Which brush to choose?

Cre8iveChrstine

Young Tutorling
Newbie here…I am a large scale mural artist and have decided to get an airbrush for several reasons, the primary ones being speed and ease of application. Most surfaces I grapple with are very rough and uneven. I use acrylic paint, (Nova Color Paint).
After doing some research, I am gravitating toward Paasche or Badger, but deciding on the model is where I falter. My needs require both fine detail and large, broad coverage. Most immediately, I will be doing a 14 X 9 foot sign with lettering upwards of 4+ feet high. Never having used an airbrush before but wanting to get something on a professional scale and money being no object, can I get some recommendations on what to get?
 
Hi, I would Imagine most will point you to iwata, gsi creos or harder and Steenbeck. Everyone will have a different opinion of which of the brushes to choose but they seem to be the more trusted for performance, quality and customer service. Badger certainly do have some good performers in their range but some of the members with experience of all brands will surely tell you more soon.
 
Hello,

It seems you need to move a lot of material. What do you consider "fine detail"? a hair line or a 1/2" line? I would suspect that for such large applications you may be good with an external mix like a Paasche H. If you need smaller detail control, and looking into an internal mix, I'd recommend a Badger 150 or a Badger 155 Anthem because those are siphon feed and you can use a large paint jar. But it will all depends on what area you need to cover and what is your definition of "fine detail".

Thanks,
Ismael
 
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Hello,

It seems you need to move a lot of material. What do you consider "fine detail"? a hair line or a 1/2" line? I would suspect that for such large applications you may be good with an external mix like a Paasche H. If you need smaller detail control, and looking into an internal mix, I'd recommend a Badger 150 or a Badger 155 Anthem because those are siphon feed and you can use a large paint jar. But it will all depends on what area you need to cover and what is your definition of "fine detail".

Thanks,
Ismael
Thank you for the recommendations… by fine detail I do indeed mean a hair line, sorry for not being more specific.
 
First of all welcome to the forum. There are a lot of airbrushes on the market that are capable of fine lines. For hair lines it would be a brush with 0,2 or 0,3 mm nozzle. Depending on your budget there would be GSI Creos, Iwata, Badger, Harder and Steenbeck and a few more. If you let us know what your budget is and how much experience you have with an airbrush, we could give a push in the wright direction.
 
Sounds like You will need at least a .5mm for the large areas, something like the Iwata revolution BCR might fit the bill, has a large bottle also to hold more paint.


Then You could look at maybe a GSI creos PS-289 or even the 771 for fine detail work.



Others may be able to offer better advice than mine :)
I agree with this with this but if you are considering Badger the Solar 20/20 fine or medium needle might be an option for you. Another option for a detail brush is the Iwata HP-B Plus There is always the Iwata Customs Microns but they are pricy.
 
There are a number of brushes on the market which are very versatile with the adoption of multi angle tapered needles, as you mention you lean towards badger and paasche, a badger patriot could be a good option to start off as a general brush, the anthem 155 as Ismael has said is like the syphon feed brother of it that would be good for larger area coverage too. A single action like the paasche h Ismael also mentioned can also be a good option for priming and the external mix also gives a slightly different spray pattern you may be able to utilise

There will be an equivalent type in the iwata, gsi creos and h&s range also so its hard to pin point a single or even 3 brushes with so many different but similar brushes being available!
 
I have done a couple large scale pieces before, including twin murals on the sides of a tractor trailer container... For doing what you are looking to do, I would suggest that it is not just one brush you are looking for. I would think you will be best off with at least a mini-spray gun, and then a detail gun or brush. There are some really cool accessories for the mini-spray guns these days that would make for quick color changes with a minimum of fuss on site, and decent coverage for quick work in blocking in your colors. Switching to details, that bit can be a bit tougher to recommend, as a lot will depend on the actual size of the detailed stuff you are working on, and your ability to use the airbrush. Maybe some pictures of your goal would help with that part...

I will also say maybe get in touch with the guys at Spraygunner, as they carry such a broad range of equipment, they may be able to steer you in the right direction. They have been really good to me along my journey - https://spraygunner.com/

Welcome abroad. I look forward to seeing your progress.
 
First of all welcome to the forum. There are a lot of airbrushes on the market that are capable of fine lines. For hair lines it would be a brush with 0,2 or 0,3 mm nozzle. Depending on your budget there would be GSI Creos, Iwata, Badger, Harder and Steenbeck and a few more. If you let us know what your budget is and how much experience you have with an airbrush, we could give a push in the wright direction.
Thank you! Zero experience, no budget limit…
 
I'm working on larger murals. Currently working on 6’x8’ frog mural using an Iwata RG-3L. Can get small lines but not hairlines. It has good coverage. I use an inexpensive 1.5mm needle spray gun for base coats and initial color tones. Both are gravity fed.
 
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