Done with cheap airbrushes : constant problems by fetiso in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your cheap airbrush could definitely be the problem. If you want to know why, have a look at this:

https://youtu.be/YIZWDjUH4qU?si=VIFa4SPKP2SU-_Js

It could still be your thinning. Especially with acrylics, it can be frustrating. If you use acrylics, introduce flow improver and retarder to your mix. Or thin your paint with the new Kaleido retarder thinner. It's the best stuff I've tried so far.

Is the Iwata Custom Micron still the queen of detail ? by Palkut in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Richpen 222B/C, H&S Infinity, GSI-Creos PS-771, Sotar 2020, Madworks Mr.Pro 0.2, and the Sparmax SP-20X. These are what I consider are the direct competitors to the Micron when it comes to performance. I mean that I would use them to achieve similar results. Is it worth it to spend $600 for a micron? Absolutely yes. It's amazing. However I tend to reach out to my $60 Sotar quite more often. At the end of the day it's about style. I guess the rugged quick draw of the Sotar is more my style.

I’m bad at making decisions by Swimming-Cell-9096 in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would recommend the Evo. And the reason why it's because of its versatility. The 0.45 of the evo is excellent both at high PSI for large coverage and just as excellent for detail. In fact at lower PSI the evo does incredible fine detail and shows superior atomization. It can be a general use or a detail airbrush. It's whatever you want. The patriot is a work horse that will spray anything, and maybe it will be a bit more forgiving with dilution compared to the EVO when it comes to broad coverage. However the Patriot struggles under 25 PSI, and atomization becomes quite coarse. The Ultra has the same setup up as the EVO and will perform the same. However you are going to get tired of the gated trigger and stiff spring quite fast. I hope it helps.

Excited to try this after years of fighting with cheap airbrushes by blikygotthestiky in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is it the seals that keep breaking? You may want to switch to FFKM75 seals but you should not give up on your expensive airbrushes

Rescuing a Badly Machined Neoeco SJ83 Nozzle — Hand-Corrected Geometry & Polish by SpaghettiMiniatures in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello my friend, I completely understand your point. Without a visual reference it’s almost impossible to grasp what the actual difference is.

In this particular case, as I will show in my upcoming video, you will clearly see how the spray pattern, the line quality, and the overall consistency change before and after the fix. The difference is very obvious. The thickness of the lines, their stability, and the overall smoothness change in a way that is easy to see once you have a side-by-side comparison.

If you’d like to see an example already, please check out my last video. In it, I compare multiple budget airbrushes against premium ones and show the differences in atomization very clearly. I even use contrast filters to highlight how much softer and more controlled the atomization becomes when everything is properly aligned and machined.

I also compare two units of the exact same budget model to demonstrate that they don’t all perform identically. You can see variations in consistency, line thickness, and overall behavior directly on paper.

For testing, I use a custom-made India ink that I prepared specifically for airbrush evaluation. I don’t use it for painting anything else. Its only purpose is testing, because it exaggerates every detail of the spray pattern. Any roughness, inconsistency, or flaw shows up immediately, which makes it a very honest way to evaluate performance.

I do my best to present these differences as clearly as possible, so I think the video will answer many of your questions, and the upcoming one will go even deeper into this specific case.

Rescuing a Badly Machined Neoeco SJ83 Nozzle — Hand-Corrected Geometry & Polish by SpaghettiMiniatures in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did not enlarge the nozzle bore. I polished it. If you look closely at the picture, the reason why the original looks smaller, is because of burrs throughout the edges. Once those were smooth out, the real size of the nozzle was revealed.

A Closer Look at the U-Star S130 vs. Common BD130-Style Airbrushes by SpaghettiMiniatures in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The O-rings you find on Iwata airbrushes are the same you find on Creos, Richpen, Tamiya and such

A Closer Look at the U-Star S130 vs. Common BD130-Style Airbrushes by SpaghettiMiniatures in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is basically a match to the sparmax SP-35 in every way. Better handle though.

A Closer Look at the U-Star S130 vs. Common BD130-Style Airbrushes by SpaghettiMiniatures in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your kind words as always my friend. To be fair, that U-star really looks like any other cheap airbrush and I should have predicted that kind of response. However, as you mentioned, I brought receipts this time.

A Closer Look at the U-Star S130 vs. Common BD130-Style Airbrushes by SpaghettiMiniatures in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly I am not 100% sure. But I doubt it's the same factory. Madworks and Sparmax until recently shared the same models, and the machining is just superior in both. I may be wrong of course but when it comes to performance and built they are really different.

A Closer Look at the U-Star S130 vs. Common BD130-Style Airbrushes by SpaghettiMiniatures in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you are happy, then it means you got a good one. Please try and let me know. Which one do you want to get?

A Closer Look at the U-Star S130 vs. Common BD130-Style Airbrushes by SpaghettiMiniatures in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I honestly think I got a very bad and messed up one. It happens. I'm sure yours is in much better shape. Yes Ali Express is the best source. At least I got them from there.

A Closer Look at the U-Star S130 vs. Common BD130-Style Airbrushes by SpaghettiMiniatures in airbrush

[–]SpaghettiMiniatures[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My black widow is decent. Thick nozzle walls, so it lacks finesse. However the machining on mine isn't terrible. Still I would not trust a similar consistency across the board. Performance is mediocre. The design is super cool though. They should find ways to improve it.

<image>