How many ab's needed

That's what happened to me herb when I went to the High School to do a class ,I picked up the airbrush turned on the air and the air valve leaked (found out the spring was gone when I got home and took it apart) T hankfully I brough two just in case
 
I just got the one, and it does all I need, though a couple spare for more than one colour on the go would be nice, and a time saver too. But I would like a micron, but until that time it gives me an excuse to blame the lack of one, on my inability to paint as well as I'd like. If I ever get one, there would be nothing to blame, and nowhere to hide LOL!
 
I've owned, sold, and still have a bunch of airbrushes. It took me a long time on my own to figure out what I wanted.

Ultimately, it is the same stuff the top airbrushers are using. I spent alot of time and money trying to find the "micron killer". The airbrush that could do the same job but much cheaper. There is a LOT MORE to an airbrush's performance than if it can spray a line. Finally I found a deal on a Micron cm-c plus, and never looked back. They are everything that the hype machine says they are.

Even airbrushes with the same specs, and even the same manufacturer, can react differently. My Iwata TR-1 will out perform my HP-C. Yet on paper they are almost identical. I have no idea why.

So once I found my holy grail detail gun, all I needed was mid range and large background/priming gun. Here's where things can get muddy and many many guns fit those slots. I'm a big fan of the Iwata TR series. I got a Grex Tritium TS lately and that has alot of really cool features. Very impressed with it.

I love having multiple airbrushes to keep color changes to a minimum.

I've seen pics of guys with 30+ guns... I might have been one of them.. but it finally hits you at some point, if you're not a T-shirt artist in a mall, then most of those brushes are a waste of money. I've been trying to thing my herd. For every airbrush that I decide is a waste of space, I end up buying another of my favorites.

It's a bit of a sickness.
 
I've owned, sold, and still have a bunch of airbrushes. It took me a long time on my own to figure out what I wanted.

Ultimately, it is the same stuff the top airbrushers are using. I spent alot of time and money trying to find the "micron killer". The airbrush that could do the same job but much cheaper. There is a LOT MORE to an airbrush's performance than if it can spray a line. Finally I found a deal on a Micron cm-c plus, and never looked back. They are everything that the hype machine says they are.

Even airbrushes with the same specs, and even the same manufacturer, can react differently. My Iwata TR-1 will out perform my HP-C. Yet on paper they are almost identical. I have no idea why.

So once I found my holy grail detail gun, all I needed was mid range and large background/priming gun. Here's where things can get muddy and many many guns fit those slots. I'm a big fan of the Iwata TR series. I got a Grex Tritium TS lately and that has alot of really cool features. Very impressed with it.

I love having multiple airbrushes to keep color changes to a minimum.

I've seen pics of guys with 30+ guns... I might have been one of them.. but it finally hits you at some point, if you're not a T-shirt artist in a mall, then most of those brushes are a waste of money. I've been trying to thing my herd. For every airbrush that I decide is a waste of space, I end up buying another of my favorites.

It's a bit of a sickness.
I think you have seen the pics that old AFK Seamonkey posted up . He has about 30 of them unless he has sold them all.
 
It really is fine having 30 guns, I have bout half of that and one kind of works LOL through my own lack of buying spare parts when one goes down and frankensteining em together till none work LOL. But you see awesome works literally buy any brand gun as the artists has gotten used to that gun and knows it well and has learnt to make it sing..I wouldn't call it a Micron killer as that has its own advantages and disadvantages no doubt but a Anthem 155 or Patriot with a fine conversion kit is a damn close option and for about 1/5 of the price..It is and now always will be my go to choice..Every gun has its own learning curve and having too many options at times in effect just creates more learning need, have a back up or few for sure or spare parts for your fave but really there's no advantage having multiple guns, even to a T-Shirt painter, if anything at times its a disadvantage as you have much less time to master each if your constantly swapping between different types or looking for something to improve skill..the skill comes from the hand and brain using it in most cases and that's the best thing to focus on, especially early in the game....But unlike me, when you buy any gun, always buy a spare nozzle and needle just in case and as soon as you use that due to an issue, order a new one straight away, you may not need that spare part for years but always handy having it on hand..
 
I have quite a few. Most times when painting, I have 4 detail brushes with different colors in each. Zero time needed for color changes. It works really well for me.
 
@jagardn ...hes an airbrush hoarder lol!! :love: Myself, I have 4, One I hardly ever use...Backgrounds mostly..And yes, I run all 3 at one time. I have 2 Kromes, and the Paasche Vision. Why? cause it saves paint, and time for what Im doing. If its on a small piece, I usually just use one. Its nothing for the hubbs to come in, and go Woman? WTF? I tell him, just DONT TOUCH NOTHING!! lolol
 
I got like 5 or 6 airbrushes. Im my opinion 2-3 are good. If you work like black/white it.s great. (did a lot of rivets lately.)
I mainly use 1 for detail 1 for all purpose and a hvlp with 0.8 for basecoats backgrounds etc.
 
I have 6 at the moment. Did have only 4 , An Iwata hpc-plus, a Paasche vls , and a couple of cheapos bought online. Surprisingly , they work quite well. Even managed to get a couple of spare parts for one. LOL. I have got lucky lately and got a brand new Paasche vl in an unopened box with 2 extra needles and tips at a garage sale for $25.00. Lo and behold, garage sale next week had a box of airline fittings and what looked like other junk, just asking for an offer. I got it for #2.00. Going through the box at home, out came a Paasche type h airbrush in its box with all the fittings. Just gave it a clean and it works fine. I wouldn`t have been able to afford these new. At least i have a variety now, and spares should one fail in the middle of a job.
 
I have 4 airbrushes each one for a different purpose , 1 the iwata cm sb2 0.18 my main gun for portrait art ,2 the iwata hp sbp o.2 my back up gun for portrait art , 3 the iwata hp sbs 0.3 my go to gun for large coverage and less detailed work , 4 the iwata revolution 0.5 mostly gathering dust till I need the larger nozzle for metallic's and pearls.
 
I have four. My first AB: A Paasche VL I got in the mid-90s and always hated using and cleaning. Later in the early 2000s I got a Paasche H for simple broad coverage work. Neither got used much, so I never really grew with them.

This September I got an Iwata HP-CS, and It's made a "born again" ABer of me. Sooooooooooooo much better than the VL, and has every bit lived up to it's reputation as a good beginner brush. I've learned like 20 times more in the past few months than in the last two decades with the VL, simply because it's so much nicer to use and easier to maintain that I actually want to use it.

Last week I got a Badger SOTAR 20/20, which I just posted a review of. I found I didn't like changing needle/nozzle sizes back and forth, and so wanted separate dedicated brushes for large/mid and fine. Considered a Krome, but decided to wait and see if Amazon would do their SOTAR sale thing again this year, and they did. SOTAR's a better brush in terms of actual painting (both handling and performance), but the HP-CS is more rugged and consistent in its build quality.

Between the CS and the SOTAR I feel like my brush needs are well covered now, and I won't need to buy more unless something drastic changes. I'll probably sell the Paasches, as I don't need or want them anymore.
 
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