Airbrush recommendations

I have been doing costumes for a few years now but have been using spray paint or hand painting with acrylics. I want to give airbrush a try and wanted good opinions on an affordable (not top of the line, but good quality) airbrush for a beginner. Thanks so much.

This question pops up every now and again, and I usually have the same suggestion. Buy a workhorse. An airbrush that will carry you from a beginner, and excel when you have experience. “Buy once, cry once.” “You get what you pay for, etc etc.” I bought my first airbrush 10 years or so ago. Iwata Eclipse. The same airbrush has taken me from a beginner never using one in my life, all the way up to a professional painter for commission and films. If the Eclipse is out of budget, my first recommendation would be to save more.
If that is absolutely not a possibility, spring for the Iwata Neo and upgrade to the Eclipse or Hi-Line.



You can absolutely buy a cheapo harbor freight or other China made airbrush, but keep in mind they are almost always knock off designs, and machined to a standard so low you will spend more time trouble shooting than you will learning. Getting replacement parts, and trust me... you will need them... is impossible. I have run into them before and believe me, the hassle they will give you is not worth the cheap price.

Lots of goods threads on the subject...

https://www.therpf.com/search.php?searchid=3261427

Sean

I would recommend the paasche H for beginners...Great airbrush, super easy to clean, a great all round airbrush, built like a tank, ....single action. I use this for everything from silicone painting, spraying cap plastic for prosthetics, prop painting etc.. have had mine for 10 years plus but i know people who still use one the bought 20 plus years ago.
I also love the harder and steenbeck airbrushes, i have an ultra which is a cheaper option and and a more expensive infinity. Both great airbrushes, again very easy to clean dual action.

All great advice. I will second the suggestion that you buy quality first. I started out with a Harbor Freight single action airbrush, then bought a HF dual action, then a Master dual action, then another Master dual action when the first one crapped out.

Finally, like Mr. Mold Maker suggested, I bought an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. IMO it is the best "all around" airbrush you can get for the price. It's about $150 at Amazon or Hobby Lobby (with coupon). A lot of the top painters in the effects industry also use this brush (Steve Wang, Jamie Grove, Casey Love, Tim Gore). It's awesome. One of the great things about it is how easy it is to break it down to clean. Easily replaceable parts as well. Very versatile.

And like XtcofPain suggested, a Paasche H is a great brush. I have one of these as well which I bought after I bought the Iwata. It's much less expensive (around $50) but less versatile. It's a single action and doesn't handle detail as well as the Iwata, but it's a great brush. Very good for spatter effects. It's a real workhorse, very well built and easy to use. It's not as versatile as the Iwata but I find myself using it AND the Iwata on most paint jobs.

If you want a dual action brush and can't afford the Iwata Eclipse, as suggested get the Neo. Or a Master. You'll likely replace the Master but it's a decent learning brush and won't break the bank. Badger also makes some good brushes but I don't have much experience with those.

Hope this helps.

Grab anything cheap & chinese, because you'll probably damage your first airbrush. Then you can grab Harder&Steenbeck. Iwata seems like a total overkill for beginner.

I was a first time airbrusher when I started in special effects. The gun I used was the Iwata Eclipse and it had really great precision control for fine detail or spray large area's. The downside was maintenance because of certain paints being too thick it'd clog up the machine. Overall it is a nice airbrush to use, just be careful not to lose any of the parts while cleaning. They can be costly to replace, especially for bent needles. I'm not a heavy handed person and worked with sensitive equipment before so I wasn't afraid of screwing up the Iwata for the first time. That might not be the case for yourself. If it's just for practice and overall shading on costume look around for the 'Masters' airbrush kit. It's not super costly and comes with everything you'd need to get started.