best airbrush for £100

[fettster]

hi guys,

im looking to upgrade my airbrush which is a single action bottom fed jobbie that sprays lines about 4mm thin.

I have a bust that i want to paint and i want to do the best i can so i looking for an airbrush that can do really fine lines.

i dont have alot of spare cash so whats out the for about £100 $220?

what would be the best type to go for? single action or dueal action

thanks in advance

 

[spinner 44]

Iwata HP-C or Sotar 20-20 with big paint cup (made by Badger) would be my choices.

 

[frosty]

Well i personally use an aztec airbrush the a4709 model, interchangeable heads and i do a lot of fine veining with it.
Works great for me. theres one on ebay now for £100.
And at the roll of a dial it goes from single action to double action, two i one.

 

[Gigatron]

I'll say it again, for a dual action, bottom feed, you'll never beat the Iwata Eclipse HP-BCS. It's the cadillac of airbrushes and will only run you $90 ( and that includes air hose, bottle and free shipping) http://www.dixieart.com/Eclipse.html.

Trust me on this, I researched airbrushes for months before coming to this decision.

-Fred

 

[fettster]

how easy is this to use?

also, how fine a line will it paint?

thanks
so far

<div class='quotetop'>(Gigatron @ Jun 3 2006, 01:13 PM) [snapback]1255369[/snapback]</div>

I'll say it again, for a dual action, bottom feed, you'll never beat the Iwata Eclipse HP-BCS. It's the cadillac of airbrushes and will only run you $90 ( and that includes air hose, bottle and free shipping) http://www.dixieart.com/Eclipse.html.

Trust me on this, I researched airbrushes for months before coming to this decision.

-Fred
[/b]

 

[frosty]

Well i will throw my two cents in again, i do paint a lot of heads and busts i have used a few different brushes, but if you are not used to airbrushing the aztec is a good buy, pretty foolproof.
I have not used the iwatta so can't really comment on that.

 

[Gigatron]

<div class='quotetop'>(fettster @ Jun 3 2006, 02:43 PM) [snapback]1255409[/snapback]</div>

how easy is this to use?

also, how fine a line will it paint?

thanks
so far

<div class='quotetop'>(Gigatron @ Jun 3 2006, 01:13 PM) [snapback]1255369[/snapback]

I'll say it again, for a dual action, bottom feed, you'll never beat the Iwata Eclipse HP-BCS. It's the cadillac of airbrushes and will only run you $90 ( and that includes air hose, bottle and free shipping) http://www.dixieart.com/Eclipse.html.

Trust me on this, I researched airbrushes for months before coming to this decision.

-Fred
[/b]

[/b][/quote]

Let's put it this way - the iwata is damn near idiot proof. When I statred, I was an airbrush retard. It took me all of 30 minutes to figure out exactly what the brush could do at different psi settings.

-Fred

 

[lambotour]

It was because of Gigatron that I made a wise and informed decision with regards to purchasing the right airbrush for me. Check out the thread he started which contained a lot of info for us "airbrush retards".

http://www.rpf.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=78141

 

[WarpedScale]

Well personally I use a Wave Super Airbrush which was replaced by the Wave Olympus airbrush and then the Wave Super Airbrush Advanced. These are only available in Japan but are nearly identical to the Iwata HP airbrushes. I love it. It's a double action gravity feed that does fat to fine lines no prob and usually under $120US. I've painted lines pretty damn thin with it and much slimmer than 4mm actually seems like closer to .2mm. So I would have to vote Iwata as well considering price and ease of use, at least for me. Or you could go to HLJ.com and get a Wave Airbrush for anywhere from $75 to $130 for an awesome double action, gravity feed. Well, I mean if you like gravity feed.

Ryu

 

[Master Windu]

who was the guy who came up with the tutorial for airbrushing oakley lenses using that red glass paint (to make cyclops' sunglasses)? he was like an expert at that and was sponsored by iwata so im sure he'd be a valuable opinion on this.

as for myself, i use an aztek right now, but i don't really love it. i've had metal airbrushes before like the iwata, and the plastic aztek just doesn't compare.

 

[Clerval]

Have to chime in with the Iwata crew... I've had my HP-C and HP-SB for ten years, each... and they're fantastic pieces of equipment. The brushes have come down in price a lot as there are newer models out, but these two can tackle any airbrush need I've got, and I put them through their paces.

 

[Jayn]

Iwata..I used to sell them. You can't go wrong with their products..I have 4 of the airbrushes- the "B" (bottle) is a workhorse and the old touch-up gun (W-88) that I've had for years, is my FAVORITE tool of all..
Precision-made..will deliver precision work..
I'd put Olympus at a close second.
Jayn

 

[Helmetman]

Hi

I to am in the market for an airbrush at this price - thanks for all your info.

Off to seek Iwata brushes now

 

[fettster]

thanks for all the advise guys, especially gigatron and frosty.

its really nice to know there are so many great people on here that will take the time to answer a few questions.

thanks all, im off shopping

 

[frosty]

good luck with it bud, you have a few good choices there

 

[Gigatron]

good luck with your purchase fettster. Let us know which brush you decide on.

Lambotour, glad that that whole archive thread helped you out . Which brush did you end up with?

-Fred

 

[lambotour]

<div class='quotetop'>(Gigatron @ Jun 4 2006, 09:12 AM) [snapback]1255900[/snapback]</div>

good luck with your purchase fettster. Let us know which brush you decide on.

Lambotour, glad that that whole archive thread helped you out . Which brush did you end up with?

-Fred
[/b]

I know it is a bit out of my league for now, but I ended up buying an Iwata Micron SB. I also plan on getting an HP-BCS soon. The micron is an absolute incredible piece of equipment. You definitely have to practice with it and I'm not "there" yet in terms of being 100% comfortable with it, but this little baby can do some incredible things (in the right hands that is). The sales guy said, "You're just starting out and you're buying this one?" It should have been my first clue. :lol Not sure if this has been disclosed before, but I learned a little trick about how to keep from getting any moisture/water in your line. Aside from having the in- line filter, you keep a portion of the line in an ice bucket. A friend of mine suggested it. She learned it from some pro airbrush guys she worked with for many years. Don't ask me why it works, but it does. Thanks again Fred.