Buying your first airbrush?
Here are some thoughts on airbrush choice
I have had the good fortune, thanks to Ken Schlotfeldt, and others, and a small investment on my part, to be able to try a variety of airbrushes. Here’s what I’ve found.
With the exception of the Harbor Freight single action, they all worked well. If you understand them and learn to use and take care of them I think this is true of most airbrushes on the market, especially the major brands. Things like feel and spray angle are going to vary, but they can all put down a nice coat of paint
If you just want broad coverage, like on model cars, an external mix like the Paasche H or Badger 350 can fill the bill. The H, especially, seems popular with the car guys. And, many other modelers do very well with this type of brush too. With careful masking, you don’t really need detail capability. These brushes are very rugged and easy to maintain.
If you’d like to do freehand stuff, like camouflage or weathering, then you need an internal mix and a finer nozzle/needle combination. But, be aware, paint thinning is a little touchier, and the brushes are more delicate, not to mention, usually more expensive. You will have to invest a little more effort to master them.
Speaking of effort, what about single versus double action. A single action internal mix brush like the Badger 200 can do some very fine work. The learning curve is shorter because your finger is doing only one thing; turning the air on and off. You set the needle with a test spray, and off you go. But, that spray is fixed until you readjust the needle. So, you lack the ability to make any change during a stroke. Depending on what you are trying to do, that could be a problem. Also, when doing fine lines, the nozzle on any airbrush may sometimes clog. It’s nice to be able to pull the needle back and blast it out. This is clumsy with a single action. And, because the needle does not close when the air stops, you may get some spitting when the trigger is pressed again. So, if you want the full capabilities of an airbrush, you really need a double action. It takes a little more practice, but the effort will pay off in results. If you are an artist, there is no question; you need the double action.
Bottom feed, top feed, side feed. If you read my page on gravity vs. siphon types, you know that I don’t feel this is a major factor. With a quarter ounce cup, and the same nozzle/needle, my siphon brushes perform as well for me as a gravity fed brush. Consider the pros and cons and decide which makes sense for you.
Over and over on the forums I see posts saying “I want an airbrush but I can’t afford much”. A lot of people are out of work or on limited funds for other reasons. But here are some hard questions. What are you going to spray in it, what are you going to spray it on, and what are you going to use for an air source? A compressor alone could cost as much as a decent airbrush. Airbrush paint is not cheap, for art or models. A few kits and the paint for them could equal the cost of the brush. So, you really have to consider whether you can afford the whole package.
This brings me to the Chinese made airbrushes. E-bay is full of these, and a lot of airbrush dealers are selling them under different brands. Prices can be ridiculously low. I’ve seen a copy of an Iwata HP-C for less than $20 with free shipping direct from Hong Kong. But, as I noted in my review of the Master G22, quality can vary a lot, and spares can be a problem. Don’t expect brand name parts to fit. If you want to gamble on one of these, buy it from someplace that will stand behind it. And, don’t expect a lot of help on the forums if you have problems. You may be told that you get what you pay for. If you are knowledgeable about airbrushes you may be able to get it to work just fine. But, I would not recommend one for a first airbrush.
How about a used airbrush on E-bay? Well, do you feel lucky? I've only bought one used airbrush on E-bay, the Aztek. It was clogged with dried paint and only two of the three nozzles worked, and they showed signs of mistreatment. Just because a seller says it works, doesn't mean it works well. If you have experience, you can recognize and fix the problems. But, the cost of spare parts could eat up any savings in price. If it is you first airbrush, you might think you are doing something wrong, or they are all that way. And, I've seen people pay way too much for used brushes, sometimes as much as a new one if they had shopped around.
So, what do I recommend? Stay with a name brand airbrush and you won’t go far wrong. There are lots of airbrush reviews and cleaning videos on the web. Take some time and browse through some of them. When you’ve narrowed down your choice to 2 or 3, do a search for those models in some of the forums and see what other users have to say about them. You’ll probably see both good and bad comments, but take the bad with a grain of salt. It may have been operator experience that was the real problem, not the airbrush. For example: A guy posted on one of the forums that his first airbrush was a Badger 200, and boy did he hate that thing. So, I posted a response and asked why. He came back and said it was well built, but sprayed too much paint. I think he must have had a 200NH. So I wrote that yes, it can spray a lot of paint, but you can throttle it down for a pretty fine pattern. He responded that he could throttle it down, but he just preferred a gravity fed airbrush. Now, if I hadn’t asked, I might have gotten the impression that the 200 is a piece of junk, which it certainly isn’t. Often when someone badmouths an airbrush, you learn that it was their first one.
Of course you’ll want to consider price and parts availability where you live. And, I would not go smaller than a .35mm tip for a first airbrush, and .5mm might be a better choice. You can do pretty fine work with .5mm, and it’s more forgiving. The really fine tips are best left to those who really need them and have the experience to make them perform well.
I hope this helps a bit. Don’t sweat it too much. Unless you’ve got natural talent, expect some problems at first. There is a lot of help if you look for it. And, don’t be afraid to experiment a little. What works best for me and my airbrush may not work best for you and yours.
Postscript
I just got an e-mail from a fellow who is having difficulty with a new Paasche EZ Start airbrush. So, I looked into it and found that it is a made-in-Taiwan Badger 350 look-alike. In fact, it looks just like the Harbor Freight single action brush. I searched for user reviews, and it looks like quality is hit or miss. So, I will make this the exception to my "stick with a major brand and you will be OK" comment.