Airbrush guys, which one do you use and why

[Bridgebuster]

I'm thinking about buying an airbrush setup. My son uses an Iwata and loves it, but I'm open to all brands and models. Looks like gravity feed would work best, but I don't know that's true. Do you use gravity feed or siphon style? Why do you like one over the other? Looks to me like the downside to gravity is that with the siphone models, you can switch color jars pretty easily. With the gravity feed, it looks like I would have to empty the cup and clean it out every time I change colors.

Anyway, that's just speculation, since I don't know JACK about airbrushes. I do solicit and appreciate all opinions on this subject.

Thanks!!!!

Phil

[Guest Gramps-xrds]

I'm thinking about buying an airbrush setup. My son uses an Iwata and loves it, but I'm open to all brands and models. Looks like gravity feed would work best, but I don't know that's true. Do you use gravity feed or siphon style? Why do you like one over the other? Looks to me like the downside to gravity is that with the siphone models, you can switch color jars pretty easily. With the gravity feed, it looks like I would have to empty the cup and clean it out every time I change colors.

Anyway, that's just speculation, since I don't know JACK about airbrushes. I do solicit and appreciate all opinions on this subject.

Thanks!!!!

Phil

Phil it seems that you have already given this some thought if you've come to the conclusion that siphon feed is easier to clean and change colors. I've used both and I wouldn't have anything else but siphon feed. Now there's gonna be some that swear by gravity and for some things they do work better. Most commercial artist prefer them because you'll get a finer line and use a small amount of paint. For models I'd get a siphon feed. The brand is just a matter of choice. I've got 2 badger 150s and 2 paasche vls. I like them both but for different reasons. That doesn't mean their any better or worse than any other decent brand. It only means that's what I learned to deal with.

[Dr. Cranky]

For general spraying like on a body, I use my Iwata Eclipse, but for stencil and detail graphics, I use my Iwata Micron C Plus. Great workhorses.

[93Z34]

I have a Paasche VLS myself and to be truthful, I hate the stupid thing. The thing used to work great, but for some reason it simply doesn't work good at all now. No steady paint feed and the paint splatters out and ruins whatever it is I'm trying to paint. It's not the density of the paint because I've run plain thinner through it and it does the same thing. I finally gave up on it and just use rattlecans now.

I would also stay away from gravity feed as well. Just not impressed with the way they spray compared to siphon style airbrushing, but that's just me.

[tabsscale1]

I have a badger 200 single action and 3 Paasche VL double action ,2 Paasche V and a Iawata Eclipse all but the Paasche v are siphon feed and love them all The Paasche V has a cup and feeds from the side. even Though the Paashe and the Eclipse are siphon feed you still have to clean the airbrush when changing colors . I have extra bottles and hook ups just for that as I have one with cleaner in it to change colors. I want to try a gravity feed but haven't bought one yet. you can get a good look at all types of Airbrushes here www.dixieart.com .

[tabsscale1]

I have a Paasche VLS myself and to be truthful, I hate the stupid thing. The thing used to work great, but for some reason it simply doesn't work good at all now. No steady paint feed and the paint splatters out and ruins whatever it is I'm trying to paint. It's not the density of the paint because I've run plain thinner through it and it does the same thing. I finally gave up on it and just use rattlecans now.

I would also stay away from gravity feed as well. Just not impressed with the way they spray compared to siphon style airbrushing, but that's just me.

Sounds like the vent in the bottle is plugged or the holes in the head are plugged. I usually take the head apart and soak it in Lacquer thinner and use fine wire to clean out the holes after the soak. Also sometimes the head around the tip gets plugged up and will cause this . After you take it apart clean the inside of the head woth a qtip soaked in lacquer thinner can get that out.

[charlie8575]

I have an Aztek A320. I like it. It took a little getting used to, but it works well.

I like it because it's easy to use, very, very easy to clean and gives excellent results. I have a Badger 250, but it did nothing but give me fits.

I've toyed with trying a Paasche, too. From all accounts, they're supposed to be an excellent product.

Charlie Larkin

[sak]

I recommend that you get a decent gravity feed airbrush, dual or single action. And as far as the switching colors go, changing color cups would be faster but remember that you will have paint remaining inside the airbrush from the previous color. Thats why those guys at the carnivals that airbrush hats usually have a different airbrush for the different colors. For instance, if you just used some black paint, you will ruin whatever color is next. You should always run some laquour thinner or airbrush cleaner thru the air brush after every color in my opinion. I make sure that I only add as much paint that I think I will need to avoid having to pour out the cup to clean it. Even if I know I will need a full cup, I only add 8-10 drops at a time, then run some lacquor thinner thru it, then add some more drops, especially with acrylics, which for me, always seem to dry on the needle rapidly and splatter the paint everywhere.

Jeff

Edited September 24, 2009 by sak

[Guest]

I have a Badger Crescendo I have been using for 15 years now, dual action, siphon feed, has been working great for me.

[MrObsessive]

I second the Badger Crescendo! I've been using it since they came out around 1993-94 and have had nary an issue with it.

The only issue (if you can call it that) was replacing the needle bearing, but that's just regular maintenance.

[Guest Gramps-xrds]

I have a Paasche VLS myself and to be truthful, I hate the stupid thing. The thing used to work great, but for some reason it simply doesn't work good at all now. No steady paint feed and the paint splatters out and ruins whatever it is I'm trying to paint. It's not the density of the paint because I've run plain thinner through it and it does the same thing. I finally gave up on it and just use rattlecans now.

I would also stay away from gravity feed as well. Just not impressed with the way they spray compared to siphon style airbrushing, but that's just me.

The problems you have can be caused by different things. The 1st thing I'd check is the brass cone. They will get small splits at the needle hole and have to be replaced. The next would be vacuum. The packing could be leaking or at the nozzle area or the siphon tube. Old time airbrush artists used bee's wax to seal their guns. The spatter is usually caused by the needle not sealing the cone off when you release the trigger. The cone could be bent at the tip or built up with paint inside. Mine came with a reamer to clean the cone inside.

Edited September 24, 2009 by Gramps-xrds

[Pete J.]

I second the Badger Crescendo! I've been using it since they came out around 1993-94 and have had nary an issue with it.

The only issue (if you can call it that) was replacing the needle bearing, but that's just regular maintenance.

They must have changed them if you can replace the bearing. My Crescendo bearing when out a long time ago and I took it to Coast air brush. They said it couldn't be replaced, so I moved on. Loved it while it worked.

[MrObsessive]

Hmmm........I got mine not long after they were intro'd. It's possible the design changed down the road.

I remember getting a brass rod (or aluminum tubing) the same size bore as the airbrush body and gently pushing it out. You could try that as I don't think that bearing should be a permanent part of the body.

[Pete J.]

I've started with an early badger that had a tip the blew air over the tip of a siphon that was stuck in a bottle. Very basic. Since then I have had an early Aztek, a badger Crescendo, 2 Tamiya's and an Iwada. All were very useful and all have their flaws.

Here is my take. Gravity feeds are great for little quick projects. You have a part that needs to have several different colors or different metalizers. They do that well.

Siphon feeds are great for doing large areas. You can get bottles in a lot of sizes so you can load up and shoot all day. If you are not using catalyzed paints you can leave them in over night and keep shooting the next day. I have on occasion left the brush loaded for up to a week with no issues(clear paint mostly).

I always recommend dual action. Most dual actions have adjustable stops, so they can be used just like a single action. The same can not be said for a single action.

Depending on the paint you shoot and the way you use it, you may need more than one brush eventually. If all you are doing is laying down a coat of color, get the largest tip you can find. Automotive paints have somewhat larger particles and will in some instances not shoot through a very small tip. Also larger tips work great for larger areas. Very fine tips are for fine detail work like coloring exhausts and shading. This is just like house painting. A 3" wide brush is great for doing a wall, but sucks at doing trim. There are rare instances in which a brush will have different tips available. I have an Iwata HVLP-50 which barely qualifies as an airbrush. It is more of a miniature touch up gun. It has three different tips and can shoot a fan up to 2"wide and as narrow as 1/16". I don't recommend it to most because of the price and size, but it is a nice professional piece. I bought it to replace my Crescendo for 1:12 scale bodies shot with automotive Lacquers. It is seriously versatile. I still have two Tamiya's which get as much use so don't assume that it does it all.

Who makes the best brush? No one! All the major manufactures make very good quality brushes. Paasche, Iwata, Grex, Badger, Tamiya are all top quality machines. Pick one that you can readily get parts for, keep it clean and they will all give you great service. If you use it a lot, you will eventually wind up with several for different uses.

These things are tools and each does somethings well and others not so good. Get the right tool for what you want to do. But don't be afraid to spend good money on one. You will have it for a long time.

Good luck

[Guest Gramps-xrds]

Hmmm........I got mine not long after they were intro'd. It's possible the design changed down the road.

I remember getting a brass rod (or aluminum tubing) the same size bore as the airbrush body and gently pushing it out. You could try that as I don't think that bearing should be a permanent part of the body.

I'll have to agree with Bill on the bearing issue. I'd say the guy that said it couldn't be replaced didn't know as much as he thought. All the bearings I've encountered were nylon or teflon. and had to be installed at some point in the body of the gun. So it has to come out somehow. I prefer packing like the Paasche's have. I've replaced their packing with virgin teflon shreaded and packed in the gland.

[sak]

Not a big fan of badger needle bearings. The badger bearing is just a little teflon tube that is pressed into the bore of the airbrush, and if you press it in too hard the needle starts to stick, and if it's not pressed enough, it leaks. Badger says that they will change the bearing free of charge, but it's not really free because it cost money to have it shipped there. My Iwata needle bearing however, is a screw in type, but hopefully it last awhile as this is not listed in any replacement parts lists.

[Guest Gramps-xrds]

They must have changed them if you can replace the bearing. My Crescendo bearing when out a long time ago and I took it to Coast air brush. They said it couldn't be replaced, so I moved on. Loved it while it worked.

On a second thought, send it to me. I'm sure I can fix it but, you'll never get it back

Edited September 24, 2009 by Gramps-xrds

[cruz]

I have the Crescendo for 15 years now, never had an issue. On top of that, I rarely clean it up to the point when I decide to do a body, other than that, I just spray some lacquer thinner through it and let it sit until the next time I have to use it!!!

[MonoPed]

I have a Paasche VLS myself and to be truthful, I hate the stupid thing. The thing used to work great, but for some reason it simply doesn't work good at all now. No steady paint feed and the paint splatters out and ruins whatever it is I'm trying to paint. It's not the density of the paint because I've run plain thinner through it and it does the same thing. I finally gave up on it and just use rattlecans now.

I would also stay away from gravity feed as well. Just not impressed with the way they spray compared to siphon style airbrushing, but that's just me.

I have a Paasche VL and love it - very rugged workhorse that I have sprayed all kinds of materials through (lacquer, acrylic, urethane, epoxy, enamel, ect). When you clean it, do you totally break it down to clean, or just run thinner through it? The brass cone/tip needs to be cleaned manually when you are done with it. If you don't have a tip reamer, soak the tip in lac thinner for a few hours, then use a round toothpick soaked in lac thinner to clean any dried paint material from inside. Also, make sure the needle is both clean of any debris, and not bent. When you reassemble the airbrush, make sure the needle is seated all the way in the tip before you tighten it down.

Edited September 24, 2009 by MonoPed

[Ragnar]

I have a Paasche VLS myself and to be truthful, I hate the stupid thing. The thing used to work great, but for some reason it simply doesn't work good at all now. No steady paint feed and the paint splatters out and ruins whatever it is I'm trying to paint. It's not the density of the paint because I've run plain thinner through it and it does the same thing. I finally gave up on it and just use rattlecans now.

I would also stay away from gravity feed as well. Just not impressed with the way they spray compared to siphon style airbrushing, but that's just me.

I have the same Paashe, all you need to do is disassemble it and let the needle, paint feed, and nosle soak in thinner, for a couple of hours to remove the built up paint. Tou should also run pipe cleaners soaked with thinner through the nozle and paint feed several times until they nolonger show any trace of paint. Your problem can be avoided by making sure you clean all of the paint out of your airbrush after every painting session, this goes for all airbrushes. I have been using the same Paasche VL, and H model airbrushes for almost 40 years. I plan to buy one of the new Paasche Talons in the near future. The IWATA brushes are good and I own one, but I preffer My old Paasche Brushes.

CHEERS!

Tom

[Pete J.]

On a second thought, send it to me. I'm sure I can fix it but, you'll never get it back

Crescendo is long gone and I have moved on. My point is that there is no best. You just get the one or in my case 3 that do what you want to have done best. I am still a sucker for the airbrush booths as shows. So far I have not found anything that does the job better than what I have, or at least not enough to justify getting a new brush. Spend the money. Get a good one and it really doesn't matter all that much. Just like a firearm in the military. Take good care of it and it will take good care of you. Good luck.

[Bridgebuster]

Thanks gents for all the responses. I value each one and appreciate your opinions. I have a little time to decide while I'm saving my nickels. Still not sure exactly, but am printing this thread and going to re-read it again and again until I make up my mind. Sounds, though, like SOME kind of airbrush is the way to go instead of rattle-cans.

Thanks again.

Phil

[Dingo]

I use a Passche VLS for no other reason than my wife bought it for me just recently so I have no choice but touse it.

Dingo

[Bridgebuster]

I use a Passche VLS for no other reason than my wife bought it for me just recently so I have no choice but touse it.

Dingo

You're blessed to have a wife who not only is OK with your hobby, but encourages you by buying you an airbrush like she did. My wife is the same way. I'd say she's a "keeper".

[Lownslow]

2 150 anthems for color and 1 for primer,175 crescendo(broke twice) for clear,and patriot for interiors. im dumping the patriot and cresendo for M/As since theyre no name Iwatas. and using the anthems for misc stuff.