What Airbrush ?

[GeorgeMro]

I am new to this and want to paint my own crankbaits . Could you recommend an air brush kit / setup , as there are many choices and I don't know which would be best for painting cranks.

[gone2long]

I started not too long ago and bought an Iwata NEO for like $50 nice little starter brush but now have an Iwata eclipse and it's a great brush @ $140 I still use the NEO it has its place so it was not a waste of money and will not just sit on a shelf. Spend as much as possible on the brush it makes all the difference in the world to getting started and not fighting with cheap knockoff's. If possible I suggest your paint to be Spectra-tex for learning it's one of the closest paints that are AB ready.

 

Createx is good paint but you have to learn paint reducing when it comes to it and learning one thing at a time is the best way to keep you interested and not get frustrated. I use a 3HP pancake compressor if you have space\conditions that permit that that's the route I would go they are relatively quiet and have a lot of reserve air. Do a lot of research on you tube there is a lot of good info on getting started and have fun at it. Dakotalakestackle is a good you tube channel to follow he has some really good video's on how to and shows a lot of tricks.

[mark poulson]

Air brush painting with a two stage air brush, so you can control the air and paint independently, is the way to go.

Using one is like learning to throw a baitcaster, a learning curve that is doable.

Buy a good brush to learn with, and you'll continue painting.  A cheap brush that doesn't perform can be discouraging.

Go onto the air brush websites and check out their free videos, especially on how to clean an air brush.

Air brushes have tiny passages that the paint is forced through to get an even spray, and those passages can clog easily and stop your brush from working.

Clean brushes work, dirty brushes don't, no matter how much you pay for them.

[woodieb8]

I have been using paasche h brush for decades. simple. theres many others that offer more intricate detail .

but for the bucks and easy parts fix its paasche for me

[rhersh]

These guys are very up on this and know what they are talking about. I too started out with a cheap brush from Harbor freight then went to the neo then after finding this site I bought an iwata hp-ch and have not looked back. I too still use my neo now and then.

I have a big a/c in my garage but got tired of the noise when it would kick in, so I had a cheap small a/c but it was still to much noise. So I converted the small compresser by getting a compresser from an old refrigerator and mounting it on the small tank. It was the best move I made, it is no louder than the fefrigerator running in my house, its great.

If you consider this an option you can find how to do it on youtube and was cheap.

 

Royce

Edited November 22, 2013 by rhersh

[barrybait]

I have only been air-brushing baits for a couple of years.  Mostly self taught and watching you-tube videos.  When I wanted an airbursh I asked an older taxidermy friend who does both game heads and fish mounts.  He recommended the Badger 150.  I got the Badger 150-7 it had all 3 tips included.  I started out with CSI paints and just had a really tough time keeping the nozzle clear.  I switched to Createx and am doing much better especially if I use the brush cleaner and brush restorer I don't have to disassemble as often but sometimes still struggle maintaining consistency for that light thin paint flow consistently seems like I have to come back farther and farther on the trigger to cut the same amount of paint in then I have to clean.  I don't know anything about any other brush since I have never used one.  Do I have the wrong brush?  You guys with more experience.....am I fighting an uphill battle where I would be better off with a different brush?

 

Also, that refrigerator compressor idea is awesome rhersh.  I already have a compressor but a previous compressor electric motor failed and since I already have the tank and pressure switch etc I might just check that out.

[gone2long]

Barry What PSI are you running your 150 on? Siphon fed brushes typically require a higher PSI due to the fact that it needs to push the paint up and out of the bottle like around 45 PSI depending on the nozzle/tip you use, at those pressures tip dry is more prevalent. I don't think a siphon fed brush would be my first choice as you really don't require that much paint to do fishing lures but it's doable. Createx is an art unto itself you need to understand paint reduction even within the same line it will change from color to color due to pigment size once you get your reducing down you should be good to go just take lots of notes when doing so.

[ArdentAngler]

I'm a little lost myself, after reading through some old posts it just got me more confused. There are many mixed opinions and it makes choosing that much harder. Kits that sell compressors some say they are fine to work with while others disagree etc. The NEO and Iwata names have been thrown around a lot in every post so I know they are good. If I'm only doing a handful of baits at a time what would be the best and cheapest solution? Simple is always better for me so basic paint schemes is what I'm going for.

Edited November 22, 2013 by ArdentAngler

[gone2long]

Then I suggest you print one of the steep discount coupons from Michael's, AC Moore or Hobby Lobby and find a quality brush there. Here's my take on it, I bought the NEO which by the way is made for Iwata by their design I found it to be a very good brush for small quantities of baits it has 3 options that are with it you can literally use it without the cup for a few drops of paint or it also comes with 2 different size cups that screw on.

 

It is a gravity fed brush so you can run it with less PSI with properly thinned paint which helps with tip dry and it comes with a needle/tip size of .35 mm and can be swapped out with a .5 mm and the plus is when you decide to move up to the next level that little NEO is still a good go to brush where as a knockoff will sit on the shelf. I stepped up to the Eclipse and wow what a difference more control and handles the thicker paints with less fiddling around reducing. Iwata is a very well made brush but there are others as well such as Paasche or Badger.

 

I have a Paasche Talon TG3 set and it's very versatile but it has a big honking permanent cup on it and I just don't need all that paint at any one time they all have pro's and con's the more you spend on the brush the better you'll take to the craft I've read a million threads about cheaper knockoff brushes and almost no one will tell you that they still stand behind their knockoff's after getting a real brush.

[BobP]

JMHO, the Iwata Revolution B is one of the best "do it all" airbrushes for painting crankbaits.  It has a .3mm tip, which is the sweet spot for large enough to shoot almost any paint unthinned and small enough to do color fading and some detail.  Plus the Revolution has the excellent build quality of all Iwata airbrushes and it costs in the $80-90 range, making it very moderately priced.  The "B" designation denotes the size of the cup, which is small enough not to get in your way but will hold enough paint to do any crankbait painting chore I've ever experienced.

 

As for air supply, I like using a tool compressor with air storage tank in my garage.  It's loud but  doesn't run often while painting due to the storage tank and it's more cost effective than small dedicated airbrush compressors.  If you need or want a smaller airbrush compressor, get one with a max pressure rating of at least 50 psi.  Small compressors air up to their advertised max pressure but the sustained pressure output is usually about 15 psi lower - and that is what you will actually be shooting your paint at.  You can shoot airbrush paint at 15-25 psi but it's nice to have at least 30 psi when shooting heavy basecoat paint or when cleaning out the brush.

[gone2long]

Yeah I'm a fan of the small cup I have the eclipse BS which has the small cup much easier than the bigger cup on the CS. I also got the needle/tip upgrade.

[ArdentAngler]

Ok, so besides the airbrush what paints and or accessories would I require? Would a small all in one unit be practical?

[Pickadoll]

I recommend Harder And Steenbeck Evolution! 

[barrybait]

Thanks Gon2long, that makes a lot of sense.  I have a 30 gallon garage/shop compressor that I use with my Badger 150.  I run the pressure between 20 and 30 psi most of the time but when I am doing some real light fine work I have to bring it down to 6 or 8 psi.  I run the compressor regulator at 60psi, run a 30 ft hose to my work station where I have a moisture seperator/regulator at my airbrush hose and the pressure settings I mention above are set with the 2-stg airbrush trigger down for full airflow but not back for paint.  Got some good work done but fight it sometimes.

 

Understand I waste some paint due to the cup and if I don't put enough in the cup and it runs out then I'm siphoning air thru there can't help anything.  I pretty much work from a water bucket.  I'll set my brush down on a hangar to reposition a bait or something but as soon as I have finished with that color I drop the brush in a small bucket of water.  Then I crank the air pressure up, remove the paint cup under water and blow the brush and bucket out real good including back flowing by pushing the tip into a rubber pad.  That seems to keep me going the longest between disassembling for cleaning.  I leave it in water until I'm ready to go for the next color. 

[tekoutdoors.co]

I would recommend a gravity fed airbrush and an oil less air compressor as big as you can afford.  I have a Iwata Revolution BR that seems to be able to do almost anything.  I started out with a little 3 gallon pancake air compressor but it would turn on and make a ton of noise every 15 minutes.  Now I have a 33 gallon upright and I can fill it once and spray for 3 hours at night.  My uncle does taxidermy and he uses badger airbrushes but he has to spray at about 40 psi and the gravity fed that I have can spray at about 7 psi for fine detail and 20 psi for fast coverage.

[barrybait]

Wow!  Airbrush recommendations are heavily weighted toward Iwata at least for crankbait size jobs.  Sounds much easier than my Badger 150 and save some paint too.  That will be my  upgrade when I'm ready to shell out the cash.  I'm with you on the compressor too (Tek) my 30 gallon tool compressor last a long time, if it does cut in it only takes a minute to repressurize the tank.  Looked into the refrigerator compressor idea but afraid it would pass some oil in the air and oil and water (based paints) don't mix.

[fatfingers]

You simply cannot go wrong with an Iwata.

[rhersh]

You simply cannot go wrong with an Iwata.

I totally agree. Not that I am anybody.

[BobP]

I have a Badger 170 Crescendo siphon feed brush and it works fine.  Some excellent crankbait painters use Badgers, Paasche, etc.  But the precision and quality of my Iwatas are a step up and using a gravity feed brush makes things easier.  If nothing else, they save on paint and are easier to clean between color shots.  That said, seeing the paint jobs posted by TU painters using a wide variety of airbrushes over the last decade, let's not forget that an airbrush is just a tool.  A great airbrush won't magically paint a good looking crankbait.  That's up to the painter who has enough experience and skill with his particular airbrush - whatever the brand or model. 

[gone2long]

Very true but unfortunately you see a lot of "good deals" on packages with knockoff's or the wrong tool for the job and people buy them and are left with a piece of junk and become unsure of what the next move is, any good working brush is magical in the right hands but a non functioning piece of doo doo will always cause grief and sometimes cause people to give up before they even start.

[RayburnGuy]

I totally agree with Bob. A great brush doesn't necessarily mean your going to be a great painter. An excellent artist can take a crappy airbrush and paint a masterpiece and a novice painter can take the most expensive airbrush and his work is still going to look like a beginner. I have one of the more expensive Iwata's and I'm still a mediocre painter at best.

 

I started out with some cheaper airbrushes trying to save money and soon realized it was hard to get parts and service. That's one thing about Iwata brushes. Parts are readily available and the quality of the brush itself means it will last many, many years.

 

Ben

[gone2long]

Yep many of the lower grade brushes don't even have parts available you just toss it when it goes which can be the day you open it for the first time!

[Pickadoll]

I used to have a Passche VL Airbrush and one other crappy model. And then I bought my Harder & Steenbeck Infinity 2 in 1. The difference where crazy. What a feeling in this Airbrush! Much easier to paint good. 

I recommend a Harder and Steenbeck Evolution silverline or Harder & Steenbeck Infinity. Both of them exist in 2 in 1. That means two different needle sizes in the same Airbrush. I got a 0,15 needle for really detailed work and a 0,40 needle for pearl/metallic colors and some of the Opaque, and this in the same airbrush. Both of these models have teflon sealings standard so you won't get any problems with broken sealings. You get 2 different cup sizes. Fast look for the air tube. The Infinity also have a Quick fix in the back wich is the best thing of all!!!
Germans do know how to make Airbrushes !

[gone2long]

Yep read a lot of good reviews about them but the price point is a little too high for someone just starting out and not sure if its for them. I've learned pretty quickly that everyone still doing this has 2 brushes the one they started out with and the one they now use. This is not to suggest they don't still use the cheap one but it now may be strictly set up for say primer or harder to spray pearls, metallics and the like, the idea here was to suggest a cheaper but quality brush to start that way if they put it down because it's not for them then they're not stuck holding a pricey shelf ornament

[Pickadoll]

Yes and that was why i recommended Harder and steenbeck evolution. It is a quality brush but still pretty cheap compared to, let say and Iwata model that is as good as Evolution. Harder and steenbeck is cheaper than an Iwata and Iwata is not better. It is the name "Iwata" that costs money.