Airbrush ????

[wolfer]

i now have a aztek that is really not as bad as people think. if you clean the brush and take apart the tips every now and then it works fine . i use it for enamels and acrylic so far but have my eye on a iwata are these good brushes?? how much better than what i have now?? THANKS

[Brendan]

Iwata air brushes are excellent. One of the best on the market. You'll definitely notice the difference. Just on the feel and the way the paint flows out of the brush. It will blow away your Aztec on the amount of things you can do with it.

[935k3]

I have an Iawata Eclipse and you can immediately tell it is a beautiful precision piece. They are one of the Industry standards. If you saw the post of the inside of an Aztek you realize it's a toy compared to real airbrush.

[Don B]

I agree with Brendan and Dale. I have four Iwata airbrushes and after trying other brands out there Iwata is the best there is. No doubt. Lose the Aztek. Don

[Zoom Zoom]

Ditto all observations on the Iwata airbrushes. I got an HP CS Gravity feed Eclipse, the quality of which is impressive, and now I ignore my Badger 175 Cresendos, my Paasche VL, my Badger 150 IL, my Model Master (aka Aztek). The Testors airbrushes are pretty cheap, the easily replaced tips are a great idea but they're fragile and wear quickly. Great when new, bad when you're replacing parts all the time.

You get what you pay for. If you can afford an Iwata, get one. You'll never look back. Use common coupons for Michael's or Hobby Lobby to get a deal on it.

If you're buying Iwata, get a gravity feed w/the bigger cup. Cleanup is easier on gravity feed vs. siphon feed, you'll waste less paint and thinners and the time it takes to get all the goo out of the siphon tubes.

[cruz]

Ditto all observations on the Iwata airbrushes. I got an HP CS Gravity feed Eclipse, the quality of which is impressive, and now I ignore my Badger 175 Cresendos, my Paasche VL, my Badger 150 IL, my Model Master (aka Aztek). The Testors airbrushes are pretty cheap, the easily replaced tips are a great idea but they're fragile and wear quickly. Great when new, bad when you're replacing parts all the time.

You get what you pay for. If you can afford an Iwata, get one. You'll never look back. Use common coupons for Michael's or Hobby Lobby to get a deal on it.

If you're buying Iwata, get a gravity feed w/the bigger cup. Cleanup is easier on gravity feed vs. siphon feed, you'll waste less paint and thinners and the time it takes to get all the goo out of the siphon tubes.

Hey Bob, I have a crescendo myself for 15 years now but if you say the Iwata is that nice I will have to look into this myself!!!

[Zoom Zoom]

Hey Bob, I have a crescendo myself for 15 years now but if you say the Iwata is that nice I will have to look into this myself!!!

I tell you what, I loved my Crescendo enough to buy another pair (Bear Air sells 'em cheap) so I could have one for solid, one for metallic, one for clear. Then I got the Iwata...wish I had three of them instead! The gravity feed and less time cleaning up and more precise control of paint/air from the dual-action Iwata are worth the extra $$. That said, the Crescendo is still a great airbrush, would be a lot greater if it were gravity feed. And I still use them and my fineline Rich AB 200, having multiples speeds up the painting sessions when I've got a lot of parts prepped and ready to paint.

[cruz]

I tell you what, I loved my Crescendo enough to buy another pair (Bear Air sells 'em cheap) so I could have one for solid, one for metallic, one for clear. Then I got the Iwata...wish I had three of them instead! The gravity feed and less time cleaning up and more precise control of paint/air from the dual-action Iwata are worth the extra $$. That said, the Crescendo is still a great airbrush, would be a lot greater if it were gravity feed. And I still use them and my fineline Rich AB 200, having multiples speeds up the painting sessions when I've got a lot of parts prepped and ready to paint.

I did the same thing you did and bought another Crescendo at Michaels with their 40% off coupon. I will say that I am happy with my airbrush but at the same time I am always looking to the latest stuff out there and I have heard a lot of good things about the Iwatas. What model did you buy? Is it the best one or the most correct one for our hobby? Does it bring multiple tips???

[Zoom Zoom]

I did the same thing you did and bought another Crescendo at Michaels with their 40% off coupon. I will say that I am happy with my airbrush but at the same time I am always looking to the latest stuff out there and I have heard a lot of good things about the Iwatas. What model did you buy? Is it the best one or the most correct one for our hobby? Does it bring multiple tips???

I got the best one Hobby Lobby had; HP-CS Eclipse w/large gravity cup. I already had the hose for my Rich AB 200. One thing that's irritating is that there isn't one place to go try all airbrushes to see exactly what works best. You have to rely on word-of-mouth.

The Iwata has a longer "throw" than the Crescendo, and it has one tip/needle. The Crescendo blasts out paint in a narrow range, the Iwata has more control. I always used the medium tip/needle w/my Crescendo, the high-flow was more than necessary and messed w/some metallics. The Iwata allows a finer line if you hold it closer to the work and don't pull back the trigger so far. Every drop of paint/thinner will go through the Iwata tip, none of all that residual stuff that's in the siphon feed lines of other brushes. I do have to stop and refill the cup vs. using a large bottle w/the Badger siphon feed, but I've been using the open metal cups exclusively for so long I'm used to that.

[wolfer]

THANKS ALL for taking the time to reply and for the opionions i made my mind up when i get some fun money together its the iwata till then i will use the aztek THANKS AGAIN

[Guest Gramps-xrds]

Before you go buy an Iwata, check out a Paasche VL. They have the same type cone and needle assembly but the Paasche's are built for long tern use. I've had 2 of them for 25 yrs or so and the only parts that have been replaced are the cones. It's just my opinion, but I'd stay away from gravity feed guns unless you want to keep dropping them in a bowl of thinner all the time. Price on a vl-5 or vl-1 is about 78$

Edited March 25, 2008 by Gramps-xrds