Low down on airbrushes

[Flamin' A-Hole]

Hey,
I'm a new painter (aspiring). I am in the market for a new airbrush. My goal is to paint motorcycles. My questions is many fold. What type of airbrush is the best for my application(flames, tribal designs, etc.) Is a gravity fed better than a botom fed? Should I purchase a double action? Is side fed better than top fed? How big a resevior should I need? What type and length of hose should I choose? I am leaning toward the Iwata Eclipse or Revolution presently, however I am basing my decision solely on my own research. I would like to hear from you pro's who use them everyday! Any input would be greatly appreciated. And thanks for all the good advice from everyone. I'm not sure where or how long it would take me to get this information on my own. Probably a lifetime!

 

[Mitchb71]

You are on the right track by far. Double action all the way... only thing to use. Now the only trouble you really concerned about is the gravity or siphon fed. Depends on what you are actually doing. If you are only using very small amounts of color. Gravity feed is fine. If you use single colors for longer amounts of time or over larger areas, then go for the siphon feed. Really no advantage other than one holds more than the other. As far as top or side mount thats just preference. I own an iwata eclipse bcs with siphon feed. Awesome gun. Feel free to ask if you have any other questions.

 

[Flamin' A-Hole]

Thanks Mitch for taking the time to reply. You helped me narrow my decision even more!

 

[Nate Hansen]

definitely go for the eclipse. I got the bottom feed and the damn thing is indestructible. you can spray fine lines to wide spray easy. i also have a side feed gun (not the eclipse though, HP), and like it better than the bottom feed. if you use cups for aztek airbrushes you can use you're iwata sidefeed as a gravity feed (its still a siphon feed, but its easy to clean), and you can also use the aztek siphon feed bottles for single colors. so you could say side feed is dual purpose, i love em best of both worlds. i dont know about the revolution..........its got a screw in nozzle which might be kinda spendy for a beginner (not to mention the fact that its easy to tighten em too much, leaving the threads in the body, not fun), and they havent been out long enough to know if they're any good (although its iwata so im sure they're excellent guns). so theres my opinion, hope this helps

 

[Nate Hansen]

............'nother thing, i have a gravity feed too, and hate it, cant see over the cup to see where you're painting, and it sucks trying to look to the side. and, i find they are kinda hard to clean. side feed gets my vote again, easy to clean, and your view is unobstructed. i've also heard good things about paasche airbrushes. they're cheap, and you can get parts anywhere it seems. more food for thought........

 

[Flamin' A-Hole]

Thanks Nate for taking the time to reply and for the advice!

 

[Mitchb71]

i disagree with the pashe or however you spell the damn thing. Those airbrushes are t-shirt airbrushes. They are junk for doing auto or bike painting.

 

[Nate Hansen]

.......yes, but if your just beginning it would be a good gun, cheap parts, and you can get em damn near anywhere. also good if you dont have much money but want to get into it. I'd recommend iwata over the paasche, but with iwata's comes a pretty hefty pricetag depending on what ya get. i've never used a paasche myself, so perhaps that advice is unfounded. but, he probably isnt gonna dive into auto stuff for a long while anyways.....and t-shirts are good for practice

 

[Kyle]

I own a Paasche myself. It isn't the best airbrush, but then again it costs half of what a good Iwata costs, and spare parts are more available.

If you are absolutely sure you want to get into this painting "thing" pony up the cash and get an Iwata. If you are not sure get a Paasche. They are good airbrushes, and if you don't end up liking painting you won't have such a big hole in your pocketbook.

 

[JOANS1TAZFAN]

Hi all i have a airbrush that i use for shirts and for the paint job on my truck that I did to it. it is a Cresendo 175 with fine and med and larg tips it's a double Action. I like this one but I don't realy know if its good for cars and such I just know that This is what I used on my taz truck and I took First place in the Car show last weekend for Custom Truck's and Vans of all years.