First Air Brush

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C

chadmichaels

Member
Hey fellas

I'm looking to purchase my first Air Brush but not sure what to go with. Keep in mind this will be my FIRST ever, never done this before.

What would be a good starter brush and and pointers? I'd like to use this mostly for painting buildings and that, yes later on I'll try my hand at weathering but first I'm looking just to use it for painting buildings. Any info and pointers would be great!

Chad
 
I bought a Paasche dual stage kit a few years back, you can get them online for about $60 I think, and it is everything you will need. Definitly want the dual action as you have more control with how much paint you want to lay down. easy to operate, just push down for air, and pull back for paint..... the more you pull back, the heavier the paint flow. Biggest thing with the air brush is to keep it clean, and you will have no issues. I have a badger air compressor, but have used a larger porter cable "pancake" compressor with a reducer on it with no problems.

there is a ton of info out there and some of it is personal preference, but this little airbrush has served me well for years with no issues. Highly recomended.
 
I would say that you can't go wrong with a Badger 200 bottom feed airbrush as a starter.
It's a single-action so it's easy to use. The adjustments are easy to work and it's easy to clean and not expensive.
 


I have 2 Paasches a VL and a H one is a double action and the other is a single action.You can pick them off of ebay from $30 H,$50 to $70 for a VL set.DO NOT EVER buy a china knock off parts are not out there for them no customer support at all,Plus you are throwing your money.I have seen ppl on here buy the al cheapo HFs.For the money you save on some cheap knock offs and the head aches that come with them just are not worth it.Just Like I said al cheapos.You get what you pay for.I am the kinda person that say's you get what you pay for.Unless you know what you are buying used.Other hand like I said you get what you pay for.
I mite me selling my Paasche H ..I don't know for sure I will it comes in handy some times.But for all around use get a double action you can't beat them.Please just stay way from Knock offs or HF's..Stay with Paasches,Badgers and Iwatas..And I say are worth it.And I tell him what to buy that is in his budget And he is very happy with it.I can see saving a few bucks no dought I do the same to I find a good med to high grade things at a low price I get it.Or better find one on ebay on the names I said I am sure you will find something nice or like new.Thats how I bought my Paasche VL Set on ebay used it need a good cleaning.It has never failed me yet..But see what other ppl on this froum are saying to....I JUST DON"T BELIEVE IN AL CHEAPO KNOCK OF THINGS...

Jason
 
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Great topic. Because I'm in the same boat here. I saw badger setups in the Walthers catalog, and I have been seeing Paasch all over the place. I may purchase one of the Dual feed setups from Badger, and one of the dual action setups from Paasche. Not sure yet, but they are really rather cheap from ebay.
 
I had a big long reply with some, IMHO, intelligent advice, but it disappeared into cyberspace. So basically this is what I said.

I own a total of 7 airbrushes and have over 30 years experience as a custom painter. I still have my original Passche H that I got when I was 19. Of my airbrushes, while the Passche SA is my most used brush, the "junk" DA airbrush is my second most used. I've had none of the problems people have mentioned, not just here, but on other forums as well. Espeefan, (Alan), had a link in an earlier thread, about this brush in particular, where an experienced airbrush artist reviewed and described the problems he had with the brush. He even had a description of the repairs he did to make it acceptable. I have never had any of the problems he described. Given the problems China has had with QC at times, I think he just got a lemon. I can lay down a coat of paint with it, that is just as good as just about any of my other "fancy" airbrushes.

The HF airbrush has an advantage that some of the DA's have but not all. It can be set up to act as aSA brush where you press the trigger, and the paint flows, without having to pull back on the trigger. After learning to paint with it as a SA, just reposition the needle and you're using a DA brush. So what's the advantage, (setup as either a SA or a DA), and why some DA brushes can't? The brushes that have gravity feed for the paint, when the needle is positioned to where it can act as a SA, thie paint will flow out of the cup, since the needle no longer acts as a off on valve, whether you're pushing down on the trigger or not.

HF sells two types of airbrushes. One is an absolute dog. It's patterned after the Binks Wren. Its single action, and couldn't spray a decent patterned if its life depended on it. The other is the DA brush that costs less than $30. You would need to buy the separate air Hose about $7, now.
 
Look on ebay for paasche,badger and Iwata.10-1 odds you will find what you are looking for at a good price with hose and bottles.I am looking at get a paasche talon but right now I am just starting out in MRRing.So I need to use my extra money for a great hobby.But I would go for a double action (DA).I really like my paasche VL. The reason I have my airbrushs is becouse I paint R/C cars and some tee's for my son.I been doing to for years.Well if you do get a al cheapo you better buy another for back up parts too.All I know I do like the fact I can get parts any where for what I have.Unlike the others(HF's and other knock offs)

Here's a link for you that has lot of good airbrushs one of the guys on here posted it.They are fairly cheap on there prices.But ebay is your best bet at times.


Link:
http://www.tcpglobal.com/airbrushdepot/

Jason K
 
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I recently got my first airbrush. I decided on the Badger Anthem 155 and it works great.
From my limited experience and all I've read there are two very impotant things to know with an airbrush: 1- how to clean it 2- practice, practice, practice.

Here is a very good series about airbrushes including: how they work, different types, cleaning, troubleshooting and reviews. If you don't have any experience this is well worth reading.
https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/home
 
I'll give you choices for each of the most common hobby brands:

Badger: Anthem or Patriot. Same basic gun just top or bottom paint feed

Iwata Revolution CR or BCR. Again same basic gun except for top or bottom feed

Paasche Millenuim. A very good gun at a good price Much better than the VL (IMO) If you'd prefer a top feed airbrush the Paasche Talon is very nice as well.

I would skip the single action airbrushes. Double action guns aren't any harder to use, and have much more capability. I would also not buy anything external mix. They do not atomize the paint as well as internal mix airbrushes. Makes for smoother paint jobs.

Buy the best one you can afford, and practice. You can buy a good airbrush but you can't buy the skills :D Nothing takes the place of practice.

The Harbor Freight cheapie is the only place CJ and I disagree when it comes to matters of painting. I would not put one of those things in the hand of a student, or a first time user even if I didn't like him/her ;). I got my hands on one once and found it to be a total piece of crap. That spotty Chinese quality control again :( (No doubt some are better than others, but how would a newbie know?) I would hate to see anyone get frustrated and think they just couldn't airbrush when the real culprit is a crummy piece of equipment!

Of the three, Iwata will be the most expensive. It's also the highest quality. You'll get what you pay for. I own airbrushes from all three compaines (I'm up to a dozen now :eek:), and any of them would serve you well, and last a lifetime. All can be had for under $100.00. Well under in most cases!

Top feeders are easier to clean. Bottom or siphon feeders are better for larger jobs. Do check out the TCP global website. They have good prices and good information.

One last choice is the NEO. This is a Chinese gun made for Iwata to their specs. I had my doubts about it but have tried one and it's a nice little airbrush for beginners, and is very reasonably priced. You can probably find it for under $30.00 if you shop hard.

is there any place you can go to check these out? I like to hold them, as whatever you buy should feel comfortable in your hand. The brands all have different body shapes. Badger is the smallest, Paasche is the chunkiest, and Iwata is about the middle of the road. Good luck and keep the questions coming if you have them :D:D
 
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Well I must say I bought a cheap Harbor Freight brush and I love the thing. Works great w/ my pancake compressor and have not had any problems even at all. I don't know what your budget is but mine was VERY small so I went with that. Most likely I would go with a better brush if I had the cash. I think that if you take good care of the brush you should have very minimal issues with it unless you get a defective unit. Good luck with whatever you decide!
 


Cjcrescent said:
The brushes that have gravity feed for the paint, when the needle is positioned to where it can act as a SA, thie paint will flow out of the cup, since the needle no longer acts as a off on valve, whether you're pushing down on the trigger or not.
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Carey, what aibrush did this happen with? I ask because I have switched over to gravity feed pretty much exclusively now. My most used airbrush is the Iwata Eclipse CS with their triple action handle. The handle is an add on that allows the gun to be set up to be used in single action mode. In single action mode I have NEVER had paint flow out of the cup unless I was painting. The only way that can happen on a decent airbrush is if you remove the needle with paint in the cup and then press the trigger. I had a kid do that at a show once. What a mess! :eek: But it can't happen (at least with properly designed equipment) during normal usage.
 
Alan, That's just the situation (with the kid), I was referring to. The needle gets pulled back some, and since the needle isn't fully seated there is nothing that stop the paint flow. A gravity feed is, when functioning as it was designed to, a great airbrush. They were designed to function as a DA, and when they're setup as a SA, you have to be extremely careful, or the needle won't be able to block the paint.

To get a DA to function as an SA, the needle cannot be fully seated. It has to be pulled back enough so that paint will flow when the trigger is pushed only, and not pulled back. Basically, it acts just like a sink that the stopper has been taken from.

This has happened to a couple of guys I know. One was an Iwata Eclipse(?) and the other was a Passche TG-3F.
 
Hey guys,would a passche talon be a good detailer for a airbrush?I would like too stay with passche if I could being I have 2 passche's already.Or should I get a Iwata?

Thanks
Jason K
 
Cjcrescent said:
Alan, That's just the situation (with the kid), I was referring to. The needle gets pulled back some, and since the needle isn't fully seated there is nothing that stop the paint flow. A gravity feed is, when functioning as it was designed to, a great airbrush. They were designed to function as a DA, and when they're setup as a SA, you have to be extremely careful, or the needle won't be able to block the paint.

To get a DA to function as an SA, the needle cannot be fully seated. It has to be pulled back enough so that paint will flow when the trigger is pushed only, and not pulled back. Basically, it acts just like a sink that the stopper has been taken from.

This has happened to a couple of guys I know. One was an Iwata Eclipse(?) and the other was a Passche TG-3F.
Click to expand...

I have never had this problem, so I weant downstairs and fiddled a little. Here's what I did:

I filled the bowl with fresh lacquer thinner.

Pulled the needle all the way open.

Tilted the airbrush to about 45 degrees, nozzle down.

Waited about 30 seconds

Got a drip.

Who paints that way? :confused:

So, yes, you can make this happen, but I would not say it is a serious consideration. In 5 years of using gravity feed this is the first time I have ever heard of this. Probably because very few use a gravity feeder as a single action airbrush. I have one customer who uses his in single action mode. He sprays DuPont lacquers. He has never nemtioned this. He does complain of tip dry, which is more common with SA but happens in all airbrushes. Gravity feeders are mostly detail guns anyway, but if you want to use one in single action mode, you can avoid it by simply closing the needle or emptying the cup when you are done painting. I would not consider it a factor in choosing siphon over gravity. (most serious painters have both anyway)
 
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Jason K said:
Hey guys,would a passche talon be a good detailer for a airbrush?I would like too stay with passche if I could being I have 2 passche's already.Or should I get a Iwata?

Thanks
Jason K
Click to expand...

I have not shot with the Talon, but it is essentially a gravity feed version of the Millenium, which I do own. It's a nice gun and on the airbrush forum I belong to, it gets good reviews. I'm kind of partial to Iwata, of the 12 airbrushes I own, five are Iwatas :D Differences between the Iwata and Paasche are:

Thicker chrome plating on the Iwata. This means it will last longer.

Spring steel needle and hardened steel nozzle on the Iwata vs brass on the Paasche. Iwata needles and nozzles are more expensive because of this, but because the parts are made of stronger materials, they last much longer.

I find in general the Iwata triggers are much smoother than Paasche (or Badger for that matter. This is due to higher quality machining in the Iwata airbrushes. In any brand, the more expensive the airbrush, the higher the machining quality, and the finer the line it will shoot. That's where your higher cost for Iwata comes from. Kind of technical, but there it is. One more thing: Iwata air hoses have o-rings, not metal to metal contact, so they don't leak unless abused. You can also get adaptors so an Iwata will fit a Paasche hose, or vice versa. Hope that helps.
 
Espeefan said:
...

So, yes, you can make this happen, but I would not say it is a serious consideration....
Gravity feeders are mostly detail guns anyway, but if you want to use one in single action mode, you can avoid it by simply closing the needle or emptying the cup when you are done painting. I would not consider it a factor in choosing siphon over gravity. (most serious painters have both anyway)
Click to expand...

It's NOT a serious consideration, but like I've said, it can happen when using a DA brush in SA mode. You know me Alan, I can see a potential disaster in anything!;) (I've created enough!)

As to the Gravity feed being used as detail guns, I totally agree. That's all I use mine for anyway. I don't think I've put 4oz of paint thru mine yet. And its a year old!:D
 
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Go with a double action whatever you do! Airbrushes are very easy to use. They are time consuming to clean, prep etc. but as far as putting paint down...I think they take just as much skill as a brush. So start off right and get a double action.
 


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