 McWong73  | 30 Oct 2012 10:30 p.m. PST |
Been on the lookout for a new airbrush to help get my painting mojo back. I've got a sparmax (iwata clone), and iwata hpc. I've read/heard good things online about the Grex line of airbrushes with the main appeal being excellent performance and easy to clean. An example write up is here: link I use an airbrush for a variety of painting tasks, and I've got a good four week block of leave over xmas and want to tackle my large pile of 15mm sci fi vehicles. Anyone here got some insight they can share before I drop 250 AUD on one? |
| Tartyy | 31 Oct 2012 2:21 a.m. PST |
I've never used one so can't comment on their performance. I'll be interested to hear what everyone else thinks.
Personally I use Badger/Thayer & Chandler grav fed brushes, but always like hearing about something new. |
| ming31 | 31 Oct 2012 8:18 a.m. PST |
I had one ,when it worked it was great , but the treads seperated from the main bidy and it did not hold together very well . I was very disappointed because it did spray very well . I went back to Iwata , it just is more robust of a gun |
| Petrov | 31 Oct 2012 9:01 a.m. PST |
I have exactly that brush, upgraded from badger.
The brush is excellent, I had a question about a nozzle cap, I called their customer service, withing several minutes I was speaking with a technician who was very helpful. |
| rebmarine | 31 Oct 2012 9:08 a.m. PST |
Buddy of mine bought one at Historicon (from Brookhurst) and he swears by it. Haven't heard him mention any problems. |
| Don Hogge | 31 Oct 2012 2:45 p.m. PST |
I bought one several years ago. Works great. |
| McWong73 | 31 Oct 2012 5:14 p.m. PST |
Thanks all for the responses. I love the Iwata I have, but it's a right royal pain in the  to clean, making it difficult to justify to use on small jobs while juggling two kids under two. For example I've been painting up a bunch of Khurasan Samaritan tanks, and at first cranked out the Iwata to do multi tone splinter camo, but found I didnt have the time to clean the brush properly and the half assed job I did required a full breakdown and clean at the next session. This meant nothing got painted. Is the Grex quicker to clean compared to an Iwata? |
| Petrov | 31 Oct 2012 8:01 p.m. PST |
Yes but realistically it wont make a difference. You do it right or you dont do it. Spend 30 bucks at harbor freight for an ultrasonic cleaner and all your problems are solved. |
| McWong73 | 01 Nov 2012 3:07 a.m. PST |
Cheers, appreciate the info. |
| Greenfield Games | 01 Nov 2012 9:54 a.m. PST |
I bought a Grex TS3 a couple of months back. I've been working with an Iwata Eclipse for the past 15 years or so. I switched for two reasons. First, the TS3 is a finer spray than the eclipse. Second, it's pistol grip. So far, I really like the brush. It's no easier or difficult to clean than any other brush I've used. Perhaps you have to do a littler less between colors, but I still do a tear-down when I'm done for the day. I have no complaints about its ability to do its job. It wasn't revelatory in its performance. It was pretty much as expected. The pistol grip ended up needing a bit of getting used to. I thought that it would be the thing that I liked most about it but it turns out that the tradition pen-like grip of an airbrush isn't that bad. And when you've been using a brush like that for 20+ years… well, you've become set in your ways. Still, now that I'm used to it I like it just fine. One thing that I miss is the ability to adjust air flow on the fly with the trigger which is something that it possible with a regular dual-action airbrush but not with this style of pistol-grip airbrush. |
| Justin In Oz | 01 Nov 2012 5:53 p.m. PST |
Fellow Antipodean, keep an eye out at Aldi for the ultrasonic cleaners. They go for about 24 bucks. They work well for shaking settled paint too. |
John B  | 01 Nov 2012 6:52 p.m. PST |
I'm new to air brushing but tried the Grex TG for two demos last weekend. I was shocked at how easy it was to produce good results. I painted several 15mm Panthers in soft edge camo with ease. Color changing and cleaning was straigjt forward, and considering the results, I've decided to start saving to buy one. |
| Paint Pig | 01 Nov 2012 9:34 p.m. PST |
Good info Justin thanks for sharing, I'll certainly keep an eye on Aldi for one, the price seems pretty good to me.  My old Azteks need replacing, they aren't bad for light hobby work and they have lasted quite well considering but I do need to find something more substantial, I have put it off for such a long time. Hmm an Xmas present perhaps……  Not sure if I would like a pistol grip tho, as noted not being able to adjust air pressure on the fly would be something of an annoyance…… regards
dave |
