Blinged Badger 150?

tatocorvette

Detail Decepticon!
Hello,

I don't necessarily need another Badger 150. But since it is the best airbrush ever made, you never have enough of them, especially when you run into a deal you can't refuse. Let's just say I got this kit for the price of lunch, at a fast food. I can skip lunch for a day :)
This is the 150-4PK kit which contains Medium and Heavy needle/head/nozzle combos, hose, jars, etc. plus the nice wooden case.
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Immediately noticed (as it jumps to you) the airbrush has the optional counter balance handle (50-0332) plus the original blue handle. Cool! You never have enough handles. That counterbalance handle alone is probably worth the price of admission.
The notification that explains the markings change from XF to F, IL to M and HD to L, plus the little brochure showing the lineup suggests this is most likely a late 80's kit.

However, the description said "New old stock from closed hobby shop". Ehh, no. The airbrush is definitely used. It may have never been sold but used as a demo, or maybe it was traded in, whatever, but anyways, it was used. Not really a big deal as I would have disassemble it for a deep clean anyways.
The hose has an electrical tape patch so I suppose it has a leak.
The paint cup:
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The most puzzling part of this is the Heavy needle. Seems to be straight but what the heck happened here? Was it used as a skewer in a BBQ?
2v2eRLw93xJ21ND.jpg
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I'll check on that later and report back.

But back to the airbrush itself. It is dull and have some tarnish.
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Sure enough the trigger did not return forward. A common sign of a dirty needle.
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What is it with neglected airbrushes and red paint? It is always red paint!
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Anyways, it was taken apart and cleaned. Some parts were already at least wiped down when I took this picture.
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The finish on the body and handle was very rough. So I went to town polishing like a maniac.
I admit I may have been carried away in the polishing... The surface is far from perfect and still some tarnish and minor imperfections, but I suppose it was probably never perfect from the factory to start with.
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So, here is my BLINGED Badger 150. So shiny I can't touch it without leaving fingerprints all over. Need to handle with cotton gloves :)
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A quick test shows it works fine. Maybe not as smooth as my daily driver 150 but very good nonetheless. I will probably play with it a bit more to try to get it smoother. I'm thinking about dedicating it to the heavy setup. Of course after the heavy setup parts are serviced, which will be next.
I'll report on that later.

Hope you like and approve.
As usual, your comments and questions are appreciated.

Thanks,
Ismael "the Badger 150 guy"
 
Great job Ismael I’m fully with you that 1 or two 150s aren’t enough so I have my eyes on another 150. Still in negotiations about the price. 👍
 
Very well done restoration Ismael. Looks great! Hope you can get it to work as good as it looks.

And from the other forum the Paasche H is the G.A.M.E., Greatest Airbrush Made Ever. You might want to add the disclaimer that the 150 is the Greatest Double Action.
 
This looks great, i am a big fan of keeping the old stuff going, my boss calls me the last make do and mender, he says I would have thrived during the war!

I notice this has the needle back off screw on the top, i am not familiar with the badger model system, was 150-1 first, superceded by 150-2 etc?? And if so was the 150-4 the last to have the needle back off screw infront of the trigger?
 
Hello,

No. The -1, -4 etc. are kit numbers. For example The 150-1 was a simple kit, the 150-4 was a deluxe kit (this one is a 150-4) and the 150-7 is the ultimate kit. The airbrush itself was always just the 150. It has evolved over the years and it lost the top adjusting screw a few years ago. Don't know exactly when, but in the early 2000's it still had it.

Thanks,
Ismael
 
Thanks 👍, i had wondered why there were 150-1 for sale as new but I had not probed enough to notice that it was the kit level. I tend not to take too much notice of the brand new stuff. I lean towards buying old.
 
The 150 was launched in 1964 and is still going strong. I'm working on a history post of it and the Badger 200 as well. Just need time to finish the writeups. Stay tuned. :)
 
Hello,

New old stock? Yeah right...
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Restored back to shape.
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Still puzzled about the needle.
Before:
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After:
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Heavy setup: needle, nozzle and regulator.
2v2eRroZnxJ21ND.jpg


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Happy to report I switched to the heavy setup and the airbrush is working pretty fine. At full throttle it went thru a paint cup of thinner in only a few seconds! That's quite a firehose compared to the Medium setup (not compared to a Paasche H which is THE firehose).

This concludes this episode.
Or does it? :)

Thanks,
Ismael
 
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