Airbrushes.... Cheap or expensive

[Johnnych01]

I thought I would do this little chat to see how much interest there was and maybe have it as an area where people could come find out bits and pieces from the beginners perspective through to your average or even maybe expert user …

I was for years just a hairy stick user, and the idea of using an airbrush seemed quite daunting and then there was the price. Even a cheap one seemed expensive and most of the guidance was go expensive like Iwata or Badger as you can’t go wrong. And me being tight, opted to stay with the brush …

Then about 5 years ago , I thought sod it, I’m becoming an airbrusher, but on my terms and my budget. So I looked on a very well known online retail site and there were a lot to pick from, ones with big compressors, small tiddly ones, ones you see nail artists using etc etc … Pricing was from around £40 up to the big £200 - £300 bad boys …

So Yeap, I went cheap and cheerful with a £45 mini kit. Compressor and airbrush with 3 needle sizes.

And this is it after 5 years …

The very famous Fobuy brand … I’m guessing from china …seriously nothing fancy, a pressure dial to increase or decrease, on off button and that’s about it. Pushes out about 25psi…

The only things I have bought to enhance it was another airbrush which was £50 which Ryan @Tank_1812 gave me a heads up about, and a cheap cleaning kit for it. Both airbrushes have .2, .3 and .5 needles.

Now, I know this is all subjective and some people just have to buy the most expensive out there, which is fine and if that’s your thing then go for it, but I often wonder … Why.

In all honesty, this £45 set has never let me down, the only time I have made mistakes was the incorrect mixing of paint and thinners. Other than that it has coped with overall sprays, misting, hard and soft cam schemes, and I have even managed to do 2 or 3 cam schemes free hand with no need to mask and ran it at low pressure with the .2 needle. I still detail paint with brushes but I guess most people do anyway ?

And I only class myself as a very mediocre airbrusher but I have never been unhappy with any of the builds I have used it on.

I also found it quite interesting that when watching some YouTubers on their modelling builds and then painting sessions, they (nearly all) seem to still suffer from over spray, the airbrush coughing and spluttering, paint coming out thickly or thinly etc … And the vast majority all have or use expensive set ups …

So … Cheap or expensive ? (And tips )

[Fanchmodel]

I think this is a great topic for discussion, and very timely for me.

I’m still a hairy stick user too, and while I think I’m doing well, I’d like to up my game with an airbrush. Although I had a Tamiya airbrush 20+ years ago, I see myself as a beginner and I’m wondering how much I should put into it given I also want to reach a very good level.

I’m planning on getting one of this new Gaalheri airbrush kit for ~$130 CAD, as reviews and demos make me feel confident this is not wasted money, and probably the right investment for now.

[Johnnych01]

This is where the subjective part rears it’s head. Now I have been using this one, if it ever broke, I would never buy an airbrush set for anymore than £60 tops. I have proven to myself with looking at the results that this cheap one is genuinely all I need. And when you weigh up how often I use an airbrush it pushes me towards a cheaper option all the time … But as I said or implied, it will always be down to the individual and their wants.

[barkingdigger]

Sounds like you got a good deal on that set-up. When I got into it the bottom end was cans of compressed gas! I got a decent compressor maybe 30 years ago that’s still doing the job, but no external tank. As for brushes, I was lucky enough to get a cheapie dual-action no-name brush from Airbrushes.com back when they were pushing them under their own brand, but eventually got my hands on a Badger Rebel Krome that retails around £100 which has become my workhorse. But by far the best investment I ever made was a Sparmax cleaning station - a jar with a lid where you can park the brush, and into which you spray any cleaning fluids! Cost maybe £30 but worth its weight in gold…

Back then these all-in-one deals didn’t exist, so maybe they are the best route in these days?

[Spitfire]

Very similar story to yours, John. Grew up using rattle cans and brushes, and airbrushes might as well have been a Ferrari. Later got a cheap Badger single action that ran off those hideously expensive cans of compressed air. A couple hundred bucks is a fortune to a 12-year-old.

Now, over twenty years later, an airbrush is within the realm of possibility. But also in that time, Chinese manufacturing improved (?) and we now have sub-$50 airbrushes.

I bought a Point Zero two-brush combo with a compressor and have finally been able to pull off soft-edged camo and can think about trying Luftwaffe mottling. Recently got a Neoeco after losing parts to one of the Point Zeros….amazing.

Certainly haven’t been able to detect any difficulties with airbrushing that aren’t attributable to my lack of skill. I don’t see why I’d spend hundreds on a Paasche or Iwata.

[TopSmith]

I started off with a Badger and compressed air cans when I was in middle school.

I used it for several years for base coats of German gray, olive drab and desert yellow. I then upgraded to this badger because I wanted to start camouflage painting. I worked mowing yards and had an allowance and was also able to eventually get the old brown Badger compressor.

The problem with airbrushes is you can’t try them before you buy them and there was no one around to talk with so you bought what you thought would be the right one. There was also no one around to teach you so it was a buyer beware and self-taught adventure. I wasn’t impressed with the airbrush so buyers remorse, I saved up and bought a Badger 200.

I used this airbrush and compressor for 25 years. It worked well and gave me few problems. I eventually wanted to make a more refined edge to my camo patterns and do some fine detailing and up graded to an Iwata HP-C and was happy with the results. I have since gotten two Iwata eclipses. One has a .5 mmm nozzle and needle and the other a Takumi has the .35mm nozzle. I have also pitched out the old diaphragm compressor. I had repaired it several times and fought water in the line for years even trying to make my own water collector. I have upgraded the air compressor for a CO2 tank. Very happy with that upgrade.

Your journey may have been different than mine. When I started, Badger was all that was available to me. There was no way to try out before you bought so it was a guess as to what you needed. There was no one to show you how to use the thing. No mixing ratios or paint type advice. You had Pactra, Testers and Humbrol. You experimented with what would mix with what and moved forward. Trial and error.

So, advice to newer modelers. There are many more options available today. The problem of not being able to try before you buy is still a thing. Be prepared to like what you bought and then overtime find it does not do what you need and a follow up airbrush will happen. I recommend a name brand for parts and service. My Badger and Iwata I can get parts for any time at most airbrush suppliers. Over time you will need parts as they wear and as you damage or lose them. Of the airbrushes I have and have used, my recommendation would be an Iwata eclipse. Simple and is capable of doing 98% of everything I want to do. Parts available everywhere. It is the most versatile airbrush I own. The air supply is also part of the equation. There are two directions, compressed air or air compressor. I have done both routes. If you need quiet, consistent, reliable service it will cost. If that is not important, then just buy a small portable noisy compressor. There is oilless and oiled compressors. My first badger compressor was a rubber diaphragm oiless compressor. Noisey but cheap and light weight. Quite ones are more expensive. I chose a different route. The expensive compressed air cans and a tire innertube told me to go compressor. But my compressor experience wasn’t without issues. There was noise and that annoying water issue. I discovered CO2 and research it. It was silent. The only sound is if you bang into the tank or the hissing you get spraying. There was no water issues as CO2 is a waterless gas. There is no pulsing issues as there is a constant pressure. There is not an issue with pressure because CO2 is at 800 psi in the tank and the regulator can reduce that to a couple psi if wanted. There was no power hookup needed so it is completely portable. Take it to the beach if you want. The tank is the size of a SCUBA tank. There are very few parts to wear so a lot of pros. The tank of CO2 lasts a long time because it is filled with liquid CO2 that evaporates to fill the tank as the gas is used. The con is you will eventually run out of CO2. You have to take the tank to the gas supplier and exchange the tank for a full one just like you do with your propane gas grill. That’s OK by me because I have a gas grill and it is just what I do. I have two propane tanks so when one runs out when cooking, I just hook up the full tank and next week swap out the empty tank for a full one.

My tool buying philosophy is if it is a onetime use and done go cheap. If it is to be a regularly used tool, buy a better tool than my skill, because it will last and I can grow my skill into the capabilities of the tool. Think about what you want for your wife’s daily driver. Yugo or Toyota?

[SdAufKla]

Well, several old sayings come immediately to mind: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it;” “You always pay for what you get;” and “Buy once, cry once.”

I’ve been modeling “seriously” since the early 1970s (and I’ve been “sticking together” models since 1966). I’ve only ever owned three airbrushes in all that time. I’ve owned two Badger Model 250 and one Rich Pen 213c. (I do own two Iwata’s that I use in my Cerakote business.) I used and abused my first Badger 250. I bought it in 1974 after working all summer to save up for it, but I learned a lot of lessons, what to do and what not to do - Basically I learned how to airbrush with that one. After owning it about 6 years, I bought another, 250 and have used it since 1980.

I’ve painted a lot of award-winning models with that second 250 (to include IPMS National first place winners and the models that got me elevated to AMPS Master). It’s been renovated under Badger’s lifetime warranty program, and after 40 years, it still paints just as good as when new. For those not familiar with the 250, it’s an internal mix, single action, siphon feed brush. Nothing highspeed or particularly “cool.”

I only bought my Rich Pen 213c in '05. It’s my “go to” brush right now because I’ve slowly changed how I approach most airbrushing projects. I wanted to learn and experiment with double-action as well as top feed. I expect it to last just as long as my Badger.

I tell this story because I think you can measure value (not price) in many ways. You can buy cheap airbrushes and when it becomes impossible to fix them, just buy another one. You can abuse them and not spend much time cleaning and maintaining them, and if they die, you’re not out much. If you’re just starting and learning, a cheap airbrush can get you through the steep part of the curve for an economy price. (There were no “cheap” airbrushes back in the '70s, BTW. They were all expensive.)

Or, you can go with a more expensive brush that has a solid and reputable manufacturer behind it. one that can be repaired and for which replacement parts and accessories are available. Such a brush can last you decades.

However, the number one thing to do is MASTER the airbrush you already have. Way too many modelers throw money at the problem, thinking that if they only have a “better” airbrush, then they will automatically be better painters. This, my friends, is sadly not the case.

So, make your airbrush, cheap and inexpensive or priced like a Swiss watch, “sit up and sing for its supper.” Only when you KNOW that you’re getting every last bit from the brush you already have should you consider “upgrading,” and that upgrade should be made towards a very specific additional capability that your current brush simply cannot deliver.

[Biggles50]

I have a couple of Iwata’s for good, and fine work. But then I bought a cheapo airbrush on AliExpress for around $20 CAN. I’ve had it for almost a year and it still works really great. It has lots of machined parts so it’s pretty reliable. I use it mostly for spraying Future (or Quick Shine, now) and acrylics that might f up my Iwata’s.

[Johnnych01]

Some great insights guys and very in depth thought processes about how and why choices were made. All very interesting.

I do have one question as a general mediocre (and potentially lazy airbrusher ) … Tom @barkingdigger mentioned air brush cleaner … is that the best medium to use to clean it all through ? I just use the thinning agent that I use to mix the paint with ? so if I am using Tamiya acrylic, I will use X20A to blast the airbrush and parts through and same for AK RC paint, I will use Cellulose thinner to blast it all through ? right or wrong ?

[barkingdigger]

A lot depends on your choice of paint. I only spray Tamiya Acrylics, so I can either use Tamiya thinner (X-20a) or my go-to car windscreen washer fluid, which contains alcohol and is way cheaper per gallon. These have to be blown through the brush, so the Sparmax jar is there to catch them rather than shooting them into the spray booth! Every once in a while I de-gunk the brush outdoors with an ancient can of Badger Airbrush Cleaner - a spray can of xylene-based solvents that can strip out ANYTHING from inside the brush. But to use it I wear rubber gloves and a mask…

When I clean mine, I then ream it out with twists of paper towel to help remove particles and soak up excess liquids. Simply tear strips from a sheet and twist them to make suitable thin “rods” and “points” to reach inside the nozzle and other areas.

[Damraska]

My airbrush journey is a tale of sorrow and woe. Over the years, I quit model building about two dozen times because of airbrush and painting problems.

I would love to find an airbrush that actually works…in my hands. Zero for three so far.

I finally found a decent air compressor back in 2022 or 2023 so that problem is finally solved. One for four on that.

[Biggles50]

DON’T BUY AZTEC!!!

[18bravo]

@SdAufKla

I’ve been modeling “seriously” since the early 1970s (and I’ve been “sticking together” models since 1966). I

That was exactly my trajectory. “Built” my first Nautilus submarine with my mom when I was four.
I bought my first airbrush when I was about eleven. The cans of Propel fell into disfavor pretty quickly. There were expensive and ran out of pressure at the most inconvenient times. The Badger hose I had could be attached a spare tire. I had no way to measure or regulate the pressure, but learned pretty quickly to let some air out of the tire for better results. Even at reduced pressure, the tire maintained a pretty steady flow for quite some time. And when it got too low, I could pump it back up myself.
For a single color (cars and model railroad subjects, it was a fine setup. I still have some of the rolling stock that I painted.
It taught me from the beginning the value of properly thinning paint.

[Fanchmodel]

Anybody has tried Vevor airbushing kits?

[SamS]

Interesting thread and lots of info here. Not having ever used an airbrush, it’s something I aspire to get. I see how much better results are with an airbrush over a brush or rattle can finish.

Issue is space though. Having very limited space to work in, and that also needs to be packed up multiple times a week, it’s not feasible to have a full airbrush system like the ones described in this thread.

So, has anyone tried the cordless airbrush? I found a version (link below) but unsure if it would be worth getting or if I should just wait until the next move and hope for a dedicated modelling space in which to fit a proper system. Thoughts?

https://spraygunner.com/collections/airbrush-cordless

[Uncle-Heavy]

@Biggles50

DON’T BUY AZTEC!!!

I prefer to spell that name with two 's’es instead of the ‘z’,
just saying …

[Uncle-Heavy]

@SamS

Issue is space though.

A simple, smallish, compressor fits in the volume of a shoe box (albeit with different proportions of length x width x height).
I went airbrush after having hair brush painted my second modern tank chassis (Tamiyas first M1 Abrams followed by some Leopard chassis). I kept finding spots I had missed and thought that there must be a better way to do this.
Diaphragm compressor (noisy and pulsating air flow) and a Kager double action airbrush. Never regretted it, so much easier and faster to lay down paint.
I am FAR from an expert airbrush wielder but the paint finish is WAY better than when I used a hairy brush.
A year later I sold the compressor and got myself a silent one with tank.

[Damraska]

My first airbrush was an Aztek A470. Someone recommended it to me. It was beyond awful. I probably spent three airbrushes worth of money trying to make it work, purchasing nozzle after nozzle, ruining model after model, thinking it was me. I joined an IPMS club and was told to purchase an Iwata. It was not me.

My Aztek air compressor was also very expensive and also very bad. It was not me.

My Iwata airbrush is not good but it is also not bad. In hindsight, purchasing a side loader was a mistake. It turns out side loaders have very specific issues, very different best practices from gravity feed airbrushes. Most advice on the internet, most advice from acquaintances, is wrong for a side loader. That also set me back years worth of skill progress. Who knew,

There are real advantages for staying with the herd. The problem is the guys who make pieces of garbage work. “I use this piece of garbage and gosh, I get great results!” And he does. But then someone like me comes along and tries the piece of garbage. “Huh. What am I doing wrong?” What you are doing wrong, past self, is using a piece of garbage that super modeler somehow got to work.

[Petro]

Getting the correct consistency of the paint in an airbrush is half the battle, no matter the cost of the airbrush.

[barkingdigger]

@SamS

Issue is space though. Having very limited space to work in, and that also needs to be packed up multiple times a week, it’s not feasible to have a full airbrush system like the ones described in this thread.

For years my set-up had to pack away each evening, so I had a small compressor and accessories in a plastic toolbox, and a fold-up spray booth. It took a few minutes to set everything up, and the same to pack it away, but it was not too much of a problem. Those folding booths are everywhere on the net, as are toolboxes. Small tankless compressors are easy to find too. The one thing you need with a tankless one is a long hose between the compressor outlet and the moisture trap, as it acts like an air reservoir smoothing out the pulsing! I still use the same compressor and booth, but they have a semi-permanent home on a dedicated workbench now…