I have an old Paasche single action, internal mix Type "H" airbrush that I have had for 20+ years. I'm not sure if it would be better to buy new parts and rebuild this one assuming I can get them, or just buy a new one that is better for my needs that might be more current (have they improved much over the past 20 years?). I spray acrylics mostly, but also enamels from time to time. Is there a better one I should be using for our hobby? Which makes a better airbrush these days, Bager, Paasche or? I haven't been in the market for one for many years as you might expect. What is your opinion on "external" vs. "Internal" mix" & Single vs Double action...?
While I don't have one yet, I've had the Aztek brushes highly recommended to me. Some/all of the internal parts are Delrin (?) or similar which makes it super easy to clean.
Hi Tudor, I have 2 x Paasche H series external mix single action brushes that I've owned for years and use nearly every day I use one for acrylics & the other for Floquils / enamels The only thing I've ever replaced is the tips & pretty much juts use the # 3 tip now anyway > occasionally will switch to a #5 tip for fine weathering IMHO Paasche seem to last & are built with quality parts Used to have a Badger when I was a teenager but that was so long ago I can't recall how good / bad it was A few years back I bought a Testors Aztec - but I won't go into the troubles I had with that A good thing is that these days airbrushes / airbrush compressors have become a lot more affordable due to the increase of spray tanning (at least here in Australia) and now us model RR guys can pick up new parts / equipment at competitive prices Steve
I've had my type H for about 11 years now. Paasche still makes the ol' reliable and parts are available. I did a tip referbishment and got the parts from Tower Hobbies. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0095P?FVSEARCH=paasche&search=Go I also broke down and picked up an Iwata Revolution-SAR airbrush for fine details and love it. The Paasche still does all of the heavy painting though. .
I really like my Aztek. It is easy to use and easy to clean. I have had good service from mine. I have the Aztek A4802 Metal Body. Before that I got it I had the Aztek A4704 plastic body, I still have it too. I got a chance to pick up the metal one on clearance for 1/2 price so I jumped on it. I have never had another brand so I cannot make a valid comparison with others.
I love the Paasche brand, VL or VL ST pro would be nice. Paasche also has a gravity feed dual action airbrush called the Talon would be very nice. If you do your own weathering any one the aforementioned Airbrushes are suitable. I you do only flat color jobs then Paasche single action (F series) airbrush is fine. Badger Airbrushes are fine too.
I am quite fond of my Badger 155-Anthem, which is an internal mix double-action airbrush. They're well supported in my area as far as being able to get replacement parts or additional paint jars and that sort of thing. I haven't done loads of work with it, so I certainly haven't stress-tested it, but so far I have been very pleased. I also have a Harbor Freight dual-action. It's not as comfortable as the Badger and the control is not as good, but then again it only cost me about 10 bucks. I use this one for enamels, which I hardly ever use, the idea being that if the thing gets mucked up with enamels I will just get rid of it. I have no experience with Paasche, so I don't know how they compare. If I were to add to the airbrush fleet I would probably get a single-action something or other, maybe a VL, and then get one of the really nice Iwata ones for detailed work. Adam
Well.. Im gonna check some prices. I remember I paid about $50 for my Passche H 20 or so years ago. Not sure what they want for that model now though. I just priced rebuild for it which includes a new #3 and #5 needle and aircup, all the packings and O rings, and it came to about $50 to rebuild this one. Same as when I bought it new.. jeesh.. If they still cost what they did 20 years ago, I may just go ahead and buy a new one. I wanted to buy a few 1/2 oz jars too, but they want $4 each for those.. Dunno, looks like I need to do some price comparisons..
When I got back into the hobby last summer, I purchased a kit containing 1 external mix single action, 1 internal mix dual action, and one internal mix dual action gravity feed plus an air compressor from Eastwood. Best investment I have made in hobby equipment. They are priced much better because they are not "hobby" tools.
Well.. I already had the answer to my question, but didn't realize it until I read you good gentlemen's posts.. I have been using the Paasche model H for over 20 years. What does that tell me? Well, I got my money's worth and then some. I used it for around $2.40 cents a year give or take with no complaints.. It has old packings and such, and I really would like to get new needles and cups for it, and some more bottles. At the price I saw to do that, I looked my model up at Tower Hobbies which I have used for many years, and there it sat. The Model H for about the price it would have cost me to rebuild my old one. So, I just ordered the kit that came with two bottles and the tools that I have long lost with mine. I added a couple extra bottles and caps and a few other things I been needing... Problem solved. I can still use my old one, it isn't really "bad", I just thought it could use new parts to get it back as it was... So, I will use my old one to beat up, and the new one for my more critical stuff... thanks for the input guys...
I have a Badger 150. Works great. I only use acrylics. I still have an Aztec metal 4802 and for the life of me, I can't stop it from being clogged and I found cleaning to be a pain. If you need replacement parts, try Dixie Art Supply in Louisiana. http://www.dixieart.com/ They have them all.
And if the old one stops working well for you you can part it out when your newer one needs something replaced. It sounds like you got quite a deal for all the times you've used that brush.
At the risk of hijacking this thread... My favorite is the dual action gravity feed. It provides the most reliable operation and the ultimate in paint control. I shoot only acrylics at this time. I have used it for lacquers and enamels as well. Thinned for airbrushing, of course. I use this brush 99% of the time. (I do a fair amount of painting in HO and N scale) The dual action siphon feed brush is for larger coverage area items like freight cars in HO. The external single action siphon feed brush I haven't used. It provides the least control of the paint application. Basically it is a spray can. Nothing more. I cold see using it on O scale and larger. But not on HO and below as the potential to cover details is pretty high. Hope this helps someone in choosing the right airbrush for them.
After struggling with a temperamental Paasche V for a couple of decades, I finally threw it away and bought a Badger 200 (the regular 200, not the so-called detail model). Although this is a single-action airbrush, the difference is like night and day. It's reliable, well-balanced, easy to clean, and reasonably priced. :thumbs_up:
Well yeah, I have never replaced them before. But I have alternated between the #3 and the #5, and there were periods that I didn't use it for a year, so it hasn't been 20 years of hard labor with it, but 20 years of fairly regular use. Regardless, I have gotten my money's worth out of it because it has done countless jobs over the past two decades. As far as parts for the new one, it looks like many of the parts are interchangeable between the old and new, with the exception of the air valve parts. They changed over the years. The stem and seal for it are different on the newer model H.
I replaced my 20+ year old Binks Badger last year with an Iwata Eclipse and LOVE it. It's got awesome spray control, cleans easily, and is a high quality piece of gear. I got mine at Hobby Lobby, and used one of the '40% off any 1 item' coupons that they put in the Sunday paper every week. It costs a little more than some brands (even with the 40% off), but the way I looked at it was that I'm assuming this one will last me 20 years like the last one, and an airbrush is such a critical tool in the hobby, and I'd rather have one less locomotive this year and a nice airbrush. Highly recommend looking at an Iwata!
I used Badger air brush for years. Then broke it. Then got a cheap imitation replacement off ebay (Badger must have had a patent run out because it looked exactly like it). Then broke it. The problem is.... the body is plastic and the hose connector (of course) is brass. Well, the brass hose connector is simply pushed up into the plastic body. The problem is, the hose connector takes a lot of force over the years, without you realizing it. Eventually, the whole thing will pull out. And then you are stuck with a ruined airbrush. You can push the hose connector back in, and even glue it back in, but once it came out once, it will come out again. I have since gone to a Pasche model H which has an all metal body construction. I'm satisfied. I'll never buy an airbrush again that the hose connector at the bottom is not made of metal and is not made as part of the whole metal body. Lesson learned from 24 years of airbrushing.
