Airbrush kit

[DawgNutts]

I see alot of airbrush kits for sale on Ebay for around $100. What is a good kit to buy? I dont need a high dollar pro kit and I dont want junk, just looking for something decent. I want to paint RC bodies , just as a hobby. Any ideas?

 

[Zdragon71]

Try Harbor Freight online. I believe they have one complete with compressor for around $89. I'm in the same position with wanting to get one myself along with a good soldering station. Just dont have the funds right yet.

 

[Greywolf74]

Check out mandalay bay I think its called on ebay...they sell some Iwata clones that work pretty well and they arent very expensive. If you can't find it under that name let me know and I'll double check when I'm home to see what the vendor is called...I'm not 100% sure I'm recalling it right.

 

[tmaxxfreek]

The harbor freight kits are JUNK, dont waste the money, i used one last week and they dont spray like they should more splatter than anything, better off to buy a quality brush from my experience. I used his before i decided to buy one from harbor freight,glad i did.

 

[Rolex]

There's really no easy way out. You get what you pay for, especially when it comes to precision tools.
I have 8 airbrushes and each one serves a different purpose with a different needle and nozzle.
You can save on a compressor if you add a 2 or 3 gallon tank to take out the puffing effect and give you a smooth flow.
There are Badgers with bottles on the bottom that are cheap but will serve the purpose of a small spray gun. Anything better than that and you'll need Paasche, Iwata or Grex. Those are my main guns for good work. The Paasche is old and worn and can move some heavy paint. It's a vacuum feed. The Iwata and Grex are gravity feeds and are used for details.
Every accessory I ever buy for my airbrushes comes from here:

http://www.tcpglobal.com/spraygundepot/tcpgate.aspx

 

[Phins Fan]

+1 with Rolex. I asked the same question back a few months ago and bought the Iwata and havent looked back since. It makes sense to spend the $ on a quality tool that will produce quality work. If you buy the cheap tool your gonna get well cheap quality.

 

[EXTREME1]

yes,i agree you get what you pay for.and the cheap guns really spray like crap.it would be a waste of money might as well paint with a rattle can with masking.i paint/airbrush custom motorcycles all the time at work sometimes putting 50-60 hrs in paint labor.@$85.00 an hr.but the 1 thing i notced was how tight the space is on an rc body which makes it a whole new ball game.i like too use transparent sleeves for note books cut off the edges and it makes 2 practice sheets.tape 1 sheet to a piece of plexy-glass.start with the white to make all your out lines the go light to dark,then seal it.the reason you use the transparent paper will let you practice anything you think of and a pack of sleeves is about $3.00 for 30 and it's alot cheaper than $40.00 on a body and mess it up.

i really like the iwanta eclipes$200.00 it will do hair lines and it will do fill-in work.i will give you a few pointers that i had 2 learn the hard way!
HIGH PRESSURE(20-25PSI)=FILLER WORK(BEST WITH THINNED PAINT)
LOW PRESSER(12-20PSI)=THIN LINES,SPRAYING W/STENCILS(BEST WITH THICK PAINT)
THINNER PAINT WILL COVER BETTER BUT IT WILL ALSO RUN ALOT EASYIER JUST REMEMBER THIN MULTIBLE COATS.
THICKER PAINTS SPRAY THINNER @ LOW PRESSURE OUTLINES,HIGHLIGHTS
AND TRY TO STAY THE SAME DISTANCE FROM BODY TO KEEP THE PAINT FROM BUNCHING UP AND RUNNING.
THESE ARE JUST SUGGESTIONS GET YOU A AIRBRUSH AND JUST PRACTICE AND HAVE FUN.

 

[Bkyd Basher]

Maybe look at eastwood.com

 

[MustangMan]

Bought the Harbor Freight single action plastic junk for a quickie paint job (needed to mix a custom color). Previously I was 100 percent rattle cans. Anyway, it sprayed OK, but don't even THINK about detail work.

As I used it more (and got more frustrated) I realized I needed a good gun. I was at a trade show and picked up the Grex pistol grip style they make now. Oh wow, what a difference! It's like going from those dollar store screwdrivers to a Snap-on one.

Like Rolex said, you get what you pay for. Remember, you can use it for more than paint too. Grex's site has all sorts of help/tips on food decorating (wife or girlfriend can use it), makeup application (Halloween is coming!), and more.

Save up and buy quality. You won't regret it.

HTH...
Mark

 

[DawgNutts]

Think I'm just going to add a water trap to my compressor and then pick up a Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. Any other recommendations in the Iwata line?

 

[Greywolf74]

I saw these mentioned in a youtube video about airbrushing. The guy claimed they were Iwata clones and they were very good brushes to start out with. I bought 2 of them a .5 and a .3mm. So far they seem fine but I have nothing to compare them to as I've never used any real Iwatas or Badgers etc.

What do you think about these Rolex? Do they look like Iwata clones?
http://www.ebay.com/sch/peco_global/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

 

[Rolex]

It's shipping from England.
I guess you can CALL it a clone if it LOOKS like an Iwata, but we don't know what's inside. That's an awful lot of stuff for such a low price. Can't be very good.

 

[Greywolf74]

Well I guess I'll have to buy an Iwata one of these days and compare them

 

[SchrodeMode]

Well I guess I'll have to buy an Iwata one of these days and compare them

You still have a day to win one during you "lucky" month.

 

[DawgNutts]

I saw these mentioned in a youtube video about airbrushing. The guy claimed they were Iwata clones and they were very good brushes to start out with. I bought 2 of them a .5 and a .3mm. So far they seem fine but I have nothing to compare them to as I've never used any real Iwatas or Badgers etc.

I just order 3 airbrushes from http://www.pecoglobal.com the other day. They were only $108, when they get here I'll try them out and let you guys know how they are. I may even buy an Iwata or Badger to compare them to. I just want to do this as a hobby for fun so if they work decent fine if not then I guess I'll just go buy the good stuff. All of the reviews I have seen/read that were from people who actually used them were decent to good. The only negative stuff I have heard was from people who haven’t used them and are suspicious of cheap airbrushes, so I decided getting 3 for $100 was worth the chance. So when they get here "in a month" I'll paint some bodies and put them up on here.
These are the three airbrushes that I purchased.
• Airbrush WD 116
• Airbrush WD 134 Gravity Siphon Feed + quick release + nozzle & needle
• Airbrush WD 180 + quick release + nozzle & needle

 

[Greywolf74]

I think they work fine but again I've never used the good ones so they may suck and I just dont know it lol.

 

[DawgNutts]

Got my airbrushes in the mail the other day. Two weeks from order date, they shipped from Hong Kong.

This is the WD-116 0.3mm needle

This is the WD-134E 0.3mm needle

This is the WD-180 0.2mm needle

I got all 3 of them plus quick connect couplers for $107.00
I will try them out on an El Camino lid I have and let you guys know how they perform.

 

[3.3max]

Get some pics up I want to order from there would like to know how they do

 

[robriguez]

Can anyone chime in with an update to any of these airbrushes?? I've been looking at the chinese veda-180 but videos on youtube show people spraying at 50psi and having crappy results.

 

[Rolex]

A lot of Chinese knockoffs are cheap just because of the labor rates. They might be good but I've never heard of that brand.
I'd like some reviews from anyone who has them.