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Been dabbling with airbrushes for about 6 years. Started with a pasche siphon feed and recently moved up (down, lateral?) to an iwata neo.

Tamiya paints are perfect through it, same with Vallejo primer. Gw was a headache before finding les's gw thinner mix.

The neo is a nice brush, but I'm starting to think it isn't really designed for long term use.

I'm starting to look at a better brush. Iwata is a natural choice because of its reputation among scale modelers (my background) and the fact that my hobby lobby has parts.

But I'm unsure if there is a better option.

This is a quality over price question.

What my wants/needs are:
Will be spraying tamiya and gw mainly, plus occasional Vallejo primer.
Replaceable needle/nozzle combos (more important for my scale modeling because of highlights or camo patterns)
Built to last
Double action, gravity feed

So, suggestions?

I can't help with your question but what is Les' GW thinner mix?

I thin GW paints with tap water, works fine.

I'm also a scale guy, I started with an old iwata, and still use it if my friends want to try. I started with 48 scale and now only build 32nd; so, like you I needed a brush that could spray wider (as you know scale models take forever to prime with a .2mm needle and nozzle). I recent got myself an Infinity CR Plus 2 in 1. Sprays nice big patterns to laser thin lines, in m opinion a much higher quality and very resistant to nasty thinners like Tamiya airbrush cleaner (I strongly suggest this stuff, has a pink top). The infinity is a bit more expensive but definitely worth it.

 IXLoiero95XI wrote:
I thin GW paints with tap water, works fine.

For application maybe, but the difference between proper thinners and home made stuff/water is that the adhesive properties of the paint can be undermined with water.

If you varnish well, shouldn't be an issue, but proper thinners will give a more durable finish.

Badger renegade krome. Amazing unit. Capable of hairline sprays to 2 inch. Vallejo with a splash of glaze medium works Llike a dream. The 2 in 1 is great. People sook and complain about the cleaning being a bit. But with all ab I clean like I have ocd so I didn't really notice. Definitely worth every penny I spent. And if you have a neo your all set for basecoats the krome will be your detail unit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoKJUrISnTo

That's Les's recipe, and it works fantastic.

There are a lot of posts on this type of "what kind of brush should you buy" type thing. Do a few searches.

I own several brushes, used for different jobs (mainly determined by what kind of paint I am spraying and how much control I need).

My two favorite workhorse brushes are my iwata hpcs and my badger patriot 105. Either one of these is a great brush.

The iwata is slightly more refined brush...but this also means I have to use better paints with it.

Also, I used to thin with water...and thought it was ok too.
Thin with real airbrush medium, you will never ever go back, especially once you start wanting more control with a fine brush, and spray consistency is important.

(chemically speaking water has a dramatically different affect on the paint than an actual painting medium...these products are not scams to just take your money - they actually work).

best of luck and have fun.

I searched, but too often they were posts about which first airbrush to get.

I'm looking for a real brush. This is a hobby I spend money on and the work I produce is something I am proud of. I already have the paint brushes (series 7, I love you) and now I'm looking for that level in an airbrush.

I'm leaning towards iwata just out of personal preference, but I don't know wether the eclipse or hpcs (?) is the better option.

Get an internal mix gravity feed brush.

Also, many people will want a "good brush" for a first brush.

The eclipse is the series, the hpcs is one of the brushes in the eclipse series. (so hpcs IS an eclipse).

I got the hpcs as I wanted a gravity feed and the larger cup (compared to the BS) as I do a lot of terrain work and base coating with it.

I have both the iwata and the patriot 105 (about the same brush) you can't go wrong with either one in my opinion.

To me the slight advantage of the 105 is that if you ever have to use crappy paint with larger pigments (say, you have to use a crappy craft paint (yes, they are crappy for airbrushing) those pigments are going to be difficult to work with, and the needle tip taper and nozzle on the patriot are slightly better.

If you think you will mostly use hobby or (even better) airbrush paints, the iwata is fine.

I heard several people say that windex was a good way to thin paint. I am only using the airbrush to apply a base coat of GW or Reaper paints.

What do you guys think? If you suggest an airbrush medium tell me what kind you recommend and where I can get it. Thank you.

Harder and Steenbeck Infinity 2-1.

Good quality
Easy to clean
No tools required to take apart
Can easily swap nozzle/needle
Available with 0.15mm needle if you want really thin lines.

Downside it's expensive but could be the last brush you buy.

The Badger Renegade Krome has a very good rep and I know people who swear by it. I don't know first hand how easy/hard it is to take apart and clean.

I will second the Harder & Steenbeck Infinity Silverline 2 in 1. I have been airbrushing for years, and can say that this is by FAR the absolute best airbrush I have ever used. It's more expensive than other brushes, but in my opinion worth every penny.

The Iwata Eclipse HPCS is also a fantastic brush, but is limited in what it can do detail wise.

I think there are absolutely dozens of threads on the thinning of paint for airbrushing, so do a quick search and you will get a lot more hits than people could post here in days.

Now, if you don't want to bother, here is an executive summary;

skip the windex, use real airbrush medium - its worth every single penny.

Personally, I prefer the "golden" brand airbrush medium, but liquitex makes a good one as well.

best of luck!

I used to use water or Windex. Now I use Liquitex Airbrush Medium - both for my airbrush thinning needs and when thinning for brush painting. So it gets a lot of use.

Windex / glass cleaners are a bad idea. They might thin the paint well, but contain colourants, whihc affect your work, and also nasty chemicals which affect your lungs and skin.
Usually its amonia.

I very much doubt windex users are wearing a respirator that is capable of filtering organic solvents being as they already cheap out on the correct thinning agents, it stands to reason that they would also cheap out on p.p.e gear too. Tbh thats a bad combo.

HairySticks wrote:
Windex / glass cleaners are a bad idea. They might thin the paint well, but contain colourants, whihc affect your work, and also nasty chemicals which affect your lungs and skin.
Usually its amonia.

I very much doubt windex users are wearing a respirator that is capable of filtering organic solvents being as they already cheap out on the correct thinning agents, it stands to reason that they would also cheap out on p.p.e gear too. Tbh thats a bad combo.

Not only that but ammonia will damage the chrome and in the long term wreck your airbrush. If you absolutely want the cheapest alternative at LEAST use ammonia-free Windex.