What kind of airbrush should I buy?


G

gvtfan

Kid with trains
I want to begin painting and airbrushing some of my own stuff, and I want a inexpensive airbrush. I paint O scale. What do you recommend? I'm looking for something cheap, of good quality. Also, what kind of paint do you recommend?
 
I love and trust Harbor freight...it is a man's toy store there! I'll have to go to counseling prior to going though so I won't buy the whole store-just the airbrush Charlie!
 
TMLW said:
I use an Aztek A470 and love it. I have one of the ones from Harbor Freight, but with anything from there, you get what you pay for. I really do not like it compared to the Aztek.

http://www.testors.com/product/137119/A4709/_/Deluxe_Resin_Airbrush_Set
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somehow i think this wooden box and all the accesories is what dictates the price. IMO purchasing airbrush not as a part of"gift box" will be much better value.

in any case, i really like working with gravity fed badger. i still learn how to but its simply a pleasure
 
The brush from HF is an absolute steal. Its a clone of the Badger Anthem air brush. Its so close that Badger parts fit it. What is surprising is the price. Even when it's not on sale, its only $20 or so. The quality is what really impressed me. I've been a custom painter for more years than I care to remember and I rate this brush way up there, esp with its ability to lay down a really smooth coat of paint. I liked it so much that I have 2 of them, and use it more than my Passches or my Badgers.
 
Cjcrescent said:
The brush from HF is an absolute steal. Its a clone of the Badger Anthem air brush. Its so close that Badger parts fit it. What is surprising is the price. Even when it's not on sale, its only $20 or so. The quality is what really impressed me. I've been a custom painter for more years than I care to remember and I rate this brush way up there, esp with its ability to lay down a really smooth coat of paint. I liked it so much that I have 2 of them, and use it more than my Passches or my Badgers.
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I've only airbrushed a few times and before that never. I to can agree with what you said about how smooth the paint goes down. I hope i can get in some time tomorrow to prime most of my projects.
 
Airbrush

I use an Iwata Revolution. It's about $125. I can get lines out of it that are a half millimeter in width and still paint an HO locomotive with just a few passes.

The thing I really hate about those Harbor Freight airbrushes is that they are NOT gravity-fed. In otherwords, they suck -- the paint, literally out of the cup or jar. This is known as a siphon-fed airbrush.

So what does this mean to you as a modeler?

You'll use a TON of paint just to get the airbrush primed before it will paint anything. The paint has to travel up that tube that is in the jar or the cup, through the tube on the bottom of the airbrush, then through the airbrush. That's ALOT of paint to use just to prime the damn thing. What if you are wanting to paint a very small part that in reality only uses a half a drop of paint? You are going to use up 40x that amount just to prime the airbrush?

I like the gravity fed airbrushes with the cup permanently mounted on the top. I can literally put two drops of paint in the bottom of the cup, put a drop of thinner in it, backfeed some air through the brush to mix the two, then paint a small part. A half a cup of thinner and I am ready for the next color.

With siphon-feeders, there's a lot of wasted paint that sticks to the sides of all that tubing. That all has to be cleaned before the next color goes in the brush. They do have their place, like painting the sides of G-scale rolling stock and locos. That big bottle holds a lot of paint!

Once you use a gravity fed brush, you throw the siphon-feeder in with the garage sale stuff.

Here are some good inexpensive airbrushes made by Master:

http://www.usartsupply.com/airbrush/abdbrand.aspx

--Jon
 
Jon, the "premium" brush from HF comes with a gravity cup.

I've got an Iwata, (2)Paasche's, and a Badger along with the one from Harbor Freight. It depends on what I'm painting as to which brush is in my hand. The Iwata (won as a door prize at a train show) does make a very fine line, but so does my Badger and my Paasche's. The model from Harbor Freight, I've never tried to make a finer line, that would mean changing tips and needles. I can't see doing that when I have a brush already set up to do that job. I generally use if for weathering.

I used to paint motorcycle and racing helmets as a side. Good money if you have the talent and the time. That's the reason for all of the brushes. Each would have a different color and a different pattern. Made life MUCH easier. I do much the same when painting trains. Different brushes, different colors, different patterns.

I guess I just have more money than sense.

But, the HF brush is a bargain. And, it is much better than the price dictates. If I was in the market for an airbrush, I'd buy it.

Bob
 
Bob, it is just smaller paint cup, it still connects from below (and in very stupid angle) so its still bottom fed and all said above still applies...

Jon, agreed 100%. ever since i got the gravity fed brush (badger) i haven't touched the HF bottom feed. much, much nicer to work with for our modeling needs and less cleanup. i can't judge the quality between the 2 objectively, maybe its my imagination, but somehow the badger seems to paint "better".

with that the entire airbrushing thing is not cheap and some kind of airbrush (HF is not a bad one at all for the money) is waaay better then no airbrush at all.
for larger areas (scenery and such) i will still use the bottom fed HF brush.
 
i hate the HF paint cup. You have to paint point upwards just to keep the pain in the cup.

But with the harbour freight bottles or other bottles with the tubes. I have a bottle with thinner or whatever ready to go when I need to switch colors. When done with one, take the thinner and attach it. Spray some thru and im good to go. Granted im sure its not the best way but it works.
 
The real difference in cost is this: The finer a line the airbrush will lay down, the more it will cost. I have used Badger, Paasche, Thayer Chandler, and Iwata. For fine detail work, the Iwatas can't be beat. If you're just doing basic projects, the HF, or an entry level Badger or Paasche will do you fine. I do recommend a double action airbrush for the simple reason that they're more versatile. Try out several at your LHS or craft store. You should like how it feels in your hand. For the HF brush, if they don't have any at your local HF outlet, as CJ says, the Badger Anthem is what it's based on.

I have about eight airbrushes, but use mostly the Paasche Millenium for large areas, and the Iwatas for fine detail work.
 
Alan, I believe my Iwata came with all three tips and needles as did my other airbrushes. In fact I'm sure they did. I've got the .3mm and .7mm tips for the HF brush, I may have to change them out to see just how much difference there really is from the more expensive airbrushes. Never really thought about it all that much until now.

I do the same as you, each brush has a purpose. I hate to stop and change out something(tips or needles and adjust the paint flow) when I change "modes". Just grab a different brush and I'm off and running again with little or no adjustment.

The HB and my Paasche are the two airbrushes I use the most, the Paasche being the oldest of all of the brushes. Oddly, I never thought about using airbrushes on model trains until about 10-15 years ago. I'd been doodling on helmets and motorcycle parts, tanks, covers, etc for over 15 years by then. There was an article in MRR magazine that had the author detailing an engine using one. Sometimes I have to be led to water to drink, I guess.

Bob
 
Both of my Iwatas came with just one needle and tip. I have an Eclipse HP-CS, and a Hi-Line HP-CH that I use for fine and extra fine detail work respectively. Like you, I prefer just to change guns, and the Iwata hose & guns are equipped with QD fittings. They are also more durable than other brands. I don't need to have a bunch of parts on hand for the Iwatas, as I do for the Badgers, a prime reason I don't use Badger much anymore.

The Iwata Hi-Line will lay down a line that looks like it was done with a 0.5 mm mechanical pencil. If my hand was steady enough, I could stripe with it instead if using decals!

OTOH, these work for a living, and probably cost more than most folks want to pay ;).
 
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