Least finicky airbrush?

[JRammit]

I no longer own an airbrush

I got an Iwata Neo last Christmas and barely used it because i spent 10x as much time cleaning it as i did painting with it.... i finally got over my frustrations and pulled it out again... i painted one bait with it, then it went to h*ll again... i spent almost 2 hours breaking it down and cleaning it over and over again today until my patients ran out and i threw it through the wall

The problems i was having:

- Air comes out the nozzle constantly, sometimes if i wiggled the trigger just right it would stop, other times it would not stop

- sometimes paint would not spray at all, air comes out, no paint... but if i rinse the bowl out, it would spray water or cleaner just fine

- when it did actually spray paint, no two trigger pulls were consistent... i would spray against the wall to make sure i had an even stream, then spray a lure only to get splatters or sputters... or one pull paint would come out, the next nothing

As far as cleaning goes, i wasnt cleaning after every use, only when it started acting up (basically every other use).... ive broken it down as far as i possibly can, soaked every component and part in windex (or airbrush cleaner) and used the little wire tools in the cleaning kit to scrub every nook and cranny i could reach

It can not be this difficult to put paint on a lure.... is there a painting tool on the market that isn't so ridiculously finicky???

Edited September 13, 2019 by JRammit

[BobP]

 Your brush wasn’t finicky.  It was broken and needed repair to work properly. If you threw it against a wall in frustration, maybe airbrushing isn’t for you.  The main thing building and finishing crankbaits taught me was patience.  Stick with it and you’ll get that lesson over and over.

Edited September 13, 2019 by BobP

[JRammit]

Thanks for the encouragement... kinda

Patients is a funny thing, it doesnt always cross over from one task to another the way you'd think it would... i spent all morning designing and building a jointed wake bait... didn't get it on the first try, or the second, or even the third... but i did get it, and it turned out pretty good,  all it needed was a finish that reflected the amount of work i put into it.... then, well, you know the rest of the story

Ill own up to any user error on my part, as im sure there is one or two.. but my goodness, does it really need to be so meticulous to operate a paint spraying device??

[JRammit]

I guess a better way to word the question:

In terms of user friendliness, is there a difference between brands?... even sacrificing performance... ive used rattle cans to paint my lures for the past, ive lost count of how many years... just wanted to take the next step, not trying to paint the next Picasso 

[Travis]

Iwata in my opinion about the best brush I have used.  No major differences between them just subtle things in regards to quality.  I have used  the Iwata Eclipse HP-SBS autographics brush for years with no problems at all. Neo is budget friendly option so going to likely come across lemons more frequently. 

 I am in agreement with Bob and likely defective brush from the get go or also likely just need to be tweaked out of the box.    If the brush was leaking air first place to look was the valve body set and valve body o-ring.  May have been as simple as a cracked o ring.   

Trigger sticking even after cleaning likely needed a little airbrush lube or possible to clean up some flash from the casting so it was freely moving.

If paint not spraying could be a few issues.  Paint too thick, not enough pressure due to escaping air to function properly, small bit of dried paint clogging nozzle, etc..

Difficult to paint with  brush not functioning right especially if not enough time has been spent painting to know what to trouble shoot.

 

[BobP]

I’ve owned Badger, Paasche, and Iwata.  My Iwata is clearly the best built and has been trouble free for 10 years.  Mine is a Revolution B with a .03 mm tip.  Eclipse is of similar high quality in the Iwata lineup.  Just IMHO, your Eclipse sounded like it had a problem in the trigger system which caused most of the problems you cited.  All airbrushes are precision instruments that require daily cleaning and periodic deep cleaning.  They're easy to break or get misadjusted so that they can’t work well.  Finicky?  Yeah, a little.  But there’s no other tool that can do the same job as well.

[JRammit]

Good input

Also, my bad, i went back and edited the op... mine is (was) a Neo, not an Eclipse

The valve body?... i assume thats the part that screws into the air hose?... i never figured out how to break that part down... well,  its broken down now, but not in the traditional sense 

Thinking ill call Iwata tomorrow, tell them what happened, see if they'll replace it (if i can find all the parts)..... just don't seem right to me that a brand new tool should function so poorly... even if the user is functioning the same

[Travis]

13 minutes ago, JRammit said:

Good input

Also, my bad, i went back and edited the op... mine is (was) a Neo, not an Eclipse

The valve body?... i assume thats the part that screws into the air hose?... i never figured out how to break that part down... well,  its broken down now, but not in the traditional sense 

Thinking ill call Iwata tomorrow, tell them what happened, see if they'll replace it (if i can find all the parts)..... just don't seem right to me that a brand new tool should function so poorly... even if the user is functioning the same

No. 15 and 14.    You are correct in that a new airbrush should have functioned properly... that is when you should have called for help.  Nine months later after chucking it against a wall?     Micheal's has a lot of coupons now. one is 60% off one item.  Drive over to Keller and buy another one.  I looked at one earlier this week thinking I might see about it for spraying finishes on small woodworking projects.

[21xdc]

I prefer a 0.5 needle airbrush... I have the least problem with cleaning and clogging. If I want details, I use a stencil.. 

 

I have a few of these>>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gravity-Feed-Dual-Action-7CC-Airbrush-Paint-Spray-Gun-Kit-for-Toys-Nail-Care/173685950458?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=472360764798&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

 

Worth trying yourself. 

[JRammit]

I dont even know what size needle mine is.... so the bigger the needle, the less clogging?... that makes sense

[AZ Fisher]

Neo has a .35 needle, so if you are trying to use craft paint or even unreduced quality airbrush paint you may still have clogging issues. Agree with others about sticking trigger and dirty nozzle. You just can't keep em too clean i've learned...

[eastman03]

.5 needle with my badger patriot combined with an airbrush flow improved to delay tip dry really helped me clean less and paint more. 

[BobP]

Most eclipse models have a .35 mm tip.  As well as ordering parts, I think you can send Iwata brushes to a repair facility for service.  Don’t think this would be necessarily required on an Eclipse since the tip is not especially small compared to many other Iwata models whose tips really need to be professionally fitted to function right.

[mark poulson]

Thin your paint with the manuf. recommended thinner/reducer to the consistency of skim milk.  More thin coats is better than one thick one, both from the standpoint of drying between coats, and from ease of spraying.

[JRammit]

I just ordered the cheapest, no name airbrush i could find online... if it don't work, im only out 16 bucks... better than being out over 100 like the last one

[JRammit]

Says it has 3 different needle/nozzle sizes.. biggest being .5mm... would be a real bonus if i could run my cheap craft paint thru it, i have a whole drawer full of that stuff, the Neo clogged instantly when i tried to use it

[JRammit]

1 hour ago, mark poulson said:

Thin your paint with the manuf. recommended thinner/reducer to the consistency of skim milk.  More thin coats is better than one thick one, both from the standpoint of drying between coats, and from ease of spraying.

You do that in the bottles?.. or every time you spray?

[bigblue2]

30 minutes ago, JRammit said:

You do that in the bottles?.. or every time you spray?

I use craft paint you find at Walmart just thin it down with orange cleaner to the point of milk!   

[JRammit]

19 minutes ago, bigblue2 said:

I use craft paint you find at Walmart just thin it down with orange cleaner to the point of milk!   

I tried that in the Neo... i was using water tho, not sure if thats why it wouldnt work, but i had to thin it down so far that it rippled when i sprayed it and just dripped right off the lure body

[JRammit]

This contraption really gave me a bad first impression of airbrushing... ive been thinking to myself that y'all must just be gluttons for punishment to continue putting yourselves through the frustration and hassle of constantly tinkering with and scrubbing this metal device instead of actually building lures

[mark poulson]

18 hours ago, JRammit said:

You do that in the bottles?.. or every time you spray?

I thin only what I'm going to shoot that day.  I use Createx 4011 reducer because it keeps the film strength of the paint even when it's thinned, so I don't get the ripples.  I always spray thin coats, and heat set/dry between every coat.

[SlowFISH]

I have both an Iwata Eclipse and and old Paasche (I think I got it for X-Mas in 1990).  I found the Iwata to work really well doing fine details and feathering out light areas - but would need the paint to be just right (not to thick/not too thin) as it has a smaller tip diameter.  My old Paasche I have the .5mm tip and I can put almost anything through it provided it isn't thick like glue!

If you'r just doing very basic shading on a bait (base coat on sides / a top-back coat / a belly coat-color) and using stencils for small/fine details like striping/eyes - a basic airbrush with a bigger diameter tip will work for most of what you need - and provided you clean it when done - should work maintenance free.

If your trying to very light/fine details and such - the smaller tip brush will work better like found on Iwata and other brands - but you'll have to be more precise with your paint viscosity and pressures, etc.  You'll also need to be more diligent about cleaning and be careful with the needle/tip as drop it once the floor can/will ruin it (I speak from experience).

For the majority of what I do - the old Paasche with a big tip works great... I even have my 8 year old use it to paint his pinewood derby car.... it's that friendly.

 

 J.

 

[JRammit]

8 hours ago, SlowFISH said:

I have both an Iwata Eclipse and and old Paasche (I think I got it for X-Mas in 1990).  I found the Iwata to work really well doing fine details and feathering out light areas - but would need the paint to be just right (not to thick/not too thin) as it has a smaller tip diameter.  My old Paasche I have the .5mm tip and I can put almost anything through it provided it isn't thick like glue!

If you'r just doing very basic shading on a bait (base coat on sides / a top-back coat / a belly coat-color) and using stencils for small/fine details like striping/eyes - a basic airbrush with a bigger diameter tip will work for most of what you need - and provided you clean it when done - should work maintenance free.

If your trying to very light/fine details and such - the smaller tip brush will work better like found on Iwata and other brands - but you'll have to be more precise with your paint viscosity and pressures, etc.  You'll also need to be more diligent about cleaning and be careful with the needle/tip as drop it once the floor can/will ruin it (I speak from experience).

For the majority of what I do - the old Paasche with a big tip works great... I even have my 8 year old use it to paint his pinewood derby car.... it's that friendly.

 

 J.

 

That is really all i need... something that will throw paint on a lure when im finished building it..... not something im going to have to take apart, scrub and put back together 4 times after building a lure

I dont have an artistic bone in my body.. the closest to detail i get is spraying scales over tule

[JRammit]

This isnt even what i ordered, but whatever, ill try it

I just turned it on out of the box and it has the same problem as my old one, constantly spraying air

Oh well.. guess id rather have a $16 piece of junk than a $100+ piece of junk

Maybe itll get me by until i can blow another $100

[mark poulson]

My first airbrush was a Badger siphon, with a .5 tip, and all it does is work.  I use to spray white undercoat when I have a lot of lures to paint, and it never clogs.