Another "What Airbrush to buy" question thread

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Another "What Airbrush to buy" question thread

Post by stubeck »

I'm looking for a replacement of my 10 year old Iwata HP-CR. I'm not looking for super fine detail work as I build 1/20 and 1/24 scale kits. My budget is under $250. I'm OK with switching brands as long as it will still work with the hose I have.

Wants:
Metal body
Easy Cleanup
Minimal overspray (if possible)
Pistol Grip if possible (but this is likely out of my budget)

Current setup:
I have a ten year old Iwata HP-CR that has worked well for me but is showing its age. I also have an Iwata G5 spray gun I use for large parts and body panels and a no-name ebay special I use for clear coats. I'd likely refurb the HP-CR and use it exclusively for clear coats after replacing it. The no-name airbrush works but is difficult to put back together after using and this has caused some issues with spraying.

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Re: Another "What Airbrush to buy" question thread

Post by Moskie »

I've been using a Harder & Steinbeck Evo II (the II part means you'll get 2 different nozzles) for years and I've never had a problem with it. Easy to use and to clean. It ticks all your boxes apart from pistol grip.

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Re: Another "What Airbrush to buy" question thread

Post by wadny »

I got a Grex Tritium.TG last year, and have been using it regularly. It's a pistol grip type, and you can get 0.2, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7mm nozzle/needle sets. They also have conversion sets to change to a fan-pattern spray for larger area coverage. It's a solid, well-built device, relatively easy to disassemble and clean, and has teflon seals so it will handle automotive paints with no problems. The trigger action is easy to control and more comfortable than the top trigger style, at least in my estimation. The airbrush set is available for around $210.

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Re: Another "What Airbrush to buy" question thread

Post by stubeck »

wadny wrote:I got a Grex Tritium.TG last year, and have been using it regularly. It's a pistol grip type, and you can get 0.2, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7mm nozzle/needle sets. They also have conversion sets to change to a fan-pattern spray for larger area coverage. It's a solid, well-built device, relatively easy to disassemble and clean, and has teflon seals so it will handle automotive paints with no problems. The trigger action is easy to control and more comfortable than the top trigger style, at least in my estimation. The airbrush set is available for around $210.
Parts of it look to be plastic, hows it holding up?
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Re: Another "What Airbrush to buy" question thread

Post by gp-models »

Maybe a Badger 150 is interesting for you, it has a full metal body, in my opinion easy to clean even if heavy duty. It is a dual action gun, but it has no pistol grip.
It was my first aribrush back in the early 90th`s and is still in use till today, only bought some additional nozzles with different sizes.
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Re: Another "What Airbrush to buy" question thread

Post by daveyman »

How is your current brush showing its age? What's it failing with?

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Re: Another "What Airbrush to buy" question thread

Post by stubeck »

daveyman wrote:How is your current brush showing its age? What's it failing with?
I wasn't the best at cleaning it when I first got it, as well as having issues with dropping it. Lately I've been having problems with the needle sticking and other issues where it won't spray for example. I want to move it to a clear coat only airbrush.

Getting the ebay special was supposed to be a nice test of how using a cheap airbrush would go, but I've had a lot of spraying issues with it so that won't suffice for clear coating much longer. Thus I want to get a better airbrush than I use now.
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Re: Another "What Airbrush to buy" question thread

Post by daveyman »

OK, I was just interested to hear. I've had my Iwata for a similar length of time but the build quality is so good I'm surprised at any problems.

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Re: Another "What Airbrush to buy" question thread

Post by stubeck »

It’s not really terrible issues, it’s more that after this amount of time I want a clear coat specific airbrush and not have it be the fancy new one!

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Re: Another "What Airbrush to buy" question thread

Post by Noddy »

I have a Badger 150 purchased (I think) in the early 1980s. Still works fine but is often hard to clean. I'm considering the Grex Tritium as a replacement and as far as I can tell the only plastic parts are the grip. Hard to imagine that they would use anything other than plastic for that part.
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