Best buy guide

[littlerick]

How about a general guide to airbrushes by price and use... I for one am a little confused over the different models and types of airbrushes and uses. I get the top, bottom and side feed and basics, but, if I wanted to spend x amount of money on a airbrush, which is best for me.

For example, if I had £100 to spend, what airbrush would give me the best all round use, as im not sure where i want to go with airbrushing, just doodling, so to speak.

or maybe I have the same £100, but, i know that i want to paint custom graphics on cars.. or whatever.

Its more about the different models from different makes and the differences between them.. I have only used cheap chinese ones, so if i were to buy, i would like to make a good choice.

 

[Sitni]

eclipse HP-CS is a good all around brush an not to expansive. And when grow out of it, it will still be a great workhorse for background on medium size projects

 

[Oddball]

This question also depends in which country you live.
The unfortunate thing is you get what you pay for. Buy a cheap chinese knock off and it may work ok for a while but spares are a mare to find. buy a reputable make from a reputable company and you will have a warranty and usually customer service back up.
Which actual brush to choose in a price range is pretty much personal choice, I bigger question is whether you need a syphon feedor Gravity feed. that choice will depend on what you want to do with it.

 

[Madbrush]

If all you had was 100 quid you would be looking either badger or richpen the richpen apollo 112B is pretty similar to my Iwata HP- BH but almost half the price, or you could try the Ultra from Harder & Steenbeck which is a pretty reasonable entry model at around 60 quid.

It's a choice you have to make yourself since most recommendations you would get may be biased and based on the fact that a particular person prefers a particular brush, unless someone has had every brush on the market they can't possibly know if they are good or not and opinions would be based on either hearsay or review study, the problems with shops is that they will tell that what they have in the shop is the best, but that's just to get it out of the shop.

We have a member here called Don Wheeler who in my opinion is best qualified to recommend any particular airbrush since he makes it his business to test them.

Your choice in the end should be based on what you need or expect to get from it, but you should also consider correct set up by matching your brush to a compressor, I mean if you decide on a larger nozzle airbrush for t-shirts with heavy paints a compressor that's very small would be working it's little arse of constantly and quickly overheat.

Being on a budget doesn't restrict you to Chinese knock off's, all the big names also make entry level models at justifiable prices, like you say if don't know where your going with but if you gave it up altogether having a decent name means you could sell it on a lot easier.

You could have a read through the "what airbrush do you use" section of the forum to see what people use and why.

 

[littlerick]

Yes I understand that people will always be bias towards what they use, what I mean is the difference between the airbrushes themselves.. Iwata do a range of airbrushes that are all in a class... ie HP-CS, CM ect.. All the manufacturers have a range, that i imagine are for different types of work. I wouldn't want to buy a airbrush and find it wasn't designed for the job I was doing.

Now I may be wrong, and a airbrush is designed for all round work, whatever the model or make. For a noob like me its a little confusing as to what the differences are.

 

[Immortal Concepts]

The main difference is if it has solvent proof seals or not. If it doesn't you can only use waterbased which is probably what you will be using. That and tip size. .5 mm for larger surface coverage and some tshirt work, .35 is middle ground good for finer details and larger work, then .2mm and lower for fine detail work only for the most part. My recommendation is .35 because it's best of both worlds while you are learning, then later on upgrade to a finer needle once you have your control down.

 

[littlerick]

So if i'm using water based paints...I can pretty much go with anything with a suitable needle size for my skill and it will be good... If I wish to use solvent paint, I need to be more careful with what I choose?

 

[Madbrush]

So if i'm using water based paints...I can pretty much go with anything with a suitable needle size for my skill and it will be good... If I wish to use solvent paint, I need to be more careful with what I choose?

Pretty much, although Teflon seals are preferred, rubber has a tendency to perish but you can replace those usually very cheap, checking out the cost of needles and nozzles will help you to decide also, some brands are dearer than others depending on model.

 

[basepaint]

Also look at what air pressure you will be working at as some airbrush's will spray at both low and high psi and some work great at higher psi but at low psi won' work worth a s....

 

[littlerick]

The more I learn the less I know .... Think I'm gonna paint away until I reach my current ab's limit or end of life.... maybe understand more if I just learn on the go. Save my pocket money and see what I can get for my money... and ask you guys again