Airbrush recommendations

[N.C.S.E]

Hi everyone
I'm seriously thinking about getting a good airbrush finally. I've never had an airbrush before or used one (apart from spraycans for undercoating but those probably don't count anyway). I've got my eye on an Iwata Revolution HP.CR which seems to be receiving good reviews. I've also yet to sort out an air supply.
What do you guys suggest and what airbrushes does everyone use?
Thanks
N

[Des]

Hi N

I started modeling again only three years ago, I decided to buy a cheapy air brush just to see how I would go using one as I had never air brushed before. I didn't want to spend a lot of money so the one I purchased off ebay suited me fine. Well, I'm still using the same air brush, it has performed faultlessly, it is easy to use and gives great results, it has sprayed all my models that I have built over the past three years. It has a very good paint/air flow control which is very easy to manipulate, I have found that a good pressure for this gun is around 25psi when spraying enamels or acrylics.  I have purchased quite a few of these air brushes and sent them to modelers around the world, they all agree that it performs extremely well.

I purchased my compressor also from ebay, it is a single cylinder type with tank, comes with the regulator and water trap, it is very quiet in operation and delivers an even constant air flow without pulsations, this also has operated fautlessly.

Des.

[lcarroll]

NCSE,
   I was going to heartily endorse your Iwata choice until I saw the prices on Des's recommendation. Given his results and three years of steady performance I'd say go for it. If you only get a couple or three years service from it it's still a bargain; the price on the compressor is also a real deal.
Cheers,
Lance

[LindsayT]

A timely posting; I was just thinking of maybe taking the plunge myself and have been casting around for reviews. Quite a wide variance in opinions on any one brush. I guess you just go with what works.

I've heard more people than just RB recommend the paasche H. Anyone use an iwata eclipse hp-cs, or Neo?

Thanks,

LT

[Dave Brewer]

I've been using a Harder and Steenbeck Evolution dual for the last 4 years,it replaced my old Aztek single.The Evolution comes with a couple of  different nozzles,a three-step airflow control and an adjustable paintflow.I can freehand  camouflage with it,down to Luftwaffe mottle,or open it up for  undercoating with the larger nozzle,so it's quite versatile.Easy to clean,the only niggle is the fragility of the needles,the tips bend quite easily and need to be treated with care-I now have 2 expensive superglue applicators by learning that the hard way.I must say,I am very tempted to grab one of Des"recommended ones to experiment with.HTH

Dave.

[Rizzo]

The best purchase I've made for my airbrush was a second moisture trap that fits directly to the airbrush itself. Before I had that, I was still getting water forming down the air line, which can easily mess up the paintwork.

[N.C.S.E]

Des, I've seen your recommendation and I was a bit iffy at first, then I remembered that I'd been following your sight for more than a year. I'll be buying it as soon as possible I think... The price seems too good to ignore and the results you've had just made the decision for me.

[pepperman42]

I use a Paasche H like RB, own a Iwata Micron B that I almost never use and ran thru a bunch of others but the price etc for the unit Des recommends is insanely inexpensive!! I would go for it.

Steve

[lcarroll]

I have two Iwatas, both Highlines (with the air control added to the airbrush itself). I had the HP-C with the large colour cup and bought the HP-B with the smaller cup (and mostly for the smaller nozzle) however compared to Des's price and, importantly, results, I'd be going that route too, especially to learn how to use it. I used a Paasche H3 on and off for almost 25 years and it served me very well.
For the price, assuming it's durable, it would be hard to beat the "Princess" offering.
Cheers,
Lance

[Chris Johnson]

I'm one of the recipients of the airbrush Des mentions below and I wish I'd had it before investing heavily in my Iwata. It's an excellent airbrush, every bit as good as the Iwata, and ridiculously inexpensive in comparison.

I use a cheap 2 gallon compressor from Canadian Tire which is a noisy pup, but it does the job. The unit Des posted looks like my old Badger compressor mounted on a pressure tank, so it would definitely be quieter than what I have now.

Cheers,

Chris

[N.C.S.E]

Ordered your recommendation today Des, lets see how this goes, I've got a Gotha all lined up for this...

[Des]

I'm sure you will be very pleased with your new air brush, I have had a great deal of success using mine. If you have never used an air brush you may need to do a bit of practice first, playing around with pressure settings on your compressor and making sure you have the paint consistency correct, once you get these two factors right it all becomes very easy.

Des.

[N.C.S.E]

Thanks Des, I might post a few further questions when I get to grips with it, though that might not be for a while yet.

[Modelnut]

Whatever Brand or model airbrush you decide on, treat it like a delicate fine instrument. Carefully disassemble and clean after each use and even the less expensive one's will give you less headaches.

[uncletony]

Whatever Brand or model airbrush you decide on, treat it like a delicate fine instrument. Carefully disassemble and clean after each use and even the less expensive one's will give you less headaches.

I  almost never take apart my airbrush (Paasche VL) and I have had it for years and years, and used it for all sorts of stuff, mostly not model related. Instead I run lacquer thinner thru it before and after each use (unless I am spraying future or something else that cleans easily without strong solvents) and soak just the front portion in the same, fully assembled, never ever letting solvents or paint get near the air valve or the action. That in my experience leads to problems. The VL is built like a tank. The only way to really damage it is to drop it needle first, and you have to be unlucky at that.

Speaking of spraying solvents, you definitely want to consider ventilation requirements as part of the equation. You can buy hood fan set ups from a variety of vendors or even build something (I did this for my "big scale shop", but I am not going to share my plans -- OSHA would probably not approve) but whatever, don't neglect this. And of course wear a respirator when working with nasty solvents like lacquer thinner, esp when spraying.