What airbrush do YOU use and what's the story?

[ismaelg]

Hello,
This is NOT a "what airbrush should I buy"  thread. That is a never ending question. I'm just curious about which one YOU use and why.
Here is my story:  Over 25 years ago (1993 to be exact)  a graphics artist from the art department in my university, modeler and my mentor in the hobby, Carlos, showed me what an airbrush was and the basics of how to use it.  That was with a Badger 150. He let me use it and even loaned it to me for a few days to take home. I was up until 3AM painting  everything I could! I vividly remember my very first airbrushed part: vertical fins of an F18 in 1/48 scale. Needless to say I was hooked for life!
So I wanted to get one. Somebody told me to check on Harbor Freight because they had a cheap "asian knockoff of the Badger 150". So I thought I could start with that. It was a $19.95 Central Pneumatics 1500 airbrush.   So I mail ordered one.
Well, guess what: 25 years later that is STILL my one and only airbrush EVER!   Part of that is because since day one I have an almost religious ritual of completely disassembling it for deep clean up and leave it like brand new before putting it back together, not only after each use but sometimes in between coats!  Hey, I've never claimed to be normal! 
There are no parts available and they are not interchangeable with any other.  I have occasionally searched eBay and the web to see if I can get another one but no luck. A friend of mine ordered one around the same time I got mine.  A few years ago he gave it to me as he did not really use it.  It is a bit corroded and beaten up. Most likely not stored or cared for properly but could be used for spares in case of emergency. 
I will most likely buy a Badger 150 when the need comes, but as long as this one keeps on going, it will remain my best airbrush ever.
So, What is you airbrush story?

Thanks,

Edited April 9, 2023 by ismaelg

[Snake45]

I started with a used Badger 200 at around age 17. I used that exclusively until the early '80s, when I bought my then-girlfriend a new Badger 350 kit that she never used. I started using it and liked it so much that's been my go-to airbrush ever since.  Later I bought a used Badger 150 that didn't work as well as I wanted; haven't used it much. In the early 2000s I bought a cheap Testor Aztec that I used a few times for some fine jobs but went back to the B350 for almost everything. Few years ago I bought a Chinese knockoff of the Badger 350 at a flea market for $12 and have used it ONLY for clearcoats and it's worked well. Last year I found a Paasche starter airbrush set at Hobby Lobby for $25 which seemed like a good price, especially after knocking 40% off of it with the coupon. It too looks like a Chinese knockoff of the Badger 350. I haven't used it yet. A few months ago I heard about the $20 Campbell Hausfeld airbrushes at Walmart and bought one. It seems to be a Chinese knockoff of the Badger 150, much like the Harbor Freight one you described. I have used this one at least twice recently for some fine jobs and it works GREAT! It will now be my go-to airbrush for airplane camo. Finally, just a couple months ago I bought a genuine Paasche H kit on closeout at Hobby Lobby for just $25. Couldn't pass it up! That's $10 less than I paid for the Badger 350 kit in 1983! I haven't tried it yet, but it might become my main go-to gun, as my Badger 350 is almost worn out, after only 35 years of hard (and almost maintenance-free) service bordering on neglect/abuse. 

[dshue76]

I use a Paasche Talon TG3F almost exclusively, I prefer the gravity feed, dual action and cleanup is faster. But at times I will use my Paasche H. Parts are easy to get for both, both are reliable and both work great. I don't really have a story behind why I use these other than brand reputation and availability.

[Dave Ambrose]

I have two airbrushes; a Paasche VL, and a Grex double action gravity feed. Many years ago, my friend loaned me his VL. I like its versatility. I use it for bodies and large parts. If I’m painting small stuff, I use the Grex. It’s easy to load and clean. But, 0.3 mm is its largest nozzle. The VL goes up to 0.5 mm.

I think if I were getting one now, I’d get a Paasche Talon. 

[om617]

Was asking for what airbrush to get and got 50 diffrent answers so i headed on youtube and started

watching reviews,where people test all around practicality,finesse and build quality,is it easy to clean,

finding spares,what comes with it,you know. Decided to go with the Badger Patriot 105 and are very

satisfied with it. Is the Oldsmobile among airbrush,sensible but also very well built.

 

[DPNM]

Back in 1975 I bought a custom painted 1973 H-D SuperGlide.

I wanted to learn how to custom paint so I bought a cheap Badger to begin with which looked like the one in the second pic. It didn’t cut it. I had a relative that sold airbrushes and I bought a Wren model B from him (single action/siphon feed). I still have it but it’s been dropped so often the outlet port is no longer round. I found one to replace it and that is my go-to for doing models etc., on anything where a single action is best to use.

I also airbrush T-shirts for myself or friends and I use a Paasche VL which I’ve had for many years. I did add a second one.

I collect airbrushes (I buy them when I find them cheap, usually on craigslist). I don’t have an inventory of them all. There is a Wren C, a Master gravity feed, Sears (Badger 200 rebrand) but most of my collection is of side feed airbrushes. I have a number of Thayer and Chandellers, a Paasche V, a Badger 100SF and an Iwata Eclipse SBS. There may be a couple more that aren’t coming to mind. I did come across an old Wold (for $10) but it needs some parts or it‘s good for parts.

As an aside, I do have a want ad on the forum looking for this specific Badger custom painting book. It’s the one I used to teach myself and I would really like to find a copy as my original is long gone. ( I bought the cheap Badger from an ad in this book. It was $9.99 IIRC).

 

Edited August 27, 2018 by DPNM

[Brett Barrow]

GSI Creos Mr. Procon Boy PS-290 LWA Trigger Type Airbrush, 0.5mm.  Because I wanted a .5mm trigger type and it fit the bill.  I have another Mr Hobby brush (the PS-270 .2mm Platinum) and it works great so I pulled the trigger (ha!) on this one and it's been great.  

 

I still use my Paasche H a ton, though, it was my large .5mm workhorse before I got the Mr Hobby one and now I use it primarily for primers and clears (with a different tip set than I use for primer)

 

 

Edited August 27, 2018 by Brett Barrow

[George Bojaciuk]

I use a Badger...actually two of them have served me a long time. Recently bought an Iwata Eclipse. 

I did this with my Badger...

...the helmet itself is plastic. The look is paint and superglue.

I’ll add that Badger parts seem to be easier to find in my area.

Edited August 27, 2018 by George Bojaciuk

[Mike999]

For general work, I use the Testors Aztec.  Which I swear by, even though a lot of people seem to swear at it.  I like the convenience of the removable tips, and their sizes cover just about any job, from model-car body painting to fine detail.

For very fine work, I use a Sotar 20/20 (made by Badger).  With the right mix of air/thinner, it can spray incredibly fine lines.  Because of the price I would never have just gone out and bought one of these.  Years ago a friend who managed a hobby shop got some Sotars for a really low price and passed the savings along to his customers. 

[Don Wheeler]

All of which goes to show that the best airbrush is the one you feel comfortable with and learn how to use.   With practice, I could do fine with any one in my collection.  But my first one, the Badger Anthem still feels best to me.

Don

[Bainford]

I got a Badger 200 IL for Christmas when I was 15 (1981). It's still my only real airbrush to this day. I really want to try gravity feed, though, and have been eyeing up a nice Iwata.

[George Bojaciuk]

BTW, there is a pinned post regarding airbrushes. I put up a link to an  excellent article. I would print this out when I taught my airbrush class at Eastwood. A lot of good info!!!

[Mike Chernecki]

My first airbrush was a Badger 200 and I loved it, used it for 10 years. I bought the Badger 175 when it came out and used it for a few years, I liked it, but it felt a bit heavy. I didn't build anything for about 10 years, in that time my airbrushes went missing. Once I started building again about 10 years ago, I had to buy all new, so I bought the Badger 200 again, sadly they changed the design. I bought a used Model 175 on eBay, but never had a chance to use it, I cannot find Badger parts anywhere. 4 years ago I bought an Iwata HP-C plus and love it, the best airbrush I have ever used. I bought an Iwata HP-BCS a couple years ago, tried it once and never used it again. After having the gravity feed HP-C plus, I hate using the bottom feed.

[George Bojaciuk]

http://www.craigcentral.com/models/ab.asp

Here is the link.... explained a lot for me!

[Pete J.]

Like a couple of others here I have had a plethora of airbrushes.  My first was a Badger 250 external mix.  I bought in in 1972 when we had a model aircraft contest amongst the student pilots in Air Force pilot training.  I bought it because the Pacta paints they sold at the BX fit directly on the brush and I wanted a nice finish on my model.  It was the old Revell 1/32 scale F-4D done in Vietnam Air Force camo.  Did a lot of aircraft with that one and blew through a lot of cans of propellent.(pun intended).  It taught me a lot about thinning and spraying on a small scale.  After UPT, I put it aside and didn't dig it out until after my son was born and I got back into model building.  I pulled it out and really didn't like using it for gloss finishes and the cost of propellent.

 Bought one of the early Aztek brushes and that worked well for my models until I started spraying automotive lacquers.  The thinner cause the plastic tips to swell and stop working.  Good thing is that it was a cheap gun and the tips where cheap.

Went from that to a Badger 175 Crescendo.  Great little gun!  Still have it an use it from time to time.  It came with three tips which covered just about every type of paint I used.  Soon discovered that the main seal needed to be changed for a teflon one.  Lacquer thinner really destroyed the original pretty quickly.   Down side of the brush is that it is not super durable.  Drop it and you are very likely to bend the trigger or the needle holder.  Good thing is that replacement parts are cheap and easy to come by.  I also like the bottom feed for the paint bottles.  The big tip is good for laying down large areas.  It is a little "fatter"than most airbrushes and feels good in the hand.  

Next two brushes I got were part of the work I did for Tamiya.  I got a Tamiya HG and SF(super fine).  The HG is my main workhorse.  It is always hooked up and ready to go.  The cup holds a fair amount of paint and is easy to clean.  Durable brush.  After 20 years, it still has 100% original parts.  To my hand, the difference between this and the Badger is the feel.  Kind of like the difference between shifting the gears in a '50s pickup and my MR 2.  Just very smooth and controlled.   I only use the SF for special paint jobs.  Ones that are very subtle and require fine work.  It has a very small pattern and it great for thing like oil stains and exhaust staines.  This sprays very little paint and very controlled.  I can spray paint where you need 3 or 4 passes to get a visible trace of paint.  This is for patient work only.  I would never use it for anything large.  

Then there is my big gun.  The Iwata LPH 50.  This is really a mini touch up gun.  I went to a seminar put on by Craig Frazier on auto artwork.  This was the gun he was using to paint murals. I bought the gun on the spot with all three nozzles.  Now I am no Craig Frazier but this is a very useful gun.  I really got a lot of good use out of it when I started working on 1:12 scale cars. With an adjustable fan and high volume , low pressure, it is really good for a lot of things in model building, especially if you need to cover a lot of surface area evenly.   It is great for that and thicker paints like urethane clear coats.  You can get it with an attachment that uses the standard airbrush bottles instead of a cup.  This can be great when you are changing colors frequently.  It also is large enough that it feels good in the hand.  

So, that is my airbrush history and why I use what I do.  

[Monty]

My first airbrush was a Paasche VL that I bought from a coworker in the mid-'90s.  Got it for a great price, and didn't have much trouble learning how to make double action 'brushes work well.  Still enjoy its practicality.

Years later I came across a great sale on Badger's 175 (Crescendo) which also works well, but seems to have a greater spraying capacity than the Paasche VL.  I could see it being my go-to 'brush for big areas. 

Lastly, I recently found the Badger Anthem 155 on ebay for a very low price.  Don Wheeler, who posted above, gave this 'brush great reviews on his airbrush website.  I was intrigued because it's designed to only use one needle instead of the usual three.  I'm waiting for life to settle down enough so I can try it out for myself.    

[randyc]

Like many of you, I started with a Badger single action.  I think my employer owned it?  I don;t really remember.   Made such a differenece in painting.   So, after reading a lot of articles, my (now ex-) wife bought me a Paasche VLS set for our first Christmas in 1991.   I still use it.   Only thing original is the body - every other part has been replaced over the years.  Have no idea where the red handle part went.   Found a lid that fits Testors MM bottles somehere in the past and that makes things even easier than the cup or the bigger bottle lid.   

[Snake45]

2 hours ago, randyc said:

Found a lid that fits Testors MM bottles somehere in the past and that makes things even easier than the cup or the bigger bottle lid.   

My original used B200 came with that lid, and I consider it absolutely priceless. I've used it on every airbrush I've owned since. It spent decades on my B350 and is currently connected to the C-H B150 knockoff, because the last airbrush job I did was a small one. 

[Rider]

Some interesting stories on here. Seems the Badger 150 is a popular starter brush. I started with one too about 25yrs ago, great brush, I used it for about 15yrs before I switched to the Badger 175, which is a fantastic piece of equipment. The draw back for both is the siphone feed cup. I always found that tiny teflone washer on the Badger 150 head to be a real pain, only because I am a klutz and always dropped it, also the 150 felt too small in my hands and not balanced with the cup so far forward. 

Loved the 175's feel and balance, huge plus was the ease of switching needles and tip sizes, much better atomization then the 150, but again not a fan of siphone feed brushes. I have always wanted to take the time to modify it to gravity feed. 

About 10 yrs ago I switched to an Iwata HP-CH gravity feed,  WOW, what a step up in feel, actuation of trigger, balance, and atomization. The biggest difference was how little paint it used compared to the Badger brushes.

Wanting a wider fan pattern I then purchased the Iwata HP-TR-2 side feed trigger brush,  I hardly use this brush. Not a fan, too nose heavy, and the side feed cup is a real pain with the friction fit. It needs to have a screw cap lock. I believe there is a model that has this feature since I purchased this one. 

When the HP-TH fan pattern  brush came out I knew I had to have it. It is an awesome brush for painting shells or other large volume project such as 1/12 scale shells. The down side is be the fan pattern can be effected by any blockage of the side air direction air nozzles. It takes a conscious effort to keep the tip and air nozzle clean. I found I actually had to drill out the air direction fan nozzles in order to help keep them cleaner and to balance out the air direction that effects the fan pattern. They have a tendency to collect paint in them which effects the fans pattern. If one of the air direction holes get paint in it it will push the pattern off centre. I find I constant have to clean the tip out. Not a big deal I just submerge the entire tip in Acetone before and after each use along with the normal quick clean after each use.

The  Iwata HP-CH mention previously is my work horse for painting parts. I also have the HP-BH, smaller cup and needle size, and the HP-AH same needle size as the HP-BH bit this brush has next to no cup, I use all three brushes when doing graphics with multiple colours and shading. 

The real down side of any Iwata brush is the cost of parts, they are STUPID expensive, and yes the brushes can be expensive too. Although I have been lucky and found them on evil-bay from sellers in Japan for about 20-25% less then domestically. 

 

 

 

[ismaelg]

Hello,

Resurrecting this old thread, I just restored the old Central Pneumatic 1500 airbrush I got from a friend and I mention in the original post. 

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/180589-restoring-an-airbrush/

Now my 30 years old airbrush has an identical twin.

Thanks,
Ismael

[Bill Eh?]

I read your original post. With no parts available, how did you resurrect it?  Was it a matter of disassembling and deep cleaning?

The airbrush that got me started was a combination airbrush and Ni-Cad battery powered compressor from Tamiya called Spray Work.

[DPNM]

Yeesh, I've come a long way

I have found 2 different editions of that book so I'm good. 

[ismaelg]

26 minutes ago, Bill Eh? said:

I read your original post. With no parts available, how did you resurrect it?  Was it a matter of disassembling and deep cleaning?

Hi Bill,

  Essentially yes.  Keep in mind I've been restoring and refurbishing vintage cameras for years where there are no spares.  In the case of the airbrush I just restored, the needle was carefully sanded and some of the bent parts were re-aligned enough to work properly. 

 Well, the truth is I'm an engineer with a bad habit of disassembling things. ? 

Thanks,
Ismael

[Bill Eh?]

13 hours ago, ismaelg said:

Hi Bill,

  Essentially yes.  Keep in mind I've been restoring and refurbishing vintage cameras for years where there are no spares.  In the case of the airbrush I just restored, the needle was carefully sanded and some of the bent parts were re-aligned enough to work properly. 

 Well, the truth is I'm an engineer with a bad habit of disassembling things. ? 

Thanks,
Ismael

Hi Ismael,

I'm definitely not an engineer, and I also love to take things apart... especially airbrushes. Taking them apart and putting them back together is the first order of business after purchasing a new one. Doing this repeatedly gives me a better understanding of the airbrush's workings and the confidence to do a complete tear down for deep cleaning (even the needle packing or air valve!).

[ctruss53]

I have an airbrush story......

I picked up the Iwata NEO as my first airbrush several years ago. Loved it. It worked well and was easy to clean because it has a floating needle seat instead of that little threaded piece like nearly every other brand.

Then I upgraded to the Eclipse. I really liked this one as well. Easy to use easy to clean with that floating seat.

Then I accidentally dropped it and damaged it. Instead of repairing it I chose to try other airbrushes. I tried Pasche, A cheap Chinese knockoff, and then finally the Harder and Steenbeck Evolution.

The H&S Evolution was my new favorite. It has a floating needle seat like the NEO and Eclipse. And it has these holes or flutes in the outer cone to help with airflow for paint application.  LOVED IT!

but the problem with the H&S Evolution was I kept tearing the o-ring that seals the nozzle to the body. One month in I tore it. The replaced it and tore it again. It was too easily damaged.

So I am back in an Eclipse.  In fact I bought two so I have a backup.  I will never use another airbrush.