New Airbrush

[tom mann]

Earlier this week while cleaning the paint cup of my Iwata HP-BCS, I had the urge to get a more professional quality airbrush.  The BCS was a great tool since I bought it in December 2004.  In fact, almost every one of my models was weathered by it.    It still is working fine (just need a new needle and nozzle).

But I really wanted to switch to gravity feed, since I wanted more responsiveness and almost never use two paint cups concurrently.  So this is what I picked up:



The Iwata HP-C plus.

This is an amazingly constructed airbrush.  It is hand-tested before it leaves the factory (the paper with the swirls is the test pattern).  You can pre-set the handle to get a consistent paint pattern (effectively making it a user-settable single action).  Note how it is perfectly balanced!

[chicken45]

OOoh! I love the "test" paper they include. That's pretty remarkable and a sign of quality.

I have a, HP-CS that I love. It was my third airbrush I have ever owned. The first being an Aztek and a borrowed bottom feeder. There is so much less to clean with these gravity feeders.
I'm kind of a novice when it comes to airbrushing, but some folks seemed to be impressed with my painting. I think it's because the airbrush makes it easy to get great results.

But then again, Charlie Parker played the greatest jazz concert ever on a plastic sax because he's the man.

[DKS]

Here's the one from mine--

[Dave Schneider]

David,

I thought I read in another thread that you only use rattle cans to paint. I was surprised by that. Did I remember this correctly or?

Best wishes, Dave

[tom mann]

Here's the one from mine--

Amazing how similar that is to mine.

[chicken45]

I'm getting the urge to join the CRHS.
Hmm.

[DKS]

I thought I read in another thread that you only use rattle cans to paint. I was surprised by that. Did I remember this correctly or?

You remember correctly that I use rattle cans to paint. I never said, however, that I refused to use an airbrush. I used one back in the late 90s, but I never kept it up because it wasn't a very good airbrush, and was a PITA to use. I've been threatening to get a better one ever since; in fact, I was going to buy an Iwata at last year's Amherst show, but they ran out of stock by the time I got to them. Just as well, because their demo really sold me on the C+.

[wazzou]

Amazing how similar that is to mine.

I'll need to look at mine.  Maybe they are photocopies.

[Hyperion]

Nah, they're unique.  Iwata puts them in a number of their brushes.   But you make the same pattern a few hundred times a day, and I bet yours will look pretty consistent too.  It's like the guys signature, just done probably a cumulative several million times.

[wazzou]

I finally looked at mine because I new Tom would think I'm full of BS if I didn't post a photo.
I must have only saved the one. 
It's a different pattern than either Tom's or DKS's.

[rail and tie]

I am in the market for a new gravity feed and retire my old badger and paache's.  Would this be your #1 choice for a gravity feed if you were buying new today?  I am looking for something with a good spread of wide to fine for smaller stuff and rarely use more than 1 or 2 cups of a color at a time.

Anything better then HP-B?

[VonRyan]

My airbrush is one of those badger beginner's model. the blue plastic one that feeds off of propellant cans.

I haven't used it yet since I have no idea what i'd use it for... it's certainly beat up but it looked like it sprayed well when I ran %70 alcohol through it.
plus I couldn't find the neglected iwata double-action that had been flitting around in the CAD room at my school, which is no longer used for CAD... I do have a needle for an iwata double action if anyone needs it.

-Cody F.

[engineshop]

I have used Badger, Aztek and Iwata. The last one seemed to give me the best result. Then I got the Colani Airbrush
http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/coloni.html
I felt I have upgraded from a Prius to a Ferrari. I can not do wrong anymore, everything turns out perfect. Sometimes I had problems with white or yellow Polly Scale acryllic paint, now it is as easy as black.
This gun is not cheap but I invested more money before to find the right one.

[C855B]

I have used Badger, Aztek and Iwata. The last one seemed to give me the best result. Then I got the Colani Airbrush
http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/coloni.html
I felt I have upgraded from a Prius to a Ferrari. I can not do wrong anymore, everything turns out perfect. Sometimes I had problems with white or yellow Polly Scale acryllic paint, now it is as easy as black.
This gun is not cheap but I invested more money before to find the right one.

I was about to pull the trigger (pun intended) on a Grex Tritium, but this Harder Steenbeck brush is intriguing. Did you (or anybody else) compare the Colani against the Tritium? I currently use a mid-grade Paasche, but haven't been happy with the results and have been putting off a lot of projects because of it.

[engineshop]

I like my Colani not only because of the unique, comfortable handle, but also for the cleaning. Since the needle is not pulled through the handle, no paint is ever left in the gun. The gravety cup can be taken off, which means you can clean it without running cleansers through the entire gun. You can even replace it with a bigger cup for airbrushing miles of tracks. Color change goes faster, too. Just empty the cup, take it off, rinse it and it is ready again.