What companies still make a good A cup airbrush?

[Airbrushkid]

It is costly but you can still get a Iwata HP-AH. It’s the only one of the A’s they make for now.

 

[Drastion]

Hello,

How about giving siphon feed another chance? Properly reduced, I've shot my 150 down to 8 psi.
I have never had a cup falling.
Mixing and reducing straight into the cup without the need for transfer is a big plus for me.
I haven't got the time to play with it but I would like to make a siphon feed SOTAR (150 body with SOTAR internals)
Alternatively, I've seen somewhere a 3D printed adapter to make the SOTAR cup a hint larger. I am sure it can be adapted to a SG.
The original SOTAR had a beautifully shaped A cup which I assume is larger than the current one.

Thanks,
Ismael

I have not given siphon airbrushes a try in a long time. A 150 was my first airbrush. I have not used it in years.

I think I will give that a try. With all the 100 series parts being compatible it is a pretty easy and quick parts swap. Plus since it is the same exact same front end and needle performance comparisons are easy. Plus it would be good to breathe some new life into it.

The original Slim Sotar would be great with its slightly larger cup. It is one of those airbrushes I am always keeping an eye out for in ebay.

 

[Drastion]

They are the same as an Iwata not plus HP, yes so parts are easy to get hold of. If you do buy one from Richpen direct it may be worth buying a couple of spare nozzles/needles at the same time anyway as the prices are good.

The Richpen branded version is the only one I know of which is still available.

Edit: only the Apollo series is still available retail. Other models like Phoenix, etc they only sell parts not whole brushes to retail.

They are the same as an Iwata not plus HP, yes so parts are easy to get hold of. If you do buy one from Richpen direct it may be worth buying a couple of spare nozzles/needles at the same time anyway as the prices are good.

The Richpen branded version is the only one I know of which is still available.

Edit: only the Apollo series is still available retail. Other models like Phoenix, etc they only sell parts not whole brushes to retail.

I have a few from a junk lot.


Which nozzles would I need to get to have them working again?

 

[RK Ink and Focus]

I will keep my eyes open for the old a cup sotar. Sometimes the look of a brush can make you more inclined to use it if you cannot decide what to use.

I get the practicality of an a cup, they are slender and functional but i am not sold on the look of them.

I like a b cup they look old school shape but they look smaller now as c cup seems more standard these days. I even got the chance to get to grips with a d cup and it was definately top heavy but performed well.

The bigger ones have the advantage of being able to mess around with the shape, an a cup is hard to play with and risky adding more cup on and making it still look good.

 

[RK Ink and Focus]

Even the earlier sotar b cup was a smaller cup than now.

There are brushes like the olympos f1 that are sold new. Do the iwata spares drop straight in or the richpen parts?

 

[RK Ink and Focus]

@Kingpin would you say the h&s is as big as your sotar slim with its micro cup? Is drastion likely to get a bigger capacity with it do you think?

Badger seems to be your best option for current line up a cup but even the sotar is ageing now. H&S is probably the next as its new in design. an old fuso build that takes modern parts is also a good option. But do they look as good as the classic look of the aerograph a cup or the F1 olympos?!










The late aerograph with straight airvalve you can get consumables for.

The F1 and F2 are new old stock from olympos website i think, not made new but i may be wrong. I am not sure what new bits fit from iwata,rich,creos etc.

Maybe a little research required. Perhaps an email to badger to see if they have an old style a cup sotar body you can build up into a brush??

Old brushes have not developed or progressed so the latest iwata a cup before they stopped production you can get or an H&S or badger look to be your "new" options.

 

[Kingpin]

They are quite close, the Sotar holds about 10 drops of water and the H&S holds about 12

 

[JackEb]

I may have missed someone mentioning this but, you can still get the replacement nozzle and needle for the Iwata A brush.
I found these which may help.

And because I don't always believe what I see on the internet, I went deep digging through the Iwata parts finder and it does in fact appear that the current H2 needle and H2 nozzle will fit both models. Personally I would also get the H2 Nozzle cap (or air cap as they're sometimes called) just to ensure they all play nice together.

 

[Wizard_Theron]

I have a few from a junk lot.
View attachment 91793

Which nozzles would I need to get to have them working again?

Both the c cups have a .3 setup and the A cup has a .2 setup. You can get parts from Iwata as @JackEb has helpfully posted above or parts from Richpen for the Apollo will fit.

The Richpen part numbers are:
A cup:
29702 (#3 - Nozzle for Apollo 112A/B)

C cup:
29725 (#3 - Nozzle for Apollo 113C)

 

[RK Ink and Focus]

I recently picked up an a cup badger 100 body, put some old velocity/sotar bits on and have found I quite like an a cup! I thought i would spill paint everywhere but it turns out the surface tension of a small amount of paint seems less likely to spill than more sloshing around in a big cup. Waffling over, what are the best options for a better performing or more forgiving a cup? Would it be an HP-A?

 

[tatocorvette]

I have used my 100SG regularly and never had spill issues. The idea of an A cup is when you need 1 or 2 drops of paint. More than that you should be using a larger cup. That been said, the Olympos F2 has a unique cup design made to prevent spills working downwards.
I think it may still be considered an A. I consider it an A.5 since it would be between A and B


Thanks,
Ismael

 

[Kingpin]

Richard, what do you mean by "more forgiving" ?

Most A cups I think have a smaller nozzle, as they are more designed for detail work

 

[RK Ink and Focus]

More forgiving, more user friendly i suppose. I am not going to stop using the 100, maybe up the nozzle size, I think what i am probably suffering with is dilution problems/inconsistencies and lack of painting time/practise. Maybe i get on better with a slightly larger nozzle for now even when using only a little paint for detail (detail being relative to ability!). That said when i had my focus airbrush that was good at .2mm nozzle same inks and paints. I am not sure if i am making sense or waffling again?!

 

[DaveG]

Richard, what do you mean by "more forgiving" ?

Most A cups I think have a smaller nozzle, as they are more designed for detail work

all the "A" cup brushes I have share the same nozzles,needles, and nozzle caps as the "B" and "SB" brushes I have.

 

[RK Ink and Focus]

I have used my 100SG regularly and never had spill issues. The idea of an A cup is when you need 1 or 2 drops of paint. More than that you should be using a larger cup. That been said, the Olympos F2 has a unique cup design made to prevent spills working downwards.
I think it may still be considered an A. I consider it an A.5 since it would be between A and B
View attachment 93504

Thanks,
Ismael

These doo look nice and sound like good performers from what i read on the forum.

 

[Kingpin]

Iwata may be the way to go then, parts may be easier to get if you want to swap to a larger nozzle setup

 

[Kingpin]

Also, the new Ultra 2024 you can use without the cup and that would make it a very small A-cup (2 drops of paint may overfill it) with a 0.45 setup

 

[RK Ink and Focus]

all the "A" cup brushes I have share the same nozzles,needles, and nozzle caps as the "B" and "SB" brushes I have.

As you say a and b cup share the 0.2mm as far as I could see so they would be in the same group as the focus I had and probably what is on the 100 a cup I have. the focus seemed to handle paint a little better or was less fussy than the 100 with a sotar head. I wonder if the HP would be more like the focus. The only way I will know is to try one when I have the pennies, that and put on a standard 100 head, the 100 with fine head my kids use seems to plough on regardless!

 

[DaveG]

As you say a and b cup share the 0.2mm as far as I could see so they would be in the same group as the focus I had and probably what is on the 100 a cup I have. the focus seemed to handle paint a little better or was less fussy than the 100 with a sotar head. I wonder if the HP would be more like the focus. The only way I will know is to try one when I have the pennies, that and put on a standard 100 head, the 100 with fine head my kids use seems to plough on regardless!

It is not necessarily the size of the nozzle, or needle tip - but how well the air is utilized at creating suction up front. I personally find the Sotar to be quite finicky in comparison to most Japanese units. I have also had a pretty broad range of success with the 100 series heads, where some work very well, some a bit more sluggish by comparison.

 

[RK Ink and Focus]

I think that may well be what i am experiencing and it is amplified by my not painting enough at the moment and not able to make up for the shortfalls with technical ability

More painting and an upgrade to a japanese unit down the line required I think.