What airbrush to buy?? Help please

L

L3n

Guest
Good day to alllllll you airbrush people, just would like to say " what a site, just what we all need, and loving the tutor vids.....keep spreading the love;).
At the moment i'm using a simair sp2000 (was a present a few years ago) and after viewing the super vids have decided to give it another go, so i wanted to know which was a good airbrush to start with???
i've got around £100-£150 to play with, i already have made a airbrush room/studio under stairs which looks ace and i've got lots of (goldern) paints and a good compresser which my dad give to me to get me started.....Thanks L3n
 
Hi L3n - There's plenty of brands out there - i've only used 3. I've used Paasche, Badger and Iwata. I've actually written them in order of price difference aswell.
If you're wanting to do freehand airbrushing the same as what i do in the tutorials - then i'd be looking at 3 particular airbrushes.
The Paasche Talon (i've never used it but heard great reviews)
The badger renegade R1-V Velocity (never used but has great reviews)
The Iwata HP-CH - possibly hi line (that's what i use in my videos to date)

Each of these airbrushes should deliver you excellent detail and reliability. I definitely think you get what you pay for, but is the price difference worth the difference in quality? that's just a matter of opinion.
I'm recommending all gravity fed airbrushes aswell - i prefer them personally but others may differ.
I would encourage people to speak up with their own opinions of what you should buy aswell.
 
Hi L3n,

its all down to personal preferences but i use.....
Iwata eclipse CS 0.35 gravity feed
Iwata eclipse BCS 0.5 suction feed
Badger Patriot 105 gravity feed there all very good and within the cost you mention you can get the badger on ebay for about £90 ish at the mo but i personally prefer iwata easy to strip, clean and get parts for and really well made airbrushes.com have got some deals i think there still on

Phatboy :)
 
Thanks a lot going to do some surfing to see what deals are out there
 
I use a paasche talon and iwata eclipse gravity feed and Harder&steenbeck and a few others if your going to be doing alot of color changes i would also say syphon feed iwata makes the eclipse in it as well only because u can store the paint in the bottles for easy change.
 
I just got an Iwata revolution trigger with side feed today. My hubby bought it for me. I didnt think that the "brand name" of a gun would matter but, wow, was I wrong. The iwata is sooooooooooooo smooth to use. Easy trigger action and the paint just flows so much easier. So, I would be recommending the Iwata. I am tickled pink with it.:cool:
 
I just purchased a NEO for IWATA and am loving it through and through plus it only cost me about £65 ;)
 
I use a Paasche Talon.I really like my brush,but then again it is the only brush that I have had.I think the Talon is pretty handy though, my kit came with 3 different needles,end caps for different spray patterns and paint thicknesses.Goodluck on your decision.
 
Its a good question that really comes down to what you are comfortable with, bottom, side or gravity feed?
When I attended a course a few years ago I had the opportunity to try a few models from different brands out.
Iwata
Harder & Steenbeck
Hansa
Badger
Aztek
DevilBiss
Now my PERSONAL opinion was that out of all these I found the Harder and Steenbeck the most comfortable to use, the model was the Evolution Silverline 2 in 1 FPC, so i bought that one
I already owned a Badger 155 Anthem and love that brush and on the basis of reviews recently bought a Badger Renagade Velocity and I have to say that is an awesome airbrush.
On the basis of reviews I also bought a DevilBiss Dagr but if I am honest I cant quite get used to that airbrush so I will be selling it, thats not to say its a bad airbrush as a good few people love it.
I never had the chance to try models like the Iwata Micron but in a month or so I am attending the Marissa Oosterlee workshop and will have the opportunity to try this brush and am really looking forward to it.
The Aztecs are a strange breed of airbrush and I did not like them at all, look them up in the internet they are like no other airbrush Ive used.
So after all that the airbrush that I use day in and day out are my Evolution Silverline and my Renagade Velocity. The Anthem 155 I use for base coats and large fills as it's a bottom feed style.
I would recommend one of the Badger Renagede series for approx £120 or a one of the Harder and Steenbeck Evolution models for approx £100 to £160 depending on which particular model you go for.
 
I've owned and used Badger and Iwata. Loved them both. As trite as this sounds, I prefer the Iwata (so far I have only used a bottom feed) but I like it because of how it feels in my hand. I know that sounds like of strange, but it just is very comfortable.
 
Hi L3n,
My advise from personal experance is don't spend too much on your first airbrushes as I did you will find you may stuff one or two before you start to get the hang of it.
You will learn just as well using a cheap airbrush and wont get any advantage out of an expensive one until you are more advanced... I suggest you buy a chinese copy (a Fengda 180 is a micron copy) or a Iwata Neo with is made in china anyway. it's not the airbrush that makes you good it's Practice, practice, practice and knowlage, a good airbrush will help you later.
Cheers Lou.
 
A quality airbrush is easy to get used to as your brain learns the trigger and becomes second nature , that means you only have to work on tecnique and not fight the trigger.
I personaly use an iwata revolution suction feed with a .5 needle setup and it is a joy to use compared to my no name cheapy .
So the key I think is the dependability of a good brush not the fact that you are just starting out .
 
I agree with both Phoenix and autoart in that yes for a complete beginner who has never held or used an airbrush or a spray gun of any type, then maybe a cheap one to start with because you may screw it up! But if you are a tad more savvy with spraying then defo spend your money a quality double action brush which will only build your confidence quicker . My then girlfriend now wife bought me my first brush which was a Paasch side feed single action, but as I was a paintsprayer by trade it was just like using an aerosol, so I soon bought a double action. I would recommend an Iwata, if your feeling a bit confident then a good brush will only boost it ten fold, you will notice the difference.
 
Phoenix hit the nail on the head - Dependabilty!

The temptation to buy a cheapy cheap ab is to be avoided, yes the price is unbeatable and you think "how bad can it be?" but you will soon find yourself throwing it at the dog and giving up airbrushing as a bad joke.
Seriously though, these things are made of crap, the needles and nozzles are not reliably machined to fit well together and wear out quickly. Quite often the needles are bent when you recieve them int he box!
The quality control of these brushes is almost non existent, an experienced user could well tweak one of these to spray acceptably well but as a beginner you will only be dissapointed with your purchase and wish you spent your money on a reputable brand.

I understand you are on a budget and by all means try one, you may get lucky and get a good one but the odds are against you.

Good luck!
 
well in my opinion.. i handle it similar like whit cars ..
when i start i buy a old car lerning the basics ... when i crash the car who cares?
would i start with an ferrari and do a crash... i would cry and lost a lot of money, so for what ? that i say look at me i drive this amazing car (but i can`t handle it)
to say that is the best or this one .. for me sounds that stupid, look what work for YOU fine, later when you have basic skills and you want more buy a better one
if you say later hm airbrsuh is nice but not really for me.. you spend not so much money in that...
cheers
 
Ha ha I like your analogy Mika with a Ferrari, so with that in mind I recommend an Iwata HP-C plus about £165 it's a Ferrari with automatic gears, extra airbags and big rubber bumpers ;)
 
Ha ha I like your analogy Mika with a Ferrari, so with that in mind I recommend an Iwata HP-C plus about £165 it's a Ferrari with automatic gears, extra airbags and big rubber bumpers ;)

LOL no the HP-C is not a Ferrari ,Maybe a Porches 928 but not a Ferrari that is the Micron. Parts cost a lot more:) on a Micron.
I always suggest making a budget you are willing to part with and still keep your bills paid. Paasche Vl are great beginner brushes as will as an Iwata Eclipse CS or the BCS (depends on if you want gravity feed or bottom feed) But I have seen many people buy a high dollar airbrush and then find out the either hate airbrushing or can not understand on the beast works or keeping it spraying.
 
Fair comment Mr Micron, I do rate the HP c plus though, I know I have only just got it but it's such a good brush to use and I let my 11 year(under close supervision) use it for her home work today and she found it easy to use. It's in my eyes worth stretching your budget for as it's reliable,dependable and a damn good brush. This is what this forum is about, good honest opinions and each to there own, love it and well done Mitch for kick in it off :)
 
Hello all,

I'm VERY new at airbrushing (just got my kit on Monday) but would like to state simply that I had the same dilemma when looking myself. I decided on the Badger Renegade Spirit as I wasn't sure if I wanted to lock myself into a top feed only system. At this point I have only done some model painting (plastic motorcycles) and playing around.

I find the balance is excellent despite what has been said on the internet and the control is beautiful. The complete kit came with everything I needed including compressor with tank and pressure gauge/adjustment from TCPGlobal.com for around $400 CDN. (NOTE: I don't normally endorse suppliers but the package does deserve mentioning here I think as it was completely ready to go out of the box with only paint needing to be added.)

I've been using Tamyia water based model paints unreduced and so far have found I get good fine lines and clean patterns for what I have been doing. I've tried to reduce the paints with H2O but that has created spider patterns at all but the very lowest of air pressures (no reading on the gauge). I'll work on this before expanding my "canvass".

Again, I'm VERY new but I do like the feel, control, and balance of the Spirit as well as the idea of not being limited to a top or bottom feed system. So take this for what it's worth. It's just my opinion and others may have different ideas on this subject.

Thanks
 
I will be getting an airbrush setup. For starters what do you recommend: a single action or a double action? I will mainly be painting scale aircraft models. Thank you.
 
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