Need some info on my new(to me) iwata airbrush

[FlounderFillet5]

Hey everyone,

 

So I just purchased this iwata HP-C airbrush from a garage sale.  I paid $40 for it and they claim it has been used once.  Looks to be in great condition and came with an air hose and some solvent for cleaning.  I was just wondering if anyone can shed any light on this airbrush as I have never used one before, in fact, I still have yet to purchase the compressor which I have been meaning to buy.  

 

Here is the brush in its box.

 

 

The markings on the brush are:  iwata    HP-C    JAPAN     CJ

 

 

What can you tell me about this brush?  Is it single or double action?  What do these normally sell for new?  I could only find the HP-C PLUS online, not the regular one.  Is this a quality airbrush?  Are there any major limitations?  I'm sure there is other useful info that I don't even know to ask about.

 

Thanks in advance guys!

[Mahuna]

Iwata is a high-quality airbrush manufacturer.  This is a double action airbrush, and I think it's an older model.  The newer models are generally in the $200 plus price range and have a cutaway in the handle for a fine adjustment knob.  I have an Iwata and am very happy with it.  Here's a link to a site that has some good lessons and other information on airbrushes:

 

http://howtoairbrush.com/airbrush-lessons/

 

Enjoy your new airbrush!

 

Frank

[tarbrush]

Max, you got an amazing deal on your airbrush!  I have the Iwata revolution,  love it!  get yourself a compressor and start having fun.  I just painted my first wooden hull with my airbrush and will never go back to hand brushing one.  Iwata makes a great easy to use airbrush.

[Jay 1]

Max, they're great--like everyone else has said, you got a great deal! One thing to keep in mind, be sure to clean it well--esp. the needle--after each time you use it. Also, shooting different types of paints (i.e., acrylics, enamels, and specialty paints--metallics, for instance) requires some trial and error. For example, with acrylics, I find that I need more thinner and a bit higher psi with the gun than with enamels. I recommend practicing on scrap wood and etc. before you do something that matters to you so that you can learn your particular gun and its idiosyncrasies. Now that I'm used to my Iwota, I totally love using it.

 

Enjoy and have fun: Iwotas are awesome guns--congrats on a your great purchase!

 

Jay

[FlounderFillet5]

Thanks guys,

 

Frank, great link!  I am learning a lot for that site already.  

 

John, I am excited to start playing around with it.  I am in the middle of a Phantom build and might just have to repaint the hull or something... lol

 

Jay, that is good to know, I will be sure to practice a bit before spraying anything important.  Do you know if the Model Expo acrylics are decent for airbrushing?  I imagine they would take a great deal of thinning because they are often quite thick.

[Jay 1]

Max I haven't shot any ME paints yet. Tamiya takes about a 50/50--I use their thinner--mix, with a higher psi. Watch your gun tip--acrylics tend to foul more than enamels as well; I periodically give it a wipe with a q-tip when I'm spraying and then a good cleaning when I'm done.

 

If you have spare ME paint, your testing hopefully will work out the bugs before you do your ship. If you have to use more thinner, go for it. Try to shoot when it's a cool day (during summer I either shoot in the morning or late evening), because more thinner can sometimes cause paint to dry before it hits what you're attempting to paint, so distance from gun to object is important. Also, more thinner may mean you'll have to shoot several coats--but if the paint is shooting well, that's usually not a big bother, plus multiple coats often look better.

 

Hope you didn't mind the earful, Max--guns are tricky at 1st, but once you get it down, hopefully you'll enjoy using them!

 

Great price, Don--congrats! Sorry, I can't offer an opinion or help on the brand you won--never have used 'em. However, much of what I've mentioned to Max will apply. A clean gun is crucial, figuring out psi for different paints is trial & error--enamels usually shoot lower than acrylics; same goes with the thinning.

 

Good luck and enjoy your new setups, fellas!

 

Jay

[rtropp]

Hi,

I have the Model expo medium compressor and airbrush combo. It is my first airbrush so cannot say how it compares to others but it works just fine for me. I was having some difficulty working out the amount of thinner to use with the model expo paints so, to make it easier to get started, I bought a set of badger acrylic airbrush paints which are pre thinned. Piece of cake. Add a few drops of color and spray. The medium combo works just fine.

I went on youtube to see some videos to get a better idea how to use it. One site had some downloadable exercised... dots, curves, etc to start getting used to handling the brush. Once I started using a two handed grip it got a lot better.

I have a question for the more experienced members. When spraying wood, do you need to use some sort of undercoat or preparation? If so, what?

 

Thanks

Richard

[Jay 1]

Richard, while some say that shooting with primer isn't necessary with acrylics, I'll usually shoot a coat or two before I paints with colors. It's been my experience that wood will absorb those primer coats and subsequent coats of color will then go on a bit nicer--however, I still test with brushes on scrap wood to get an idea of how things are looking. Usually, I'll lightly sand between coats with 400 or 600 grit, depending on how the primer or color coats are looking (I forgot to mention that I usually use fairly thin primer & color coats for my base).

 

With an airbrush, you can usually shoot successive coats fairly quickly because the paints dry fast. However, when I shoot a final color coat, the paint is a bit thicker, I pre sand with finer paper---1000 or higher--and wait 8+ hours to a day between the last base coat I shot and this final coat. I then wait the same amount of time if this last coat needs sanding or if I'm going use a poly coat (btw, don't shoot polys or etc. with your gun--they can screw up you gun).

 

If you use primer, go with a dark one if you're going to overcoat with a dark color & light primer for light colors (the last makes sense ). I use dark primers to get richer, deeper looking dark colors.

 

Jay

Edited August 2, 2013 by JMaitri

[FlounderFillet5]

Just thought I would post an update.  I bought a 20 gal craftsman compressor and a separate in line filter to capture water.  The setup works quite well with airbrush paint but I am still experimenting with the model expo paint thinned with distilled water.  I was able to spray the black paint quite consistently but the white seems to clog constantly.  After a little bit of practice I gave painting my Phantom hull a stab and the exterior came out very even despite my less than ideal tecnique.  I have yet to pull the tape off of the cockpit where I painted white with the paint that was very difficult to spray but it looks like it isn't bad, probably at least as good as I could expect with a brush.  Next I will be painting the inside of the bulwarks but I have to mix some paint to get the cream color and whatnot.  

 

Please let me know if you guys have any tips on spraying the model expo paint, I would really appreciate it!

[Jay 1]

Max, instead of thinning with distiller water try using lacquer thinner. Tamiya makes a great thinner that works really well for their paint (normally I use regular hardware store thinner for most paints, but it didn't work well with Tamiya acrylics), so if there's a better hobby store near you, give Tamiya a try.

 

I've read that ME paints don't shoot well when airbrushed, but the users may not have thinned well or it could have been what they thinned it with or it could be the paint. I'd suggest starting w/a 50-50 paint-thinner mix and see how that works. Some ppl use stuff like windex or etc. as thinners, but I genrally get good reults w/ laquer thinners. Also, play with your psi. You can then adjust both the mix and psi, based on your test sprays. I usually err on the side of being a little thin w/ my mixes (i.e., more thinner)--it's easier to deal with thin layers of paint--I just shoot a few more coats until I'm happy with how it's looking. . With acrylics, also open your air 1st--away from what you're shooting--then do the paint with your trigger--this helps minimize the initial splattering that acrylics tend to have in guns.

 

While I'm new to model ships, I cut my airbrush teeth on plastic/wood airplanes--lots of lessons learned. One thing I am learning with ships & airbrushing is filler. Spots were I've used filler tend to show the filler. Minwax in particular, because it has a rather grainy texture, so wanted to throw that out as a watch for this thing.

 

Jay

[rtropp]

Hi,

I have been experimenting with airbrushing M.E. acrylics. I have tried distilled water and also a commercial thinner from liquitec. Both work but the commercial thinner seems a little better with M.E.'s white. The key for me was to only put in a couple of drops of water or thinner at a time, mix thoroughly and keep repeating until at the consistency I want. (Mixing it all at once would come out lumpy.)

 

By the way, a question. In a review at an airbrush site a Chinese airbrush, the Veda 130 or 180 was recommended as coming from the same factory as a "name" brand but for a lot less. Has anyone heard of this brush?

Richard

Edited August 5, 2013 by rtropp

[Jay 1]

Richard, thanks for the ME paint info. In general, I've found white acrylics are difficult--most brands I've shot tend to be thick and require a lot of thinner. I usually thin this color to a skim milk consistency and then shoot several coats until it looks right (I should be posting pics of the Flattie I shot this weekend hopefully sometime later this week--doing trim and touch up today and most of this week).

 

I haven't heard of the Chinese gun before.

 

Jay