years ago and I wanted to utilize tools and supplies that either didn't exist or I just didn't have when I was building as a youngster. So I bought a Badger 350 airbrush set and started using it. It was fairly inexpensive and was very easy to use and to clean. And the airbrush experience opened up entirely new vistas in the hobby. After a few years using the 350 and experiencing its limitations, I decided to get the Paasche VL. I couldn't be happier. In my experience the single-action airbrush represents an unnecessarily limited tool: it is either on or it is off, and the quantity of paint is either all or none. Still a useful too if you don't have a choice. The ease of use of the VL is such that you shouldn't even consider it a factor when distinguishing between single action and dual action. Being able to regulate variable air pressure and paint quantity while airbrushing is an astonishing improvement over single action. Plus, the VL is durable easy to maintain. So, my vote if for a dual-action airbrush by the maker of your choice, but my recommendation is for the Paasche VL.

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Ive been using a Badger Patriot 105 and couldnt be happier with it although Mr. Yost has nothing but great things to say about the Paasche H series and his work speaks for itself. Dr. Cranky uses a Iwata AND Paasche H so all three mentioned in this post are worthy of having a look at the reviews to see if they are of interest to you. You cant go wrong with any of the Badger airbrushes in my opinion and subsequently if you goto the Badger website and look at the garage sale tab, you can find Badger airbrushes at a substantial discount. You may also want to check the brands and models available at your local Michaels and Hobby Lobby Craft Stores as both offer a 40 or 50% off coupon weekly. Great way to save some extra money when buying your first airbrush. Hope this info helps you in making your decision. Whatever you decide to purchase, you will definitely enjoy having in your arsenal for painting your models.

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Well, this is another one of those topics that comes up and has a pretty simple answer (most people will steer you to what they know as most people don't the chance, unless your Don Wheeler, to test more than one or two brands/styles/models)...where was I? Oh, simple answer - a good quality Badger, Paasche, or Iwata will all work great. You get what you pay for at the low end - I tried an "Iwata" Neo - really just cheap Chinese junk in Iwata clothing - and had problems after my first tear down/clean. I have never had problems with real Iwatas - I have Eclipse gravity and siphon.

Single action I easy but limited. I jumped right in with double action, so I can't imagine not having the control. You can actually set a double action up to operate like a single action brush - you just pull the needle back and set it where at the volume you want.

Uh, so, simple answer? Double action, good quality. There, can't miss...:]

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My first gun was a Paasche H.

About 1998 I had the idea of disassembling HotWheels and AirBrushing them in colors the factory did not offer, while using paints other than the thick epoxy types that HotWSheels hosed them down with.

I used that Paasche H for 6 years painting single Customs and large runs for Conventions up to 1000 cars.

The H was the only gun I had experience with.

Then,

A friend dropped by one day with a Badger Anthem 155 and the world of better, easier to clean, much more efficient, better atomizing AirBrushes was opened up to me.

The Paasche H comes with a clumsy system of Tips, Cones and Needles that inherently hide specks and chunks of paint deep within the arrangment of washers and set screws.

The H is an External Mix gun similar to blowing air over a Coke Bottle to make it erupt.

The Anthem is an Internal Mix gun producing fine atomization.

The Anthem 155 is a snap to clean or flush in less than a minute.

I gave away the Paasche H in a contest online knowing I would never use it again.

I went on to purchase a Badger 100LG, a Talon, and 3 Iwatas.

The Anthem 155 is my workhorse now mostly for Primer and Clear but it will do an across the board job for any size DieCast or Model.

The edge it gives you over a Paache H is quickly noticeable.

CadillacPat

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Like CadillacPat says, the 155 Anthem is a really good airbrush. It´s easy to clean and maintain and it will cover all aspects in painting a model car (in my opinion). It´s a very userfriendly airbrush.

The service from Badger is really good and Ken Schlotfeldt (the President of Badger Airbrush) is a very serviceminded person. I´m not saying anything negative over other brands, but in my opinion you can´t go wrong with a Badger.

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