Air Brush -- Gravity Feed Or Siphon Feed?

[robalo01]

Which is best? Easiest to clean? etc.

 

[dlaery]

gravity

[Skeeter]

I own both types. Personally, I like the gravity feed. It is more dependable at supplying a steady and constant flow of uninterupted paint to the needle. There is no difference in cleaning either one. Tear it down, clean the parts, and put it back together. I do this every time between color changes also.

 

Skeeter

[BobP]

I use a spray bottle of water and a Q-tip to clean my gravity feed brushes between colors and it takes less than a minute, but I do disassemble and clean them whenever needed and always at the end of a session.  One thing I noticed when I switched to gravity feed is that I use less paint.  Many shots require only a few drops in the cup.  All in all, they're just easier to use and they shoot paint more reliably and at lower pressures than the siphon feed brushes I've used.

 

That said, you can do good work with either style airbrush and the results depends more on your experience and artistic ability than it does the equipment.

[bassguy]

I use the gravity fed brush as well but if you're going to 15 to 20 baits at a time, then siphon feeds are the way to go.

 

Jerry

[Freshwater Marauder]

Just to add my 2 cents all my buddies around here use gravity!

[robalo01]

So, been watching videos of guys painting cranks. I don't see them taking it apart every time they change colors. Looks like they just dump one color out, run some water or cleaner through it and add another color. Is that what most of you guys do?  

Edited June 2, 2014 by robalo01

[gone2long]

Yep just a quick wipe then flush add new color shoot a blast at your pad that should be at the back of your work station and bingo you got it. I agree that if you have a large run that a siphon fed can be your friend but I'm not sure how big that run would be, i do fine with a gravity fed brush but I do have a siphon fed brush setup for basecoat. My sessions are for about a half dozen baits at a time so I'm not setting any records there.

[benton B]

gravity fed brushes for me, you can shoot 2 drops of paint and cleaning between colors is very easy.

[mark poulson]

I have both, but I use the gravity fed 99% of the time.  I use the siphon if I'm base coating a big bait, or multiple baits, because the Badger siphon brush I have has a larger nozzle/needle, and will shoot the thicker Wicked White without clogging, but I use the gravity most of the time.

Rayburn Ben recommended the Airbrush Restorer for periodic cleaning, and it works like a charm.  Amazing how much crap comes out of a "clean" airbrush when you soak it for 10 minutes in AB Restorer and then back flush with the Restorer!

I do that every month or so, depending on how much painting I do, and how my brush is shooting.

[ROWINGADUBAY]

I like the siphon feed because  I buy the  caps that fit the bottles the paints are sold in whenever I get a new color  so I spray a little pearl switch to a water bottle spray to clear the gun  then a little black and so forth no wasted paint

[Musky Glenn]

Rowingadubay X2