Give it to me straight doc.

[MrDigBick]

Ok. I want to get good at airbrushing. I know practice is the fundamental component in advancing but this is my airbrush...

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=121142999507

How crap is it and what's its limitations compared to more expensive guns?
Don't hold back

 

[wmlepage]

Well theres no name brand. So its most likely a knockoff of some sort. Kind of a hit or miss on quality. Best bet is if you seriously like airbrushing , get a well known product, Badger , Iwata, Paasche, H&S, Grex. Then you have a real tech department and warranty backing it up.


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[Squishy]

I'm gonna come out and say it. Crap! You could be lucky and have a good one, but the manufacturing/machining/finish/ and hence performance of brushes like these is pretty poor. And sometimes they may work initially, but after being stripped don't tend to fit back together great, so then .....you guessed it, crap. It seems like a great deal, especially when you start out and don't want to spend money without knowing whether you'll get into it, but it pretty much creates a headache from the word go. Poor performance can get mistaken for inexperience and can make airbrushing nothing but frustration. Also when you need parts for it, you may think, well I can get another brush for that price, and end up buying more crap, which is just more money down the pan. I agree with wmlepage, get a branded brush, the cheapest one will still be a lot more expensive, but you will be able to concentrate on how to paint, and not on how the brush is working. It's sounds like you're in this for the long haul, so I would advise buying the best brush you can afford from the start. In ABing, you really do get what you pay for.

 

[wmlepage]

Yeah what she said!

I started with a cheap knockoff from Amazon and opaque paint. Talk about learning curve. Then I found the light, I mean airbrush forums, and started really learning, some lame Youtube vids helped too. My next brush was a Badger Patriot, almost a year and 7 brushes later, my trusty Patriot gets used the most, so much I have 2.


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[ulltraz]

don´t even think about it!!!i agree completely with squishy,in respect of airbrushes,you do get for what you pay,man if could tell what i lived with a chinese airbrush you wouldn't believe it.

get yourself a talon, a krome,a grex,an iwata hi line or hi performance,anything else,but a chinese airbrush.besides you can get custumer attention from the companies,even refunds and changes.another thing, buy new!!!!go to coast airbrush or chicago airbrush supply,they nice prices!!!:angel:

 

[Madbrush]

Agree with all of the above, if you want low cost instead of cheap, go for the Neo for Iwata or the Ultra for H&S, both carry a guarantee and parts are easy to come by.

This brush will give you nothing but headaches, it might be less than half the price of a Neo, but it will cost ten times more in the long run.

 

[MrDigBick]

Cheers for all the advice.
I know It's an iwata knock off and to be fair I expected to be told it's excremente. I have students ask me all the time which 1st bike to go for and i always say, not the cheap Chinese crap haha.

So will a better brush improve my fine detail lines etc I know that's a really open ended question but I just want to know it'll be a worthwhile investment.

Thanks for your replies, I'm off to through my cheap knock offs at the neighbor.

 

[jagardn]

Cheers for all the advice.
I know It's an iwata knock off and to be fair I expected to be told it's excremente. I have students ask me all the time which 1st bike to go for and i always say, not the cheap Chinese crap haha.

So will a better brush improve my fine detail lines etc I know that's a really open ended question but I just want to know it'll be a worthwhile investment.

Thanks for your replies, I'm off to through my cheap knock offs at the neighbor.

I have a Veda, cheap Chinese brush. Not even close to the three brushes on my signature(notice I don't claim to own it) . I can get better detail with the .4mm needle on my Infinity than the .2 on the Veda. Just for simple targeting practice, my 3 main brushes hit the spot all the same, the Veda is about an inch to the lower right from about 3-4" from the paper.

 

[MrDigBick]

I have a Veda, cheap Chinese brush. Not even close to the three brushes on my signature(notice I don't claim to own it) . I can get better detail with the .4mm needle on my Infinity than the .2 on the Veda. Just for simple targeting practice, my 3 main brushes hit the spot all the same, the Veda is about an inch to the lower right from about 3-4" from the paper.

That makes a lot of sense my friend. So the basically they look good on the outside but the engineering on the inside is toss.

How did you guys go about choosing what to spend your hard earned pennies on? I've seen a few iwatas on eBay start at £50 and some as much as £350...
Seems like a bit of a minefield.

 

[ulltraz]

try the companies i told you,or still go through other options in the internet,as long as they are specialized!!!nicer prices and refunds and guaranties!!!besides in those companies you can get everything you need!!!:angel:you must understand that accidents happen and you´ll need spare parts,so think also in that.again man try looking for specialized companies!!!

 

[MrDigBick]

So how did you pick yours? Rolled the dice or is each one specific to your needs if thats the case can i purchase the make me awesome now model please

 

[Squishy]

I scraped together as much money as I could beg borrow and errr ... borrow. And then looked for brushes in that price range from what I considered the better brands. I knew I wanted gravity fed (I don't like holding a siphon) . I mostly paint on motorbikes, so I wanted something that could handle fine detail, but also cover a reasonable area, and that had a good cup size without being too big, and would also be good for canvas or even T-shirts if the mood took me. So after reading through the techy stuff, and some reviews I landed on the Iwata hp-cs. It was billed as an all rounder, and also had the bonus of self centering nozzle, and a great trigger assembly,not as many fiddly bits (oo er!). Best move I ever made. I should get commission for the amount of times I recommend it. So far it's able to handle pretty much everything I've thrown at it ( apart from metallic as the nozzle is too small). I do lust after the micron for the super duper teeny detail, but the bank won't give me a mortgage, and as I've improved I've been amazed at how much detail I can get out of this brush

 

[MrDigBick]

Wicked I'll start researching that model now. Your particular requirements are pretty much in line with mine so that's a good base line to start from.
When you talk about "super fine detail" this is a grey area for me. Are you referring to hairlines etc

Thanks to you all

 

[Squishy]

The micron is built for detail, and all the greats use it, it would help me move forward I think if I had one, but I would still mostly use the hp-cs. I love it. You can get hairlines from this brush, it took me a while of using it before I was able to it consistently, but that could just be me, I'm a slow learner Lol. I'm including a pic I did with this brush that has some fine lines just so you can see. (I don't do portraits, so ignore that and just focus on the lines in the hair Lol!) To give you an ide,a it's on an A4 sized board including the border, and I'm sure better ABers than me could get even more detail out of it.

 

[jagardn]

Wicked I'll start researching that model now. Your particular requirements are pretty much in line with mine so that's a good base line to start from.
When you talk about "super fine detail" this is a grey area for me. Are you referring to hairlines etc

Thanks to you all

Superfine detail is relative. If you are painting a barn, you can get super fine detail with a can of spray paint.
I can only notice a very slight difference between the detail in Iwata HP-CH(.3mm), Badger Krome(.2mm), and H&S Infinity(.15mm). Hairline detail and control takes A LOT of practice.

I agree with Squish, the HP-CS is a great brush. Can't go wrong with an Iwata, parts are usually readily available, and if taken care of, it will last forever.

 

[MrDigBick]

That helps a lot. Thanks guys
I think you have sold me on the hp-cs as my first serious model!
Oh and squishy that picture not only helped a lot but It's also really good. I'd be happy with it. You shouldn't put yourself down. (plus the chick is hot!!! Who is it?)

Thanks so much again

 

[MrDigBick]

Yeaaahh just purchased my 1st Iwata!
Thanks guys. Might be here for the weekend... A little bit of excited wee is coming out!
Now.... I've only been married 3 months and I love my wife so I best hide it from her
If she finds it, I'll blame you lot.

 

[wmlepage]

Yeaaahh just purchased my 1st Iwata!
Thanks guys. Might be here for the weekend... A little bit of excited wee is coming out!
Now.... I've only been married 3 months and I love my wife so I best hide it from her
If she finds it, I'll blame you lot.

My wife almost excrement a brick when she found out how many brushes I have recently. She knew I did no have the el cheapo I started with as my only brush,buy when she found out I had 6 with a 7th on the way, oh man! She took it in stride and just walked away.


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[MrDigBick]

Walked away for good!!!???!!! :O
Or just walked away clenched fisted and went inside to kick the dog?
I now have 3 cheap ones....
She won't know the difference, will she?

 

[Russ Allen]

You wont regret it, theyre excellent brushes. I have two Iwatas and 5 Badgers and theyre all workhorses!! You will see a difference between it and a Chinese one immediately!! Enjoy it!!