Guy Dowd Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 I just bought a Badger 150 Air brush for cheap other day. Anyone use this brush have some tips? or is there somewhere i can get a good instruction manual or how to use it better. the book they give you stinks. I also cant seem to get a fine line with the brush its all big lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 I would go to Badger's website, if they have one, or Coast Air Brush at http://www.coastairbrush.com/products.asp?cat=103 and check out what your brush is designed for. I have a similar Badger brush. Mine has a .5mm tip, and is a suction brush with glass paint bottles that are hung from below the brush. The paint is pulled into the brush with a plastic "straw", a tube that comes out of the top of the bottle and is forced up into the bottom of the brush. I use my Badger for applying large amounts of thicker paint, like spraying multiple baits with undercoat white before I move on to my Iwata brush for the finer painting. The tip on the Badger, plus the amount of air I find I need to make the suction work, make fine lines and fine work impossible for me, but it sprays thicker paints and big volumes great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Dowd Posted April 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 what is a good cheap Iwata for fine lines i would like to keep it 50 and under if possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 I don't know of any good, cheap Iwata brushes at that price. I'd suggest you do an Iwata search here and see what you come up with. Also Google it, and see what you can find. The Coast Airbrush site I gave you is a good baseline to start with for pricing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Dowd Posted April 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 anyone use the Iwata Neo using the 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby I can get it for $38 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 The Neo is not actually built by Iwata. It's built in Taiwan to Iwata's specs. I've heard both good and bad reviews about the Neo. Haven't personally used it so I can't offer an opinion. From past experience I can tell you one thing. If your looking for quality your going to have to pay for it. That being said owning a high dollar airbrush is not going to make you an artist. Only time and practice will do that. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Dowd Posted April 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 So what is a good iwata for fine lines? I could return my badger and get money back there so i have more of a budget for the Iwata. I use a spray can primer coats. so I would not need the badger for large coats. I don't spray musky lures so i would be able to get away with a fine tip Iwata for all my uses. I have plenty of painting and artistic background so i don't feel bad leaping for a quality brush. I will also use the brush for touching up duck decoys so i will get plenty of use out of the brush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 (edited) Iwatas list their tip size in their product descriptions and the smaller the tip, the finer the line it will shoot, the more the paint has to be thinned, and the more you will have to pay for the airbrush. If the test paper shipped with an airbrush is any indication, a .2mm tip will shoot lines as fine as frog's hair in the hands of an expert, which I'm certainly not. The Iwata HP series brushes include models with .2mm tips ( the tips are often sized according to the size of the paint reservoir on the airbrush). My .2mm HP-B Plus has the small 1/16th oz gravity feed cup, which I think is perfect for airbrushing crankbaits. However, the .2mm tip too small to reliably shoot thicker pearls and flake airbrush paints without clogging. For that, a .3mm tip works much better and I use the least expensive made-in-Japan Iwata, the Revolution B model., which sells for around $80. Fine lines get fussy - you have to lower the pressure, thin the paint, remove the spray hood from the airbrush, get the tip very close to the work, and have a very steady hand. Then you have to flip the crankbait over and do exactly the same on the other side! That's a bridge too far for me, so I rely mostly on painting templates for the details. It's also worth noting that the finer the airbrush tip, the more exacting the nozzle-to-needle fit on the airbrush has to be. Iwata factory techs tune HP and more expensive models in their line before shipping. If you damage your needle, which is pretty common, a replacement won't be tuned for your airbrush so BE CAREFUL with it! Don't ask how I know BTW, I've seen some knock-out detailed paint schemes done with Badger airbrushes so I'm confident in saying that it's the painter, not the airbrush that determines the quality of the work. But JMHO, if I had to use one airbrush for everything, it would be an Iwata Revolution B with the 1/16th oz cup and .3mm tip. Edited April 5, 2012 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
