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my airbrush is dead, what should I replace it with


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My aztek airbrush finally quit on me, a paint cup stem broke off in the airbrush when someone in my house bumped the table. But now is the time for something new and better. I am open to suggestions, I build 1/72 scale aircraft and armor, so most of my work ends up being fine detail.

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I have a Badger Renegade Velocity and a H&S Evolution 2n1. The Velocity w/.22 tip out performs the Evolution w/ .20 tip. Their new Krome Renegade looks nice, wish I had gotten it but it wasn't out at the time. My H&S is nice but it has lots of seals, one of which I've already taken out because it got hard and wouldn't let the button work smoothly. The Iwatas always get high praise. Their BR with .3 tip is what I was going to get until I decided on the H&S.

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Price range is perhaps the key.

I have two H&S brushes, an Evolution Silverline and an Infinity. I also have three needle tip combos - 0.15, 0.2, and 0.4. I also build 1/72, mostly single engine. The 0.2 needle is my general purpose choice, the 0.4 for large areas or spraying Future, and 0.15 for small stuff such as free handing an Italian or Luftwaffe mottle. The H&S brushes replaced an Iwata HP-C, they (the H&S) paint a little better than the Iwata (finer control) imo, but the biggest difference is ease of clean-up. No special tools required and it is easy to extract the needle from the front. I undertand Iwata has changed the design somewhat, but my HP-C (circa 1997 model) requires a special tool, and the needle has to be withdrawn from the rear, plus the tip cone is an missing part just waiting to happen. Never a problem with seals, although I only use acrylics and the strongest stuff I have sprayed is Simple Green for cleaning.

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My friends at my IPMS club told me to get an Iwata Eclipse CS

It is a good all round choice. You will not regret it. Besides, you can get spare parts locally in case you need them.

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My aztek airbrush finally quit on me, a paint cup stem broke off in the airbrush when someone in my house bumped the table. But now is the time for something new and better. I am open to suggestions, I build 1/72 scale aircraft and armor, so most of my work ends up being fine detail.

Does this mean my new aztec is trash?

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I have a Badger Renegade Velocity and a H&S Evolution 2n1. The Velocity w/.22 tip out performs the Evolution w/ .20 tip. Their new Krome Renegade looks nice, wish I had gotten it but it wasn't out at the time. My H&S is nice but it has lots of seals, one of which I've already taken out because it got hard and wouldn't let the button work smoothly. The Iwatas always get high praise. Their BR with .3 tip is what I was going to get until I decided on the H&S.

Was it the seal at the top of the air valve - the one with the stem going throught it that the trigger acts on that you had to replace?

Up until about a year / 10 months ago it was a black nitrile seal (123220) which was fitted there & it could swell in the presence of strong solvents, causing a sticky trigger on downwards / air action. This has now been replaced by a white PTFE seal (123220V) which doesn't have this problem.

Old;

123220.JPG

New;

123220V.JPG

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Get two. A good general purpose airbrush and a fineline. My suggestion is the timeless, classic Paasche H and an H&S Infinity. Can't go wrong there.

If you have a H&S Infinity, it is doubtful that you will ever touch the Paasche H.

This Paasche H was the first airbrush that I acquired in the mid 1980's and my only one for the next 20 years. It does the job of airbrushing models, but I never could have figured out a good way of cleaning it. I took it all apart and soak it in thinner in-between colors. Well, not surprisingly, it did not get used a lot. I no longer use it. It could just be me using my first airbrush. I just did not learn and develop a good cleaning routine as I should have with the Paasche H. I used the paint cup most of the time and the cup inside was not chrome plated. It made it extra burdonsome to clean.

The Badger Patriot works equally well for larger areas and is easier to clean. I use the Patriot for primer, finish coats etc. For general airbrushing, I go back to the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS.

I also have a H&S Evolution Silverliner Solo and a Badger Krome, both of which has the 0.2 mm nozzle for fineline work. But for modeling task, I don't need them very often. The Iwata is fine enough 90% of the time. It is probably because I don't have good free hand skill and work with 1:48 or 1:32 scale model mostly.

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Was it the seal at the top of the air valve - the one with the stem going throught it that the trigger acts on that you had to replace?

Up until about a year / 10 months ago it was a black nitrile seal (123220) which was fitted there & it could swell in the presence of strong solvents, causing a sticky trigger on downwards / air action. This has now been replaced by a white PTFE seal (123220V) which doesn't have this problem.

Old;

123220.JPG

New;

123220V.JPG

That's the one. Thanks for the info, I just took the black one out and it still seemed to work fine. I'll be getting my hands on one of those white ones though. I can't help but use lacquer thinner to try and get it good and clean.

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If you have a H&S Infinity, it is doubtful that you will ever touch the Paasche H.

I disagree. I have them both and use the Paasche H more than the Infinity. The H is the most suitable brush for general tasks. Easy to use and easy to clean as it is external mix. I am sorry you had a hard time cleaning yours, but I thought it was easy....eyedroppers, q-tips, and some pipe cleaners. Nothing to it.

I use the Infinity for fine line work. It is a precision instrument and it only comes out when it needs to. It takes a different cleaning approach and a lot more diligence....gotta play the "pull the needle out carefully" game. To me that is more of a PITA than cleaning the H.

Edited by DutyCat
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I disagree. I have them both and use the Paasche H more than the Infinity. The H is the most suitable brush for general tasks. Easy to use and easy to clean as it is external mix. I am sorry you had a hard time cleaning yours, but I thought it was easy....eyedroppers, q-tips, and some pipe cleaners. Nothing to it.

I use the Infinity for fine line work. It is a precision instrument and it only comes out when it needs to. It takes a different cleaning approach and a lot more diligence....gotta play the "pull the needle out carefully" game. To me that is more of a PITA than cleaning the H.

Yes, it should be understood by the new user that the selection of an airbrush is somewhat subjective and, in most cases, personal. I am not a skillful user of the airbrush. I found the Iwata HP-CS gives me a lot more control than the Paasche H. I like it.

Many experienced users had said that it is NOT the airbrush, it is the user. It may be true for the skilled or talented individual. But I found the Iwata HP-CS allowed me to build up skill much faster than the Paasche H. In general, most user feel that an internal mix airbrush is easier to clean because you do not have to take it apart everytime.

Again, it is a personal choice. To some, the Badger Patriot 105 fine is perferred over the Iwata CS because the Patriot is more forgiving in paint thinning and less prone to tip dry when using acrylic. Personally, I like the Iwata CS better. Both have enough detail for my modeling job. Most modern airbrush do a good job atomizing paint. Some have less overspray than the other. It is the feel in my hand and the trigger action that decided my perference. For buyer of his/her second airbrush, try it at your LHS or Art Supplier before you decide, you usually can tell which one you like the best by the fit in you hand and the feel of the trigger.

Edited by Kei Lau
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In general, most user feel that an internal mix airbrush is easier to clean because you do not have to take it apart everytime.

??????!!!!!!

I am sorry but my experience is that you DO have to take an airbrush apart for cleaning EVERY TIME it is used. This includes internal and external mix brushes. There is simply no way you can flush thinner through an airbrush and get it clean. I can promise you if you pull the needle out of your internal mix brush after you think you have it clean, you will find paint residue. It will dry and over time will build up and cause you perfomance problems. Cleaning any airbrush properly is a PITA, but it is the price of admission if you want to do quality work.

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??????!!!!!!

I am sorry but my experience is that you DO have to take an airbrush apart for cleaning EVERY TIME it is used. This includes internal and external mix brushes. There is simply no way you can flush thinner through an airbrush and get it clean. I can promise you if you pull the needle out of your internal mix brush after you think you have it clean, you will find paint residue. It will dry and over time will build up and cause you perfomance problems. Cleaning any airbrush properly is a PITA, but it is the price of admission if you want to do quality work.

Amen to that!!!!!

I could run a pint of lacquer thinner through the A/B, back flush it many times over.....and when that needle comes out (hopefully through the front of the brush) there will be paint on it!!!

Bob

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Not sure if this has been mentioned yet but as someone who has owned at least 4 different IWATA airbrushes over the last 35 years I'd like to ask you to consider an airbrush brand very similar to IWATA airbrushes but at a MUCH lower price. The airbrushes I'm referring to are SPARMAX and can be purchased for under $50.00 from LuckyModel.com Like I said, I've been using IWATA airbrushes for most of my life but have just recently discovered these SPARMAX brushes and think they work just as well as my IWATA airbrushes but at nearly 1/3 the price. Anyway, the worst you can do is check them out. Here's a link for you:

SPARMAX airbrushes at Luckymodel

One other suggestion, if you do go with either a SPARMAX or IWATA airbrush you might want to think about getting one of the airbrush cleaning pots as shown on the page I provided you the link for. I got one of these for myself a few years back and I really love it....makes cleaning my airbrush a whole lot easier!

Good luck!

Tim

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??????!!!!!!

I am sorry but my experience is that you DO have to take an airbrush apart for cleaning EVERY TIME it is used. This includes internal and external mix brushes. There is simply no way you can flush thinner through an airbrush and get it clean. I can promise you if you pull the needle out of your internal mix brush after you think you have it clean, you will find paint residue. It will dry and over time will build up and cause you perfomance problems. Cleaning any airbrush properly is a PITA, but it is the price of admission if you want to do quality work.

The habit of how often to clean an airbrush is personal, but it is not all subjective. The airbrush is a simple, but delicated instrument. It is inperative that the airbrush is kept absolutely clean to work well.

I don't know how many different color you use in each session. But to tear the airbrush down every time in between colors is not practical, IMHO. It tends to make the painting job too painful to enjoy and making it bad advice to new airbrush users.

I will encourage new airbrush users to develop the cleaning skill to minimize the number of tearing down necessary. It makes painting more fun and reduces the airbrush tear and wear. It needs to strike the balance.

My main modeling airbrush is the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. I also use a Harder & Steenbeck Evolution and a Badger Patriot. All of them have the self centering nozzle design that does not need a wrench to take down, thus, making them easier to clean at the end of the day. I tear down the airbrush before I put it away.

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I do a strip & clean of my Infinity at the end of session, religiously, no matter what or how much has gone through it. It really isn't a big deal, just over a minute & the jobs done - the brush is stripped, thoroughly cleaned & back together, spotless & dry.

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The habit of how often to clean an airbrush is personal, but it is not all subjective. The airbrush is a simple, but delicated instrument. It is inperative that the airbrush is kept absolutely clean to work well.

I don't know how many different color you use in each session. But to tear the airbrush down every time in between colors is not practical, IMHO. It tends to make the painting job too painful to enjoy and making it bad advice to new airbrush users.

I will encourage new airbrush users to develop the cleaning skill to minimize the number of tearing down necessary. It makes painting more fun and reduces the airbrush tear and wear. It needs to strike the balance.

My main modeling airbrush is the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. I also use a Harder & Steenbeck Evolution and a Badger Patriot. All of them have the self centering nozzle design that does not need a wrench to take down, thus, making them easier to clean at the end of the day. I tear down the airbrush before I put it away.

I don't like cleaning them either. Maybe I misunderstood you. I did not mean to suggest a tear down cleaning when changing colors. That is not required. However, I am saying it is my experience that when your painting session is over, it is prudent to tear down and clean thoroughly, which includes removing tips/needles, as appropriate.

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