Question for ALL Iwata MICRON owners....

[Cluck Kent]

Hi all

I'd like some honest feedback on your Microns if you could please indulge me...

I would like to get one subject to some confirmations. I'm happy with my H&S Ultra but not ecstatic about it when it comes to trying to do fine detail or soft touch work so.............

(i) Do you have any free play in the trigger BEFORE paint starts to flow or do you find it starts right away from the instant you start to pull back on the trigger - thus giving you greater control over the very fine movement needed for small detail and very light blends etc?

(ii) At what level of paint work have you found that you choose to put it down to use say one of your other brushes eg a .3mm brush or do you use it for everything you airbrush (you may need to put that into perspective with your reply please ie illustration work etc). In other words - is there stuff that you don't consider it appropriate for in the work you do?

(iii) This might put (ii) into perspective for us all: If you were doing Casebolts "Gandalf" painting would you be able to use the Micron for the whole thing or are there parts of that artwork that you would "NORMALLY" put it down and use a different airbrush? (Not if you could get by and use it for the whole thing but you would do so under normal circumstances, put it aside and temporarily use another, then go back to continue on etc)

(iv) What paint are you using with your Micron?

(v) What reduction to that paint are you using?

(vi) Do you any adverse experiences so far with it that you would tell a mate about BEFORE he / she were to buy one (PS: I'm your new mate LOL )

Thank you for your time, for making me jealous and hopefully giving me all the inspiration and encouragement I need to buy my own.

 

[AndreZA]

I would like to get one subject to some confirmations. I'm happy with my H&S Ultra but not ecstatic about it when it comes to trying to do fine detail or soft touch work so............. Ultra is H&S entry level gun even though it uses the same nozzle and needle as the Evolution and Infinity.

(i) Do you have any free play in the trigger BEFORE paint starts to flow or do you find it starts right away from the instant you start to pull back on the trigger - thus giving you greater control over the very fine movement needed for small detail and very light blends etc? No play or deadspots on any of my Iwatas.

(ii) At what level of paint work have you found that you choose to put it down to use say one of your other brushes eg a .3mm brush or do you use it for everything you airbrush (you may need to put that into perspective with your reply please ie illustration work etc). In other words - is there stuff that you don't consider it appropriate for in the work you do? When I go bigger then A3 I don't use my Micron, Infinity or Evolution and stick to my Eclipse.

(iii) This might put (ii) into perspective for us all: If you were doing Casebolts "Gandalf" painting would you be able to use the Micron for the whole thing or are there parts of that artwork that you would "NORMALLY" put it down and use a different airbrush? (Not if you could get by and use it for the whole thing but you would do so under normal circumstances, put it aside and temporarily use another, then go back to continue on etc) You can still require detail work when you go big but you must remember from what distance will the piece be viewed. And you must remember, if you take a photo and reduce the size of the image, the detail actually stands out more. If you see all my work in real life you will see there is not much detail. It's when it is shrunk to be viewed on the computer or you view it from a distance that is all comes together. That is why I also like to take photos as I go along. You can then instantly see it on a smaller scale.

(iv) What paint are you using with your Micron? E'tac

(v) What reduction to that paint are you using? Loaded question. I work at very low pressure so I use a high reduction. Also depends on what part I'm painting. Backgrounds I don't reduce at all and spray at little higher pressure.

(vi) Do you any adverse experiences so far with it that you would tell a mate about BEFORE he / she were to buy one (PS: I'm your new mate LOL ) If I got my 0.15 Infinity or Evolution before the Micron, I would not have bothered getting it.

 

[Mr.Micron]

To add to that , The Micron does seem to atomize the paint better and finer this my Infinity .15 , I use everything as far as paint goes , But mainly Wicked , Createx Illustration and House of Kolor(Urethane)
But AndreZA pretty much covered it. None of my Iwata's from the CS to the CM-C+ have trigger delay.
The main thing to keep in mind is price of parts. Just like the price tag of the Micron series itself the parts come with a big price too.

 

[haasje dutchairbrush]

this will more or less be a repeat of AndreZA's and mrmicron's post

1. None. Iwata's trigger mechanism is build differently from the H&S which do tend to have some leeway. If your iwata isn't responding immidiately your nozzle is clogged

2. Realy depends on what I'm doing but if I need to fill large area's (1/2 A4 or bigger) I tend to switch to an 0.23 or 0.4. That being said the cm-c is usuable on reasonably large area's also. For me it most of the time comes down if switching to another brush is faster.

3. i think i would only have used my cm-c for that one, maybe my sb for the parts with the lettering.

4. E'tac/createx illustration.

5. Realy depends on what I'm doing. With the CM-C its always reduced 2 paint 1 water atleast though

6. Due to the price of spare needle and nozzles I'd advice first to get some experience with a cheaper moddel, once you get the hang of airbrushing and don't ruin a needle /nozzle onec a month anymore I'd adice anyone to get one.

 

[Ronald art]

Andre covered it all I think , to me my micron is my go to brush in about 99% of all my paintings and I could do about everything with it , it is just that a bigger nozzle size brush makes it easier to cover a large part in the same color . I might add most of my work is on A3 size some are on A4 or as big as A2.
I always use Etac paints mainly the EFX for illustration work but also the PS for custom work and I never use water to thin it down but only the transparent base to make my paints more transparent if I need it

 

[jagardn]

Having a large arsenal of detail brushes, I can get pretty similar results from all of them.

Inconsistency and paint splattering is a result of tip dry or lack of maintenance, that will happen with any brush.

That being said, the brand of paint and reductions have a lot to do with fine line detail and tip dry. For example, I hate Wicked, but love Createx Illustration. For me Wicked has has a history of bad tip dry and caused nozzle clogs more often than I want to deal with. CI is better with tip dry and easier to clean the brush. ETAC has almost no tip dry. All paints have advantages and disadvantages. If I am painting on Illustration Board I choose EFX, painting on Yupo, I prefer CI.

A Micron is a big investment and probably the best detail gun out there. Personally I don't use mine that often because I have others that feel better to me and get similar detail.
Spare parts are a big thing too. Like stated by others, if you damage a Micron, you're wallet will feel it.

If you are wanting a Micron, check out the other thread on the Olympos Microns. I have one and can tell no real difference in performance compared to my CMC +.

 

[Cluck Kent]

Dear AndreZA, Mr Micron, Haasje, Ronald art and jagardn....
Thank you very much all of you for your replies and very detailed ones at that! Sorry I have not gotten back sooner to thank you all. I run my own business and in my spare time have been puttin paint in the pot rather than coming online as my skill level has needed a lot of investment.
Your replies have been very helpful for me and helped to make a final decision ie that I can add it to my birthday wish list. I really appreciate the replies to the paint query too as I have struggled a bit with my Ultra and tip dry and the paint I'm using and the freeplay but picked up a Iwata HP-C+ to use in lieu of the Ultra and have put a Micron onto my birthday wish list
The HP C+ is 100% on the Ultra and I will use that now for nearly everything and am just so pleased with it. My learning has gone leaps and bounds since I got and I have done now attempt #4 of the eye tutorial (not the pro-tutorial) and am really happy with my results.
I want to do a lot of portraiture and photo realism as that is what appeals most and the Dru Blair website and Mitch's have convinced me to go for the Micron. My experiences with the Ultra and now the Iwata make me only want to consider the Micron and not the Evolution or Infinity just because I have read that there is the freeplay in the Evo and Infinity so just don't want to be confronted with that any more.
Once again thank you everyone for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate your input and the fact that you've taken the time out of your busy schedules to help me on my journey.
Thanks for "Sharing the Love"
Paul