Airbrush Confusion

[WillyBilly]

I have been thinking about getting a airbrush setup to do more detail custom stuff. The more I study and read on the topic, the more confused I become. As far as painting, my background is 4 years of autobody class in high school, 5 years painting at an auto body shop, and two years painting at an industrial painting company. Oh, and 45 years as a rattle can master.

So, I have been looking at options, opinions, reviews, brands, and prices. I have come to the conclusion that a Cool Tooty compressor by No Name is the compressor I will get. As for guns I am thinking I will need two. One for large work, and one for fine work. Maybe a third. I am not looking for super expensive, nor bargain basement. I am looking for solid gravity fed work horses. One I see all the time at HL is Iwata. Another is Black Widow at HF. And then there is the Badger 105 that seems to be very popular. I want any gun I buy to be as good in 40 years as it is today, so the Hobby Lobby, and Harbor Freight options probably will not last that long. Maybe they will.

I see 2mm, 3mm, 5mm, and 7 mm tips. Do I want a gun that can take many different size needles? Do I really want 2-3 guns to achieve the different sizes? Back when I painted cars, I had three Devilbiss gravity feed guns. One for primers, one for paint, and one for clear.

I guess after all my bla bla bla, I am really asking what is a good solid airbrush, and how many should I have?

 

Thank you

[NOBLNG]

Type this into google and you will get a dozen or more threads on the topic (site:modelcarsmag.com what airbrush)

[DanL]

I would be interested in hearing some new opinions on the subject...

[johnyrotten]

I'm fairly new to airbrushing, so keep this in mind. When I got back into the hobby, I purchased my set up. It's made by point zero, 3 airbrushes and the compressor. Tankless. My only gripe is the compressor,  no real issues but I see where a tank would be a benefit.  I didn't want to spend "big" money and end up not using them or it being junk. The airbrushes seem to be clones of popular brands, and well made. I've had zero issues with them, and they have seen some real abuse.( left the compressor on over night, didn't clean them out well enough ect) As far as needle size, just like automotive painting, a few different ones can be beneficial, so I'll say yes, a few sizes will help. Now that I have some actual experience using one, I wouldn't mind seeing the difference between my knock-off imitations and a high quality airbrush. As far as longevity goes, no issues after a year plus, using them 3-4 times a week, both modeling and custom motorcycle paint work, and everything in between. I did my homework before I bought them, and it seems I made a decent choice. Time will tell.

[Dave G.]

6 hours ago, DanL said:

I would be interested in hearing some new opinions on the subject...

You're putting out attracting scent for a lot of personal preferences.  I can already see the replies in my head from various individuals.

I'm going to give just one little piece of advice, that's to resist the urge to buy Chinese knock offs. Most need needle and tip polishing, and many have inferior rubber seals that solvent paints and thinners will eat alive. By the way, I wouldn't put the Neo made for Iwata in that classification. But it has limited tip selection, and they may be the tiny little screw in type ( I don't fully recall).

Next, take a look at Don Wheeler's airbrush review site. Easily found in a general browser search. It's not exhaustive but it is pretty full of selections to consider.

 

[WillyBilly]

8 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Type this into google and you will get a dozen or more threads on the topic (site:modelcarsmag.com what airbrush)

I did. That is why I posted. The more I read, the more confused I became. Some said buy this airbrush, some said buy that air brush. Some said buy good ones, others said start with cheap ones first. This is info I got all over the internet. Some things were consistent, and some things were not.

[WillyBilly]

14 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

You're putting out attracting scent for a lot of personal preferences.  I can already see the replies in my head from various individuals.

I'm going to give just one little piece of advice, that's to resist the urge to buy Chinese knock offs. Most need needle and tip polishing, and many have inferior rubber seals that solvent paints and thinners will eat alive. By the way, I wouldn't put the Neo made for Iwata in that classification. But it has limited tip selection, and they may be the tiny little screw in type ( I don't fully recall).

Next, take a look at Don Wheeler's airbrush review site. Easily found in a general browser search. It's not exhaustive but it is pretty full of selections to consider.

 

I have read most of Don Wheeler's page. A lot of great info. I think I will re-read it. Thank you. I refuse to buy cheap junk. If that was the case, i would have just purchased, and avoided posting this. I have seen many knock off junk items, and I have seen where the knock off item is actually decent quality. The big thing for me is always longevity. Any review is always when the item is new. I would love to see reviews of things like air brushes when they are 5 years or 10 years old. That tells the story.

[johnyrotten]

54 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

You're putting out attracting scent for a lot of personal preferences.  I can already see the replies in my head from various individuals.

I'm going to give just one little piece of advice, that's to resist the urge to buy Chinese knock offs. Most need needle and tip polishing, and many have inferior rubber seals that solvent paints and thinners will eat alive. By the way, I wouldn't put the Neo made for Iwata in that classification. But it has limited tip selection, and they may be the tiny little screw in type ( I don't fully recall).

Next, take a look at Don Wheeler's airbrush review site. Easily found in a general browser search. It's not exhaustive but it is pretty full of selections to consider.

 

Dave brings up a real good point with the knock-off equipment. While I'm personally not afraid to "tune up" something if there is an issue,  that isn't for everyone,  and may not be worth the work. I was looking for "bang for your buck", and not being out a ton of cash if it results in failure. All in all, I'm happy, other's might not have the same experience. I'm hardly a spectacular builder, just a guy enjoying a hobby and learning as I go.

 

[peteski]

1 hour ago, WillyBilly said:

I did. That is why I posted. The more I read, the more confused I became. Some said buy this airbrush, some said buy that air brush. Some said buy good ones, others said start with cheap ones first. This is info I got all over the internet. Some things were consistent, and some things were not.

Well, with the answers you will get in this (new, but one of many) airbrush preference threads here, you will get even more confusing info.  Everybody has their favorite and with the range of airbrushes and compressors available out there, there is no general consensus out there.  Enjoy the confusion!  This is going to quickly obecome one of those threads you don't want to read, wanting a "fresh" perspective.

Besides, with a large variety of airbrushes available, the answer depends on what are you modeling goals and techniques. I have been happily using (for about 40 years now) my Badger 200 single-action internal mix airbrush. I think it has a medium nozzle.  I bought a nice Badger 155 Anthem dual action airbrush when Michaels was was closing them out selling for $29.99!  But I so far I have  not even used it even once.  I have used dual-action airbrushes at my friend's house when we were building his model train layout.  Dial action is great for weathering but when I paint my model cars I just need a miniature spray gun, so I continue using my Badger 200. For larger scale models I'll use spray can.

That's my story and this is my "fresh" addition  to this thread info, and if you look in one of the many similar older discussion, in some of them you will likely see a similar response from me.  I really don't see a point of starting yet another "best airbrush" discussion, It is IMO pointless.  If it was up to me I would either merge this thread with one of those "old" threads, or lock it.

Edited March 9 by peteski

[NOBLNG]

1 hour ago, WillyBilly said:

I refuse to buy cheap junk.

The big thing for me is always longevity.

I have two airbrushes. I first bought an Iwata Eclipse. It is a gravity feed, internal mix, two stage airbrush. It should be capable of any and all tasks involved in model building. Disassembly and deep cleaning may be needed occasionally. I used it a few times then bought a Paasche H. I have not used the Iwata since. It is not as delicate and won’t do quite as fine, detailed work as the Iwata, but it is a dirt simple, super easy to use and keep clean workhorse, and nearly indestructible. It can also use either a cup or bottle for a paint reservoir. I don’t doubt that both of these airbrushes will be around longer than I will. I would highly recommend the Paasche as a first or only airbrush to anyone. You won’t find a bad review of it. Just buy one and start spraying.

Edit: And buy a compressor with a tank…the bigger the better.

Edited March 9 by NOBLNG

[WillyBilly]

6 hours ago, peteski said:

 

That's my story and this is my "fresh" addition  to this thread info, and if you look in one of the many similar older discussion, in some of them you will likely see a similar response from me.  I really don't see a point of starting yet another "best airbrush" discussion, It is IMO pointless.  If it was up to me I would either merge this thread with one of those "old" threads, or lock it.

I agree, and it took me a couple days to finally post because It is just another repeat thread. I have read through many pages, watched many videos. Everyone having different opinions. I finally did lock down the compressor, and I am fairly sure I have locked down the air brush too. I have learned more about the tools of airbrushing than I will ever use. Yet still scratch my head.

[Bugatti Fan]

I have a Badger 200 and a Badger 100XF that have served my needs for many years. ( 30 odd  ). Good, well made reliable workhorses. Paasche has been around a long time and make good airbrushes.

There has been a number of changes happening over the years in the airbrush market. DeVillbiss, a UK company made a range of very high quality airbrushes way back under the trade name Aerograph, but never seriously targeted the model making market. Iwata plus Harder and Steenbeck arrived later with high quality instruments.

Biggest change has been the large influx of bottom end airbrushes quality wise offering all bells and whistles included to entice the buyer. But you only get what you pay for. Constant usage demands a high quality airbrush for reliability alone. The cheap clones might be ok for the very infrequent user however.

As far as compressors go, best get one with a reservoir tank to maintain constant pressure and a moisture trap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gman]

I bought my Paasche VL in the early 80's and it still works today. It was my second airbrush, the first being a plastic bodied Badger external mix that really wasn't very good. The Paasche has been in my tool kit for more than 40 years. It is good to have a variety of tools in the tool kit. I have considered adding a Paasche H external mix to the inventory for certain tasks, as those show up pretty inexpensively and are likely to have similar build quality to my old trusty VL. While there are other airbrushes I would like to try (like the Iwata and fan tip Procon Boy, both gravity feed), the attraction for gravity feed airbrushes comes from not having to play around with siphon tube bottles and open colour cups- less variables affecting spray pattern.

As for double action vs single action, I often set my Paasche VL double action up by moving the needle "out" inside the body so that it acts as a single action when that is desired. It takes a few test sprays to dial it in, but it works pretty well in that capacity. I imagine that can be done with other brands also