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Iwata Eclipse. Handy airbrush - can do fine lines (not as fine as the HP-C though) You can change the colour quick and easy with the suction feed jars. I for one am enjoying using it. Good for doing simply fades on letters.
I do find that they are not so easy to clean when using Createx Auto air paint. Remnants of paint seem to linger in the body of the Airbrush and conspire to block the passage of paint next time. Sometimes the paint is coming out fine, then it stops - and starts again after I blast the paint by pulling the lever all the way back.
When I use the solvent based auto paint it cleans out better. Not so healthy though and I can't use it in the studio which is inside the house. I do use a mask of course, a proper 3M mask with twin filters.
Dave Sherby says the Thayer & Chandler airbrushes are just as good - they are cheaper to buy than the Iwata. Anyone else using T & C.
I saw one of those Aztek airbrushes in an Art shop the other day - didn't like it one bit. Too light and didn't feel like a proper airbrush.
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I have 2 Eclipse and the HP-C as well as 2 badger and 1 T/C.. I like the Eclipse as I fine I can get very nice detailing with them.. I do alot of Leather work and Textiles as well as murals and signs.. You are right about Createx in the body. I normally take the brushes apart and fill a tray with the cleaners and let them soak for a day next taking the nylon brushes to clean them.. If you looking to get finer lines out of them,take the needle guard off airbrush it gives you closer detailing..
Riding high on Air!!!!
------------------ Raven/2000 Airbrushed by Raven Lower sackville N.S. deveausdiscovery@sprint.ca
Posts: 4327 | From: Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada | Registered: Jan 2000
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i've got a few iwatas. the HP-B, HP-C, a couople Eclipses and Badger and Paasche...
I love the Eclipse. Took me awhile to get used to the bottle feed on the bottom, but, now that I have all the blaster caps on my paints, we're rocking!
I put latex house paint, auto air and sometimes other water-based paints.
I keep them very clean and do not really have any problems with them. I was having a problem for a bit. Seemed like lumps of pigment jamming a bit. But the problem turned out to be new o-rings. the o-ring is in the air feed. there is only one o-ring in the body, but, that bitty piece of rubber can sure screw you up.
my brushes are running tickety-boo now.
another idea some people do is put a small marble in the paint bottle. then when you shake your paint up it gets shaken more effectively.
Now, as far as those o-rings go. my one eclipse was only 4 months old when i changed all the brushes' o-rings and it was cracked as well. i never use anything other than water-based, so check those rubber puppies out
------------------ "I gave it all up for this!" (formerly known as "?") Gailforce Graphics Squamish, BC, Canada
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Thanks Gail - the problem with is with the paint - I am fairly sure. They are more or less new brushes. I have one I only use for water based paint and the other is for auto paints.
The HP-C is really good though - I am really impressed with it.
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Hi guys, I've been airbrushing t-shirts for a living for almost twenty years and do quite a few signs in my "off" season. Started out with the Paasche VL-3 and used it for a great many years until I ran across the T&C Vega 2000. I liked them from the start. I actually have one of these brushes (that is used for blasting color only,no fine lines) that hasn't needed a tip or a needle since I bought it about 8 years ago. They are very reliable. A few years back when Iwata decided to come out with their version of the "t-shirt gun",I was really happy. Having used HP-C's, etc. for other types of work, I knew the quality that Iwata put into their brushes. Well, here came the Eclipse. Great brush!! It has it's little quirks like most any other, but it's all around the best lower end brush out there in my opinion. By taking off the aircap and exposing the needle you can achieve some amazingly small lines. this also allows access to the needle for paint picking which is essential when using waterbased paints. On the subject of cleaning your brush. I rarely take a brush apart to clean it,buthere are those times when it's absolutely necessary. I keep what I call a closed system,being that if no air is allowed into the brush or bottle nothing dries inside to have to be removed. I spray enough cleaner through the brush to make sure that the needle has no residue left on it. Pull it out and look at it making sure to wipe it clean each time. Do this 4-5 times until no residue is visible. Then fill your bottle with cleaner and make sure to plug the siphon hole with a matchstick or toothpick.(tape?) This is not advisable when using solvent based cleaners, but I have done it with mineral spirits with no harm to the brush. Just put you brush away with the bottle still attached and the next time you need it it will be ready to go. I actually go as long as 3 or more months with the brush set up this way with no affect to the way the brush works. As long as the brush is essentially clean before you put it away you should have no problems. Just make sure to run a lot of cleaner through it and get out as much paint as you possibly can. Wiz, as for the Auto Air. Never really liked the stuff. Much too grainy and doesn't thin really well. Some people have good luck with it. I guess I was just never holding my mouth just right. Hope this helps, R.T.
------------------ R.T.Thomas,AirdeSigns 4407 US Hwy 49 S Hattiesburg,MS 39401 (601)543-0271 ID#2363 Proud supporter of LETTERVILLE! The best site on the net!! "I yam what I yam and dat's all dat I yam"
[This message has been edited by R T Thomas (edited February 28, 2000).]
Posts: 547 | From: Hattiesburg,MS USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I have about 60 Vega 2000's and a few Iwata's.
The Vega's are great little workhorse airbrushes. The parts are cheap and the brush itself is adequate for most jobs that don't require incredibly fine detail. I'm a little nervous now thoug, since they've been sued out of existence Badger is now making the parts and I've never met a Badger that I've liked.
The Iwatas I have are my favorites. The Hp-A and HP-C do incredible detail, but the parts are not cheap and they tend to clog easily. The Eclipse has marvelously smoothe trigger action, and great spray atomization. I would reccomend the Eclipse to anyone who wants to buy a single airbrush to work with.
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Well all in all make the gun work for you and not you for the gun.. As some have pointed out the parts are the most in cost but as for the performance,its the price to pay!!! Fine lines and details make the work flow FREE!!!!
------------------ Raven/2000 Airbrushed by Raven Lower sackville N.S. deveausdiscovery@sprint.ca
Posts: 4327 | From: Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada | Registered: Jan 2000
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well i guess im an old VL-1 guy...been shootin the beast for close to 30 yrs......tried all the others but ya stick with what ya learned on i guess.....i have no trouble doing anything with it..........but all ive done is automotive..lacquers mostly...i find the waterbase paints are a bit finiky and harder to handle..........here is what a VL-1 can do with some lacquers and a bit of plexiglass............the frame has been doctored a bit in photoshop but the pic is all airbrush...nothing but air and lacquer has touched this surface...........DoCyber................ http://www.doccyber.com/eagle.jpg
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Good looking work Doc - I looked at your web site the other day also - Flashy.
Rich Diltz how come you have so many airbrushes - 60 seems like overdoing it. You must have sprayed alot of faces. Just getting to have a look at the web site you recommended.
Thanks everyone for your thoughts on airbrushes.
I will have a look at the Omni 200 some time - at the moment 3 airbrushes is enough for me. the T & C seem attractively priced anyway.
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