CatchemCaro Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 (edited) I'm new also to the airbrush topic. I will be getting one soon too. Now I'm looking at these with the gravity feed cup and it looks as if you have to empty and clean the cup each time you want to change colors? Now I watched a few you tube vids and I saw some where the guy had an assortment of plast bottles and could change colors quick and easy. He could remove the bottle and attach a bottle with a cleaner and spray it into a paper towel to clear out the first color, then install a new bottle with a new color and go to town painting. So with the top gravity air brush are you guys pouring out what you don't use into a jar or cup and then having to clean the bowl before adding a new color? I bought one of those $7.00 air brushs from e-bay, and it was perty much junk. This has been a very usefull thread. Rich Edited April 12, 2010 by CatchemCaro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tfizzle172 Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 All, I have been trying to use the search function to find out the basic beginner info, but there is so much that pops up. I am brand new to the game, and as funny as it it, I got interested after buying a great lure made by CatchemCaro Baits, who ironically had the last post here! What I need to know is if it's better to have bottom fed or the gravity fed cup on top? What are the pros/cons to that? I would like to be able to quicly switch colors and it looks like bottom fed is way to go, but everyone else here seems to tout the gravity fed setup? Also, I can't seem to decipher which is better, single action or dual action. I have absolutely no exprerience with airbrushing, so would it be better to get the dual action right out the gate and learn to use it? I am looking to get one brush that will allow me to build my skill set, but am willing to get the right brush first time, so I don't have to buy another one down the road. I know some guys use multiple brushes for different applications, but I just need one. I plan to make different hard baits for fun at home, but who knows, maybe It could turn into more. i want to be able to put down good detail. So......Gravity fed or bottom fed? And single action or dual action? Thanks for all the great info! Fizz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 (edited) Most guys who have used both choose gravity feed brushes. They use less paint and are easy to clean between shots. Dual action is the only way to go! Push trigger down for more air. Pull trigger back for more paint. Gives you more control. Edited April 11, 2011 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tfizzle172 Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Thanks BobP, Also, do you or anyone else have any insight on the "NEO" brand dual action gravity fed offered at Hobby Lobby for 60 bucks? Fizz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tfizzle172 Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Actually, I realized that the NEO series is by Iwata, wondering if that is any good to start out with, or if that is a cheap beginners version that I would out grow quickly. Also, what kind of fumes and concerns come up with a garage type operation? If I start producing several crankbaits in my garage, do I need some kind of vacuum box? I saw a video where a guy operated out of some type of homemade box, did it have a vent of some kind going outside? Or what is a basic safe setup? I appologize for all the starter questions.... Lastly, and most stupid question of all....does my profile pic show up for you guys, I don't see it when I post...... T. Fizz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 (edited) The Neo is a relatively new introduction to Iwata's line of airbrushes. I think it became available sometime last November. It is built to Iwata's specifications by an outside contractor. Seems as if it is being built in Taiwan. I could be wrong about where. Can't give any info on the use of it as I haven't actually used one, but there is plenty of information about it online. If this is something that you think you'll be doing for a while I wouldn't skimp on an airbrush. Buy the best that you can afford and you will get many, many years of service out of it. Edited April 11, 2011 by RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Actually, I realized that the NEO series is by Iwata, wondering if that is any good to start out with, or if that is a cheap beginners version that I would out grow quickly. Also, what kind of fumes and concerns come up with a garage type operation? If I start producing several crankbaits in my garage, do I need some kind of vacuum box? I saw a video where a guy operated out of some type of homemade box, did it have a vent of some kind going outside? Or what is a basic safe setup? I appologize for all the starter questions.... Lastly, and most stupid question of all....does my profile pic show up for you guys, I don't see it when I post...... T. Fizz The setup you'll need depends on what type of paint your going to be spraying. A large portion of the folks here at TU use water base paints that are much safer than the solvent based paints. I use water based paints (Createx/Auto Air) and paint my baits inside the house. Now I'm not building hundreds of baits a year. If I was I would move the operation outside the house and probably invest in a forced air filtration system of some kind. And I don't see your profile pic. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tfizzle172 Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Thanks for the info, I will probably look to use the water based from all the info I see on it. Not sure what's up with the pic, I see very small in the corner where it shows me signed in, but I'll have to figure out why it's not showing up on the posts. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrykerLures Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 I bought a Badger 155 Anthem for $150 or so. Its a nice airbrush. limited size though. no extra needles are even made (as far as I can tell). I recently got a Iwata Eclipse with a 5mm needle. Very nice. I've been spraying 1" - Pencil lines very nicely (pencil lines was run at under 5 PSI) and the 1" is anything about 10 or so. The Iwata is also a very nice price. about $100 from TCPglobal.com. Make sure you get "Airbrush Restorer" and if you can afford it, a Cleaning kit. For a small needle airbrush. Its a must. I've also tried a Master set I bought for $140 that came with 2 Airbrushes. 1 of them never worked at all. I know Master is a decent company but It didn't work when I got it and to this day still will not suck up the Paint. I would go with an Iwata. my tops list would go 1. Iwata 2. Badger 3. SOME Master airbrushes. I hope this helped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Siphon versus Gravity feed: It's player's choice and if it's a good airbrush brand/model, either will give good service. There are pros and cons for both; you just have to decide how you want to use your airbrush and what features are more important to you. I'm a hobby builder and don't paint more than 6 crankbaits during a session. I have and use both types but I prefer gravity feed. It uses less paint, can shoot paint at less psi, and there is less stuff to clean when the session is over. I squirt paint directly into the cup from the paint storage bottle. When I thin paint, I usually do it to the whole bottle. Most often, I'm using less than 10 drops of paint, and often only 3-4 drops to shoot a color on one crankbait. Since I have about 50 bottles of paint and am painting 2-3 different patterns on just a few crankbaits during a session, it's impractical to set up every color with its own siphon bottle. On the other hand, siphon feed brushes rule if you are painting lots of crankbaits in the same pattern in a commercial production scenario (you might also have a brush for each color). But that's not me. Between colors, I dump the few drops of paint left in the cup and squirt it clean with a spray bottle of water. Fill the cup with water and shoot it. I also hold my finger over the tip of the brush to backwash it with water. If I'm satisfied, it's time for the next color. If not, I'll pull the needle and wipe it to be sure there's no old color anywhere in the tip of the brush, and I'll swab the front end of the brush with a Qtip dipped in acetone to remove any paint build-up. At the end of the session, I clean the brush the same way but just do a more thorough job and run more water through the brush. I often shoot a cup of acetone through as a last step to guarantee there's no paint left anywhere. Every few months, I'll disassemble the brush and soak it in an airbrush cleaning solution overnight. Airbrushes are precision tools with tiny passages and will drive you crazy if you are lax about cleaning them. I paint at a workbench in the garage with some wood shelves above it. Tape some newspaper behind the bench to catch the overspray. I screwed a simple airbrush rest into the edge of the shelf. No problem with "accidents". There are also airbrush rests you can get or build to sit on a bench. I can't see the need for a gravity feed brush with a lid on it, but maybe others can. Other guys have different routines, different preferences, different equipment. It all works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhockey11 Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 BobP is right here. I have a siphon harbor freight brush now, and really wish it was gravity fed. The amount of paint needed to get the siphon to work is just way too much for the 2-4 baits I paint at one time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
