Last year I purchased a double action airbrush from Harbor Freight. I am new to airbrushing and also totally frustrated. I have finally decided to buy a new airbrush. My choices are narrowed to the following:
Badger model 200-20 Detail Single action
or
Paasche H Series kit
Any opinions as to which of these models would be the best choice? I have a compressor/ regulator setup ready to go. I also want to consider ease of cleaning. The primary use for this would be detailing structures and scenery for HO scale model railroading. I do have a couple model aircraft kits I would like to detail also. any information will help.
Both are good reliable airbrushes. I have one of each and have both for over 22 years and are still going strong. The only parts I had to replace was the needles. The Badger (IMO) is more flexiable in the finer detail work while the Paasche H is good for larger single color coverage. For cleaning the Paasche is a little easier to clean because it’s ext mix.
What was the issue with the double action airbrush? Was it due to the double action which is harder to get the hang of or was it something wrong with the airbrush itself. [^o)]
You can get a Badger Anthem 155 Double Action Siphon feed airbrush at Coast Airbrush for around $74 brand new. I got one. Awesome little brush. I never cared for the Paasche brushes. Not sure why, probably the handle design on most of their models. I researched for over two weeks deciding on the Anthem. It seems like the best general purpose airbrush out there, and can handle anything you throw at it.
Thanks for the reply. I figured that would be the case with cleaning the Paasche H series. The problem with my Harbor Freight double action is probably 90% operator error. I think it is the mixing of the paint. I can’t get the paint to siphon up and through the brush. Than I mix it so thin to a point where it sprays like water and runs right off the plastic I’m trying to paint. The LHS told me not to use water or iso alcohol to thin acrylics. They said to match the brand paint with that brand thinner. This may have been an up sale, but the extra $4.00 for specific thinner isn’t going to break me either. I went ahead and tried Testors thinner and still had the same problem. I use Polly Scale RR paints. I dissassembled the brush and now the trigger seems loose. It rocks from side to side very loosely. So I am very frustrated. I am leaning toward buying the Paasche H series because of the ease of cleaning. Model Railroader magazine has an expert tip video on how to dissasemble and clean the Paasche H series with Windex, looks pretty easy. Coast airbrush has the H series kit (including size #3 and #5 spray tips) for $53.00 shipping included.
It’s possible that the brush is drawing air somewhere in the paint path, or that for some reason it isn’t creating (or getting) enough vacuum to draw paint at the regular viscosity - hence it only seems to work with over thinned paint. I suppose it will work fine with water?
Okay. The thing with Acrylics (which is why I don’t use them for anything but washes) is that no two specific paints thin the same. Some can be thinned with water, some need alcohol, and some need a specific thinner. To add to the lunacy, different colors within the same brand can and mostly do react differently as well. With enamels, they pretty much thin the same way. A simple 1:1 with most enamel thinners works fine for most folks. You might want to consider switching. Changing brushes is ot going to change how acrylics behave (or misbehave). As for Gravity or siphon feed. Some folks prefer gravity fed, but I prefer the option of having a large jar or a paint cup. The jar is much better for larger jobs like 1/48 or 1/32 aircraft. The siphon fed brushes also have a cup, and the Badger is the best one out there. If you look at your current brush’s cup, you will notice a small hole at the bottom or partway up the side. This makes it hard for the brush to siphon when there is very little paint left. The Badger cups have a tube that extends to the bottom of the cup and allows for much more paint to be used before you need to refill. Using a Jar also has one other advantage. If you need to mix paint for a specific task like a large aircraft fuselage, you can do it right in the jar. That way you have a large amount of paint which is all the same color and already jarred (is that even a word…?). With cups you have to mix externally then transfer the paint a little at a time into the brush cup. They say that Gravity fed provides a small downpressure that allows for better finer spray. The same can be accomplished by simply increasing the air pressure to a siphon fed brush. I weighed all of these factors before snagging my 155. The benefits of a siphon feed outweigh the benefits of gravity fed. And I can also tell you that even with the siphon bottle in place, the balance and feel of the 155 is terrific. Plus you can more easily see what you are painting without that annoying cup in the way. lol. So think carefully before you make what is a fairly major investment. See if there is a local place you can actually get your hands on oen to try it out for feel, before deciding on which brush to get.
I was thinking the same thing. You kind of get what you pay for with brushes. The Harbor Freight brushes I believe are made by the same company who made my old Master G23. It had problems with bad fitting seals from day 1, Which is why I went to the Anthem 155. The Master had small leaks around the place where the tube goes into the jar, and as I found out a few weeks later, it had a small one just at the point where the tip assembly screws onto the body of the brush.
Mrazz - when you clean your jar cap’s siphon tube are you shoving tissue and/or craft-store-type pipe cleaners dipped in thinner up it? If you are you may have clogged it with lots of small hairs and fibers being pulled off of the tissue/pipe cleaners as you reciprocate them in and out. This has happened to me on a number of occasions with my Pasche VL double action siphon.
I came up with two solutions - 1 - get a 2/3" needle, bend the tip so it can snag stuff, shove it up both ends of the jar cap siphon and gouge out all the gunky crap up there.
2 - invest in a nylon A/B cleaner. Exactly the same as a pipe/test-tube cleaner but the bristles are tightly jammed within the twisted wire and take a lot of use to start being ripped off.
It would seem that there are few subjects that garner such varied opinions such as the airbrush one. The key is just to find one that is comfortable, well made and accomplishes what you want it to. Badger, Thayer & Chandler (Now badger), Iwata, Paasche, aztec all make good products. There are numerous accounts of people getting great results with any of them. The hard part is finding somewhere you can actually hold them and see for yourself. I personally have a Vega 2000 and an HP-CS. I love them both for very different reasons.
Yes, they are most likely all products of Fengda in China & reviews of these brushes is a bit on the variable side. They are fine when they work, but seem almost as likely not to work, with issues surrounding seal & thread quality.
As they say in another trade, mileage may vary (considerably in this case)!
Mark, if I might, have you considered picking up a gravity feed double action? If you’re having problems with the siphon action, a gravity feed is pretty much the surest way to overcome that!
I used a Paasche H for years. It’s a solid workhorse airbrush. I still have mine, but these days it spends most of its time in a drawer, and I only pull it out when I need to absolutely bomb a subject with paint (works great for things like pre WWII yellow wings schemes).
Here’s the thing with the Paasche H - at least in my experience. First, compared to any double-action I’ve ever used, it’s basically like an alcoholic, only for paint. Second, it’s siphon-feed, which some people love, but IMO (having used exclusively siphon until last summer) just introduces another variable to the equation - and another thing to clean! You have to worry about having bottles on hand, or cleaning out that PITA siphon cup.
As for cleaning the Paasche H, it’s easy-ish. Basically two parts on the airbrush that need steady attention. But it can be messy, and takes me about twice as long to strip and clean as my Iwatas or my Grex.
Guys, I brought AB cleaning set from Harbor Freight Tools for only $2 each. No kidding… if you have one in your area, just go and buy one! It sure beats paying $11 I paid last time from TCP Global ($7 plus shipping). I bought two just in case… both looked the exact same. [Y]
Yep, and sometimes you can even catch a sale and get them cheaper. I also use those little interdental brushes that are intended for cleaning between teeth. I used to use pipe cleaners but the wire’s kinda big and can chew up the needle seal/bearing.
As far as airbrushes, I recently bought an Iwata Revolution CR as a general purpose gravity fed brush and am very happy with it. If you want something capable of more detail then there is the BR version. CR uses a .50mm nozzle and the BR uses a .30mm. $72.95 shipped from Chicago Airbrush or Coast Airbrush. Pick up a $3 hose adaptor and you’re good to go.
Usually, if you get a knock-off made by Fengdau in China, such as the TCPGlobal Master brand, it works pretty well when it is new. Don Wheeler pointed out some of the design defect in the paint cup. But I definitely considered them an option for beginner modeler who is tight on budget. Long term durability is the biggest unknown. However, there are tens of airbrush factories in China who make “knock-offs of Fengdau”. Those could be really bad. So buyer be aware. I suspect Harbor Freight does not source their airbrush from Fengdau.
I found a new knock-off at Hobby Lobby called “Neo for Iwata” recently. I got the gravity feed one for $38. It was supposed to have parts made in Taiwan and assembled in China. I am pretty impressed with the finish and the paint cup design is easy to clean. (It sets it aside from most of the old Fengdau.) The needle is typical Fengdau quality, in fact, same diameter. So it is not bad compared to some American brand needles. I have had that for a while, but have not find time to test it yet. Below are some pictures of the disassembled “Neo for Iwata”
Airbrush and compressor are the type of item that you get what you paid for. I have no reservation to recommend the “Neo for Iwata” or even a FengDua knock-off to a teen modeler who has limited allowance. My go-to airbrush for general modeling task is an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. A good workhorse airbrush capable of a lot of details and easy to get spares cheap at Hobby Lobby.
If I may, I would agree with DoogsATX; just get a simple, reliable double-action airbrush. I’ve used syphon for a while, and did not like it at all compared to double-action airbrushes. Very affordable ones can be found, and like everything, if cleaned and maintained, should last a long time. Plus, as pointed out, they drink far less paint than syphon.
