Airbrushes

[JoeyDaGreat]

Is the Iwata-Medea Revolution HP BR Dual Action / Small Gravity Feed Cup or Iwata-medea eclipse hp bs qual action small gravity feed cup a good airbrush for paiting crankbaits? If so what one is better? Thanks for any help

[bassguy]

Everyone has their opinion on what ever airbrush they use. The ones you mentioned, who knows. If I tell you one is better over the other that's my opinion, but on the other hand you purchase the one I picked or someone else picked, and you don't like it....well who do you blame? I have an inexpensive one, I think I paid around $45 or 50 dollars for it and it suits my needs just fine. The first one you called attention to is around $120 retail, and the other, around $170 retail, what's the difference? Looks like $50 to me. Just my .02.

[mark poulson]

Whichever brush you pick, I'd recommend getting the C cup instead.

The larger cup lets you put in more paint if you want to, so you can do bigger paint schemes, or multiple baits with the same color.

You can still shoot just a drop or two with it, but you have much more versatility with the C cup.

[EdL]

I'd go with the HP-BR. Both brushes are good but the HP-BR offers a couple of features that would influence me. Like Bass guy says everyone has their opinion and they are entitled. The HP-BR spec sheet I looked at says it has a solvent proof seal. I didn't find a spec for the BS. Having a solvent proof seal allows you to clean soak your brush in some strong stuff in case your brush gets really clogged. After a while cheap rubber or neoprene o-rings will deteriorate sooner. The other option for the BR is you can purchase a second needle/nozzle (0,5mm) in case you need to spray thicker opaque paints or cover more material. The standard supplied needle/nozzle size is 0.3 mm. The BS only has a 0.35mm -sort of a middle of the road size. They both will work but really you need ot decide what you will be using the airbrush to do. What size baits 2-3" or 5 to 7" size baits. The cup size is small so if you are doing large baits then you'll be refilling the cup alot for base coats. Also will you be doing one or two baits at a time or 10 to 12 at a time. Cup size may be something to consider.

Also do a search on this forum if you already haven't on airbrushes. Lots of info to sort through to help you. But if you can afford it the Iwata brush is a good brush. Me I have a Paasche VL (i bought long ago), a german Harder-Steenbech Ultra and an Iwata HP-CS (got at Hobby Lobby with 40% off coupon) and larger needle/nozzle. I use all of them depending what I'm working on. I look at it like building shed. I would use a skill saw, chop saw and table saw and use the better tool for the task to do framing, rafters, steps and trim.

[jwfflipper]

i have 3 Iwata Neo's. and these are all that I need to paint my baits, and they are gravity fed.. I got mine at Hobby Lobby for 40% off with their coupon

[BobP]

I have a Revolution BR and an HP-B+; .3 mm versus .2mm. I end up using the Revolution BR 90% of the time. A .3mm airbrush tip is large enough to shoot pearls and flake, small enough to do color shading so I think the Revolution BR is ideal..... plus it's the cheapest airbrush in Iwata's Japanese product line at around $80. The small cup size is no drawback for me. It's enough to shoot a heavy double coat of Polytranspar Superhide White on an average size bass bait, which is the most capacity I ever need. On the rare occasion when I need more paint, it's not much of a chore to pick up a squeeze bottle and shoot a little more paint into the cup. You have to be careful in sizing Iwata cups since a larger cup often also means the brush automatically comes with a larger tip size. My Iwata HP-B is a nice airbrush but the .2mm tip is small enough that it will clog on flake airbrush paint - and it costs 50% more.

[JoeyDaGreat]

Thank yous for all the input. I think I will be ordering the Revolution BR but need to know can I just hook it up to my compressor I already have? Its not a airbrush compressor its a 5hp and 16 gallons and has a presser gauge do I need a special hook up or will the airbrush air hose fix?

[bassguy]

The only change you may have to make is the hose connection from the brush hose to the compressor hose. Just dial down the pressure to the airbrush and you should be fine. Another addition you should purchase is a moisture trap. With a 16 gallon tank you should be able to shoot many, many baits without it coming on. Have fun, but be sure to post any pictures of your baits you've painted in the gallery....

[EdL]

If I remember right there are Iwata air brush hoses that have 1/8" connection for the airbrush and 1/4" connection for the compressor. If you existing compressor has something larger than 1/4" connection then you need to get a fitting from the hardware store. I use a shop compressor and I put one of those 1/4" moisture/oil filter-regulator combo between the compressor at the end of the shop hose. Got it a lowes. I live in a high humidity area and if the compressor run for a while it will build up heat. When the air pressure gets dropped through the regulator the air will cool down dropping out the moisture in the hotter air. I do this as a precaution. You may not need it. I also use the additional filter regulator to better control the set pressure at the airbrush. Just remember to set the compressor pressure regulator to a pressure below the max pressure rating of the 1/4' filter regulator. You don't want to have the little regulator fail.

[BobP]

Yes, you'll also need an Iwata air hose, or at least an Iwata adapter fitting if you already have another brand airbrush/hose. Iwata a/b's are designed to work at a maximum of 45 psi. More 'normal' is anything from 20-30 psi. A moisture trap is a good idea. All that stuff (don't forget male/female adapters as needed) except the hose is available at most home centers in the air tool department. Also get some PTFE (aka Teflon) plumber's tape to make sure all the connections are air tight.