Question: Micron CPlus .18 vs .22

M

mainakae

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Hello everybody!

It's been a long time since I last post something in this forum, but I have kept airbrushing and having fun for some time now. I plan on treating myself with a second hand micron CPlus (299€) for my bday, and I can't decide between .22 and .18 nozzles. Any recomendations? anything I should know or note before buying?. I know It's kind of a vague question, I'll try to fix some variables more: I'm using Wicked for now, althoug I also have some comart and plan on buying one of those fancy createx illustration sets sometime in the near future. I mostly do illustration, but also like doing t-shirts and helmets and other surfaces. I tend to feel inclined to the .18, but I'm concerned about it's ability to get regular wicked out of the nozzle (detail, I assume, will run smoot propperly overreduced).

Thanks in advance!!!.
 
Get the 0.18 if you're gonna do illustration work but I don't think it will work for general purpose and t-shirts. Paint needs to be quite thin or atleast it needs to be a good paint with small pigment. Otherwise get a Harder & Steenbeck 2 in 1 and you can switch needle and nozzles when you need to.
 
I have both sets .23 and .18 the good thing is the needles are the same diameter so you dont need to mess with the packing nut (which on a Micron is easy anyway) But to be honest I did not get enough of a difference in detail to justify having to reduce more I use mostly wicked detail the .23 gives really fine detail.. By the way If the head on the one you are buying is no good you are not getting much of a deal as a new head and needle in the states runs about 150 U.S. HAPPY B-DAY ,, Kurt
 
I agree with Ko. I have both but I think I have only used the .18 once due to the .23 give just as nice detail.
 
Thank you very much for your answers!, after reading your considerations, I think i'll go for the .23.

Regarding the state of the brush, I'm buying from spraypal, they say it's been used just 4 or 5 times, during anest-iwata workshops, and held by professors and students during that time. They sell it with 5 years guarantee, so I suppose it will be in mint condition.

AndreZA, I already have the infinity 2 in 1, and it IS an awesome brush, I love it, its beautiful, and sleek and elegant and (ran out of words here) and works really really well. The only downside (if any) is that I find the floating nozzles a little bit tricky. I also own a Krome which has been my favorite toy for the last months, and I'm starting to think that I'm no good for floatings. I have to screw the nozzle cap really tight to stop bubbles in the cup in both abs. Not that I use plenty of psi, 20 top (usually between 5 and 15). And I also take my time to thoroughly clean all the parts (even use an ultrasonic cleaner). The krome is worse in that aspect, as the nozzle gets stuck in the paint channel bushing and it won't get out easily for cleaning. It's so small that I have to fiddle for some good 5 minutes till I get her out of there, and it's definitely a painful and dreadful experience, as I can't stop envisioning myself with a bent or crushed or broken or lost nozzle.
 
The real-world differences between the .23 microns and the .18 are pretty subtle. Either one will give you the performance, atomization, and precision you'd expect from a micron. But reeeeally tight detail is a bit easier with the .18. You pretty much have to use them back-to-back to really notice the difference, though.

I use E'Tac EFX, Wicked and Wicked Detail, and the new Createx Illustration paints, and I've never had any sprayability issues with either the .23 or .18. I don't normally, but I've also used Holbien and Com-Art through them, and, again, no issues. The only paints that have given me issues through any small-tipped airbrush have been the classic Createx and Auto Air.
I don't like my paint too watery, so I use little, if any, reducer (depending on the paint, conditions, what I'm trying to accomplish, etc). The EFX and Illustration paints really don't need any reducing at all, for the most part. With the Wicked paints, I usually reduce around 10-20%. I reduce my stocks of classic Createx and Auto Air by placing them in the nearest garbage recepticle, with the goal of reducing them by 100%.

Comparing a Krome to a micron is quite a bit like comparing a Corvette and a Ferrari. Both are very nice "toys" to have, and both will get your license suspended in record time, but you're never going to climb behind the wheel of a Vette and mistake it for a Ferrari...
 
Great analogy indeed. In fact that's exactly what comes to my mind when comparing the Krome with the Infinity CR+. How would you compare Micron CPlus to Infinity CR plus?
 
I can really recommend the second hand airbrushes from Spraypal! I bought an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS and it looked brand new so after a while i got a Custom Micron with the ,23 needle/nozzle and even as a newbie airbrushing has never been more fun :)
 
Great analogy indeed. In fact that's exactly what comes to my mind when comparing the Krome with the Infinity CR+. How would you compare Micron CPlus to Infinity CR plus?

Micron wins. lol. While the Infinity is a very nice airbrush, for me, the micron edges it out. H&S cuts a few corners on material quality, using softer steel for their needles, soft brass for the nozzles, nickle plating instead of chrome plating, etc.

In terms of absolute performance, both can get a very fine line, but for me, it's easier to get with the micron, and the lines seem a bit sharper. And the micron just seems more "put together" to me. The Infinity is the only airbrush I've used (and owned) that REALLY has a valid comparison to the micron, imo, at that's pretty high praise.

I think part of the reason the micron has remained the high-water mark in airbrushes for so long is that other companies keep trying to match it's performance at a lower price point. No one has really even tried to simply out-perform it, even at a matching price point. Until someone does (and succeeds) I think the micron is going to remain the bench mark for quite a while.
 
Get the 0.18 if you're gonna do illustration work but I don't think it will work for general purpose and t-shirts. Paint needs to be quite thin or atleast it needs to be a good paint with small pigment. Otherwise get a Harder & Steenbeck 2 in 1 and you can switch needle and nozzles when you need to.

Can anyone tell me...Do the Harder & Steenbeck brushs come with Teflon tips?
 
Can anyone tell me...Do the Harder & Steenbeck brushs come with Teflon tips?

You do mean Teflon seals/o'rings? in which case yes, although I can't speak for the "ultra".

You are perfectly entitled to start your own threads if you need advice, not compulsory but the guys can't find your queries easier, lol
 
The micron cm-sb does not have a teflon o-ring. You have to buy that separate. The H&S guns do have teflon seals and the CR plus models have triple seals.
 
how much usd is a micron cmc plus on spray pal im interested i plan to git minr from coast but im no millionaire if i can save a few i will and if idecide to get a souped up micron from lion art i will do that to but only if i can get it with a .18 to be absolutly sure i have the finest gun in town i would buy an extra fluid head down the road or when i drop that one lmao . and as an owner of a micron cmsb and kromre that was a great analogy another wood bee a ferret is a silly srtinky crazzy weasel and so is a mink but you dont see marylin monroe wearing a stinky ferret coat now do you (verry similar critters)
 
Anyone explain why a Teflon seal is a 'must have'?

Hoping this was a legitemate question and you didn't forget the <sarcasm /> :tickled_pink:. Teflon won't disolve in solvent based paints such as HOK Inspire and Alsa. If you're just going to paint with water based paints it's not a "must have", if you use rubber seals while your'e going to spray solvent based paints your seals are going to need replacing after a while. That being said when I started out as a n00b I sprayed HOK through an evolution and it took about a year before I needed to replace the seals (and heard they disolved for the 1st time :))
 
Hoping this was a legitemate question and you didn't forget the <sarcasm /> :tickled_pink:. Teflon won't disolve in solvent based paints such as HOK Inspire and Alsa. If you're just going to paint with water based paints it's not a "must have", if you use rubber seals while your'e going to spray solvent based paints your seals are going to need replacing after a while. That being said when I started out as a n00b I sprayed HOK through an evolution and it took about a year before I needed to replace the seals (and heard they disolved for the 1st time :))

Urethane paints chew through rubber O-Rings, but not Teflon.



Not sarcastic at all, but thought that was the reason. The only reason I ask is that I've been spraying solvents through both my CM-SB's for three years now, with no dramas whatsoever!?!
 
i think if your ging to use water base stick with rubber after all the problems iv had the tinie tiny wee litle ruber o ring thats in the micron gave me less isues thain all the other airbrushes i have including the triple Teflon bearings in the famed infinity also not to mention the famous well known individual who told me on the phone the infinity would work beter thain it does if it had a rubber oring on the nozzle . if and when you are pulling a line and you see breaks in the line that is due to a poor needle bearing seal not clogs or improper reduction ...just my 2 cents ....
all this talk makes me want to mess around with my infinity tonight
 
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