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Does anybody own or used the grex airbrush/compressor system and what do you think

I bought a new Grex airbrush with the pistol grip, and was very disappointed with it. This was a while ago, and I'm not quite sure why I put it aside, but I recall having a difficult time cleaning the thing... I wish I could be more specific, but it's just not there right now...

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I have two friends that bought the Grex airbrush & compressor systems after seeing the Grex sales representative demonstrate them at a local show, and from knowing how pleased I have been, as well as other friends, with Grex airbrushes. The compressor is amazingly quiet, it's a very high-quality item, as are the airbrushes themselves. If you have the budget, go for it.

I have two Grex Tritium TG's (top gravity feed, I have 3 or 4 different cup sizes, including a huge 1.7 oz. cup for big jobs), and absolutely love them. The pistol grip is a natural (I learned on a spray gun before ever using an airbrush), and the spray quality is unbelievable. You can easily adjust airflow (with a separate inline adapter) and paint flow, where the exact same needle and tip can do tight, hair-line detail up to full-blown wet coats on bodies. I also have Grex's new fan-tip spray nozzle that makes spraying bodies even better, it was developed specifically for model car builders.

The Grex airbrushes are not cheap and they do require you to keep them clean and the needles lubricated where they pass through the O-ring seal. They require one small wrench (included w/the airbrush and with every new needle/nozzle purchase) to remove the inner nozzle when cleaning, everything else assembles finger-tight. This only adds one small complication of cleaning over my Iwata & Badger brushes, and it's not much, I have several of the wrenches at hand. The Grex .2 and larger needles/nozzles flow so much better than my Iwata and Badger 175's, and the quality of spray is far better than the Badgers. I don't miss the siphon feed cleanup and waste of paint and cleaning materials.

If you are serious about your airbrushing, you can't really go wrong w/Grex. You might consider a lower cost setup to start with depending on skill level, with practice nearly any airbrush/compressor can give much better results than any spray cans. Grex is good if you have some experience, you actually plan to use it with frequency, and want high-quality tools that will last for many years.

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I have the Tritium TG and the compressor. One ongoing problem for me was the packing seal o-ring, which is a very obscure part, and not shown in their teardown video, was dried up and cracked. This caused the paint to leak on my hands at the trigger area. This is also very touchy when installing a new one, as the tighter you turn the packing screw, the more it squished the o-ring, making the hole for the needle to pass through smaller. You want to very gently turn it until it stops, then lube the hell out of it with airbrush lube. Once you get that all settled, it's an incredible airbrush. 

The compressor is quiet. I didn't have much experience with airbrushes before I bought it, so I was having a lot of trouble finding the right pressures. I ended up buying the thumbscrew air adjustment that fits right below the handle and it has made a huge difference for me. 

Their customer service was also great the couple of times I needed help. i would highly recommend it. 

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I have the Tritium TG and the compressor. One ongoing problem for me was the packing seal o-ring, which is a very obscure part, and not shown in their teardown video, was dried up and cracked. This caused the paint to leak on my hands at the trigger area. This is also very touchy when installing a new one, as the tighter you turn the packing screw, the more it squished the o-ring, making the hole for the needle to pass through smaller. You want to very gently turn it until it stops, then lube the hell out of it with airbrush lube. Once you get that all settled, it's an incredible airbrush. 

Their customer service was also great the couple of times I needed help. i would highly recommend it. 

I had the same issue w/the rubber O-ring becoming damaged and causing very messy leakage as you described. I was able to get a couple replacement O-rings from my LHS and I carefully replaced mine about a year ago and it hasn't been an issue since. I only run the needle from back to the front when removing, and I lubricate the needle where it goes through the O-ring each time I put it back together. No leakage, and I've used it a lot since replacement. Replacing the teflon packing seal requires sending it back, but that wasn't necessary. I replaced the same O-ring in a friend's Grex that was also leaking. Mindful of how fragile the O-ring is, we're both taking better care of the brushes and have replacements on hand, consider it a maintenance item.

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I had the same issue w/the rubber O-ring becoming damaged and causing very messy leakage as you described. I was able to get a couple replacement O-rings from my LHS and I carefully replaced mine about a year ago and it hasn't been an issue since. I only run the needle from back to the front when removing, and I lubricate the needle where it goes through the O-ring each time I put it back together. No leakage, and I've used it a lot since replacement. Replacing the teflon packing seal requires sending it back, but that wasn't necessary. I replaced the same O-ring in a friend's Grex that was also leaking. Mindful of how fragile the O-ring is, we're both taking better care of the brushes and have replacements on hand, consider it a maintenance item.

Yeah I actually stocked up on multiples of every o ring they have available, just in case. I think mine sat in the case at the LHS for so long, and we're in a desert climate, they just dried out before they were ever used. Mine has been fine since as well. 

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You may want to consider the NEO for Iwata TRN-1(.35mm Gravity Feed) or TRN-2(.55m Side Feed) .They are trigger type They do not use the O-Ring they just use the usual Teflon packing seal. They both cost around $110 on AMAZON or Chicagoairbrushsupply.com. Hobby Lobby has the TRN-1 at $179.99 but you could use a 40% off coupon. Chicagoairbrushsupply.com has parts for both. I have both of these and I love them.

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