Best Airbrush for Beginners  [Airbrush Buying Guide 2020]

Are you looking to invest into an Airbrush and wonder what is the best airbrush kit around? Not sure where to start? You are starting your journey in airbrushing and wondering what is the best airbrush for beginners? Whether you are looking for the best modelling airbrush, the easiest airbrush to clean,  or simply the best airbrush around, then you came to the right place.  If you are rather looking for an airbrush kit (airbrush + compressor), then refer to my post about best airbrush kits.

In this airbrush buying guide, I will try to cover everything you need to know before taking that step to buy your first airbrush.

The airbrush is a fantastic tool can be used in numerous different arts: going from model making or fashion design, to cake decorating, illustration or even make up.

In this Airbrush buying guide, I will try to answer the following questions for you:

What is the best airbrush for beginners?

What are the Best Airbrush Kits?

What are the different type of airbrush?

Advantage and inconvenient, what airbrush for what application?

What airbrush to buy?

What is the best Airbrush for beginners?

What airbrush to start?

You want to start airbrushing and you ask yourself what is the best airbrush to start with? For someone starting his or her  journey in airbrushing, I would always recommend the following:

• Start with a dual action, gravity feed, internal mix airbrush from the main brand manufacturers like Badger, Iwata, Harder and Steenbeck or Paasche.
• Spend as much as your budget allows you. You won’t regret the money invested at the start. It is hard enough to learn how to use an airbrush properly. Cheap material will only make it harder for you. Which lead me to the next question.

I want to answer that question as early as possible cause I know most beginners are tempted at the idea of getting a cheap airbrush. You can find a lot of different airbrushes on the market, from the very cheap Chinese build airbrush costing only $20, to the great quality built airbrush costing several hundred dollars.

As a beginner, I wouldn’t recommend any of those airbrushes.

• Not the cheap Chinese build airbrush as you can expect the manufacturing quality of the airbrush to be very poor at that price. For me, they seriously lack of precision. The risk is also that those cheap airbrushes will put you off all together from airbrushing. You might spend more time cleaning your airbrush as you would spraying.

In my opinion, I  would would consider them as a waste of money. You are probably going to invest in a good airbrush at one stage anyway, so why not do it at the start? You will end up saving money! If you can’t afford it right now, just wait and save.  Don’t worry, they are some solid build airbrushes under $80, they won’t break the bank.

• In the other hand, for beginners, I wouldn’t recommend either a top of the range airbrush either because they have features that wouldn’t be necessary for you at that stage.

Best Airbrush for Beginners

Below are a list of the  best airbrush for beginners but also for experienced airbrush artists.

Airbrush	Action\ Feed\Mix	Needle\ Nozzle	Cup size	Aibrushgeek Rating	Check Price
IWATA for NEO CN	Dual action Gravity-feed Internal mix	0.35-mm	Interchangeable large (1/3 oz.) and medium (1/16 oz.) cup		Check Price
Iwata-Medea Revolution CR	Dual action Gravity-feed Internal mix	0.5-mm	Large 1/3 oz (.9 ml)		Check Price
Iwata-Medea Eclipse HP CS	Dual action Gravity-feed Internal mix	0.35-mm	Large 1/3 oz (.9 ml)		Check Price
Badger Patriot 105	Dual action Gravity-feed Internal mix	0.5-mm	Large 1/3 oz (.9 ml)		Check Price
Paasche TG	Dual action Gravity-feed Internal mix	"Head Size: Size 1 (.25mm), Size 3 (.38mm), Size 5 (.66mm)"	0.4-ounce metal cup		Check Price

NEO CN Gravity Feed Dual Action Airbrush

The NEO range of airbrushes for IWATA are  design for beginners on a budget. Like every other IWATA airbrush, it comes with  a 5 Year Limited Warranty. It is a very well priced airbrush made with high quality material. It is a very versatile airbrush . Check also the IWATA airbrush comparison chart if you want more info on the full range of NEO airbrushes.

Features:

• NEO CN is a Gravity-feed airbrush that perform well at lower air pressures, which help create greater detail
• 0.35-mm needle and nozzle combination for finer detail spraying and medium-sized spray patterns
• Includes interchangeable large (1/3 oz.) and medium (1/16 oz.) cups designed with a funnel shape, which makes for easy clean-up and more efficient paint flow
• Ideal operation is between 5 and 35 psi
• Ideal for use with smaller air compressors that produce a maximum of 20 psi

 

Iwata-Medea Revolution CR

This IWATA  Revolution airbrush is a step higher in quality and precision from the NEO range. The  Revolution range  is is also a very  affordable serie of Iwata  airbrushes with a simple   and elegant design  perfect for new starter but also more experience airbrush artists. If you are a beginner in airbrushing looking for the best airbrush under 100$, you have found the perfect airbrush! Remember to have a look at my IWATA airbrush comparison chart: you will see all the IWATA airbrushes, will link to their spare parts list and the application their are best suited for.

Features:

• An internal mix, dual action top-feed airbrush with ergonomic handle design with a 1/3 oz (.9 ml) Gravity-Feed well
• Larger nozzle and needle combination (0.5-mm) that makes for easier spraying of thicker or heavier paints
• Redesigned trigger mechanism and larger needle-chucking nut for easy assembly
• Replaceable internal solvent-proof PTFE needle packing for use with solvent or water based paints

Iwata-Medea Eclipse HP CS

The IWATA Eclipse HP CS is a multi-purpose high quality airbrush that really will last you a lifetime. If you are into models building, this is certainly one of the best beginner airbrush for models. Really a great airbrush for beginners. See the full review of the IWATA Eclipse.

Features:

• Features a 0.35mm needle and drop-in self-centering nozzle combination comes with a large 1/3 oz gravity-feed cup
• Generous 1/3 oz sized cup is designed with a new funnel shape, which makes for easy cleanup and more efficient paint flow
• The Eclipse CS sprays heavier acrylics and Medea Textile Colors, while maintaining high-detail spray characteristics
• Single cut-away handle
• Spray pattern – hairline to 2″ (50-mm) round

Badger Patriot 105

The Badger Patriot is also a good priced high quality airbrush airbrush. Its really one of my  favorite airbrush kit. It has an “Easy Access” needle removal system that make it easy to clean and disassemble. The Patriot is the ideal airbrush for beginners but it will also suit more advanced users. Also a very versatile airbrush, that will suit projects with high coverage but also more work on fine details. See the full Badger Patriot Review.

Features

•   Dual action gravity feed airbrush
• Single needle/nozzle (.50 millimeter) for spraying all Mediums, inks, dyes, watercolors, acrylics, enamels, lacquers, glazes, latex, Air-Opaque, Air-Tex, MODELflex, TotallyTattoo, and Totally Tan colors
• Easy maintenance self- centering nozzle design; New acute tapered color well for faster cleaning; Maximum angle trigger clearance and stroke; Patented ?easy access? needle removal system
• Badger Airbrushes are American Made. One year warranty on mfg defects with a lifetime warranty on the PTFE needle bearing and any
• factory labor repairs

Paasche TG Talon

The Paasche TG is a double action gravity feed airbrush made and assembled entirely  in the US. The airbrush features a chrome plated body and anodized aluminum handle for durability.

The Paasche Talon is a fantastic detail airbrush  that will allow you to achieve hair line detail.It comes with the optional fan head, which has two little air holes in the pins that stick up, and these cause the spray to come out in a fan pattern up to 3 inch wide.

A PTFE packing allows the TG to handle any water or solvent based paint. The Paasche TG Talon is very easy to assemble and disassemble for cleaning. Clean up is as simple as spraying your paint cleaner though the airbrush and wiping of the needle.
The Paasche Talon is a real quality built airbrush, with nice and smooth trigger action that I will highly recommend. You won’t be disappointed. Guaranteed.

Features

•   Dual action gravity feed airbrush
• 3 spray head: .22 , .38 and .66
  
• .4 oz cup
  

Harder & Steenbeck Ultra  X Airbrush

The german made Harder & Steenbeck Ultra  X has a 0.40mm nozzle and needle as opposed to the Harder & Steenbeck Ultra that has a finer 0.20mm nozzle and needle. They both can be considered  ideal airbrush for beginning airbrushers. Very easy to maintain, and again very versatile airbrush that will allow you spray most model projects.

Features

• Self-centering socket-type nozzle 0.4mm
• Side feed, cup not included
• Double action
• Great starter airbrush!
• Cleaning brush set included

Best Airbrush kits

If you are looking to get an airbrush and a compressor, you can look a this selection of best airbrush kits. I have written a separate post which where you can find reviews and comparisons of different airbrush kits.

Best Airbrush Kit	Compressor	Airbrush	Check Price
Iwata Eclispe HP-CS Set	IWATA IS-850 Smart Jet 1-35 psi	Iwata Eclispe CS -0.35 -mm - Dual action - Gravity-feed - 1/3 oz. cup	Check Price
Paasche TG-SET Talon/ Master TC-20T	Master TC-20T - 0.92 gallon (3.5 liters)Tank. - 1-43 psi - Automatic On/Off Shutoff, Air. - Regulator with Gauge - Water Trap Filter	Paasche TG-SET Talon -0.38 -mm - Dual action - Gravity-feed - 0.4 oz. cup	Check Price
IWATA HP-CS Eclipse\Master TC-20T	Master TC-20T - 0.92 gallon (3.5 liters)Tank. - 1-43 psi - Automatic On/Off Shutoff, Air. - Regulator with Gauge - Water Trap Filter	IWATA HP-CS Eclipse -0.35 -mm - Dual action - Gravity-feed - 1/3 oz. cup - Internal mix	Check Price
Badger Patriot 105\Badger TC910 Aspire PRO	Badger TC910 Aspire PRO - 1 Gallon Tank - 1-40 psi - Air Control - Auto Shut-Off - Air filter - 2 airbrush holder	Badger Patriot 105: - 0.5-mm - Dual Action - Gravity feed - 1/3 oz. cup Badger 350: -Single action Airbrush - 3/4 oz. (22ml)	Check Price
MASTER G22 Airbrush/TC-20T Air Compressor	Master TC-20T Air Compressor	MASTER G22 Airbrush - 0.3-mm - Dual Action - Gravity feed - 1/3 oz. cup	Check Price

 What are the different type of airbrush?

They are different types of airbrushes available out there, and each of them would have different characteristics that would suit one or several applications better, but all airbrushes basically obey to the same basic principle:

A flow of compressed air is fed through the tool (airbrush) and will draw the medium (paint, ink of whatever fluid you are using) from its reservoir and atomizes it into very tiny droplets. The moving air is at a lower pressure than static air creating “suction” for the medium (paint).

In this airbrush buying guide, we will to understand the different type of airbrush available and how they operate:

Single action vs Double Action Airbrush:

Single action vs double action airbrush, this is a question most beginners would ask themselves.Here I will try to answer that question for you. Hopefully this will help you make your choice between a single action airbrush and a double action airbrush.

Single Action Airbrush

They are call single airbrush because by pressing the trigger, it delivers both the air and the paint flow without any possible adjustment.  You can modify the paint flow separately by turning a screw or knob located at the rear of the airbrush that will adjust the needle position in the nozzle.

Single action airbrushes are usually used to paint large area, rather fine details. For instance they would suit very well if you need to for with stencils or masking.

Would suit least experienced users or beginners that would require less adjustment options. Even children can use those airbrushes as they are much easier to control that the double action airbrushes.

Single action airbrush are usually cheaper than the double action airbrush. So if you are not planning to work on fine details and you have a pretty tight budget, this could be the way to go for you.

Pro & cons of a Single Action Airbrush

 

 

See the best selling Single Airbrushes on Amazon

Double action airbrush:

Double action airbrushes  are probably the most widely used airbrushes out there. They are more precise airbrush, ideal for art painting for instance. They allow much more control and are much more precise than the single action airbrushes. The airflow is controlled by pressing the airbrush trigger and the paint flow is controlled by pulling the same trigger back. The more you pull the trigger back, the bigger the paint flow is, making the spray pattern wider.

Yes it is great to be able to control both airflow and paint flow, but it makes double action airbrushes more difficult to use than single action airbrushes.You will need a certain amount of practice before you can master it. Double action airbrushes are usually more expensive than single action airbrushes. But I would say it is well worth the money as you have a tool that will allow you to produce fantastic details work.

Pro & cons of a Double Action Airbrush

 

See the best selling Double action Airbrushes on Amazon

Gravity feed vs siphon Feed airbrush?

Siphon Feed airbrush:

You can recognize those type of airbrushed with their bottle or container located generally at the bottom or on the side of the airbrush. As the air is going through the airbrush, the paint is pulled up by a vacuum into the airbrush towards the nozzle to be atomized.

The bottle on those airbrushes is larger than gravity feed airbrushes so they be useful if you have to pain larger surface without having to refill the bottle. They are also fitted with larger nozzle than those fitted on gravity feed airbrushes.

Also colour swapping is making easier with siphon feed airbrushes as it is very easy to just interchange bottle of different colour paint. You could potentially have few bottles of different colours ready to be used and also a bottle of cleaner you can use in between colour changes.

All of those above characteristic make the siphon feed airbrushes more suited for users that want to paint large area.

Artists that paint on T-Shirt or work on airbrushed Tattoos,  culinary art Painting often use those kind of siphon feed airbrushes.

Pro & cons of a Siphon Feed Airbrush

 

Gravity feed airbrush:

Gravity feed airbrush are generally used by airbrush users that want to do fine detail work. They draw the paint down from a cup located at the top of the airbrush.

• Gravity feed airbrush allow users to work with lower air pressure than bottom feed airbrush. That subsequently will give you more control on the way you move you hand and spray on the support.
• They are in a way more economical than siphon feed airbrush. When you spray, you will use every single drop of paint in the cup. It is easier to pull down the paint from cup than to pull it up from the bottle of a bottom feed airbrush.
• So it is the ideal airbrush when you need to work on details with a small quantity of paint in the cup.

 

Pro & cons of a Gravity Feed Airbrush

 

• Smaller cup not suited for painting large area
• Reload paint cup more often if painting large area
• Cup can block the view

Which nozzle size and what needle to choose for my airbrush?

The nozzles and needles are very fragile. Therefore it is better to a spare one in stock as they can easily be bend or damaged if you drop the airbrush or during the maintenance. Make sure to choose an airbrush for which you can find spare parts. You will definitely have to replace either a nozzles or a needles at some stage. Check out the price for those parts also as you might need to replace them more frequently that you think.

You might wonder what type of nozzle\needle to buy?

I will depends again of what use you are going to have with the airbrush.

You need to know that:

• The finer the nozzle\needle assembly is, the finer the spray is going to be, the more details you are going to be able to achieve with your airbrush. But also the less suited for spraying large area.

• The finer the nozzle\needle assembly is, the finer the paint you will use will have to be adapted (finer pigmented), and the less your compressed air requirements will be.

On the other hand:

• The larger the nozzle\needle assembly is, the more difficult it will be to work on fine details and the easier it will be to paint large area and backgrounds.

• The wider the nozzle\needle assembly is, the more freedom you will have in choosing the type of paint to be sprayed and the greater your need for compressed air will be.

So it is hard to answer the above question, the choice of the nozzle\needle assembly will really depends on what you are going to do with it.To make it easier, some airbrush like the Badger SOTAR 20/20 comes with a set of different nozzle\needle.

For me, 0.4mm is a good compromise to get started. Starting with a 0.15mm / 0.2mm needle is complicated: the nozzle and needle are very fine and can get clogged easily, and you may spend much more time cleaning the airbrush than painting.

See in this little table how all those elements interact with each others:

Needle	0.2 mm	0.3 mm/0.4 mm	0.6 mm
Pressure PSI	10 to 20	22 to  32	22 to 36
	ink and Dyes	ink and Dyes	ink and Dyes
	Createx	Createx	Createx
	Watercolor	Watercolor	Watercolor
	Food colorant	Food colorant	Food colorant
		Acrylics	Acrylics
		Oils	Oils
		Bio paint	Bio Paint
Surface to paint	8 x 8 inch	20 x 20 inch	30 x 30 inch

Advantage and inconvenient, what airbrush for what application?

In the table below, you will be able to see some advantages and inconvenient for the different types of airbrushes I described previously.  You can also see which type of airbrushes is suitable for what application.

	ADVANTAGE	INCONVENIENT	BEST SUITED FOR
GRAVITY FEED	Fine details work Work with lower air pressure Dispense all paint in cup (even metallic paint) Easier to clean Faster response time to get paint out Stop and Start of a line easier Need less pressure (works with smaller compressor)	Smaller cup not suited for painting large area Reload paint cup more often if painting large area Cup can block the view	Illustration, fine art, Make-up artist, Model painting, some cake decorating
BOTTOM FEED\ SUCTION FEED	bigger paint jar, suited for painting large area (T-shirt, Tattoo), Easy & quick to change colour Side Bottle can be rotated Allow to paint at any angle (upside down) Allow good visibility, cup not in the way	Not suited for detail work Need more pressure Harder to start& stop lines when working Takes a bit longer to clean	Suited for tee-shirt painting, Tatoo Culinary art Painting
DOUBLE ACTION	Allow very fine control Good for fading or blending Versatile airbrush Instant control over the amount of paint and spray pattern. Control both air and fluid actions	A bit more difficult to use for beginner	Illustrating, art, crafts, model painting, Make-up artist,
SINGLE ACTION	Ideal for solid fill area Good for beginner\novice	Can’t adjust paint flow with trigger. Less instant control than dual-action airbrushes	Tanning Spray, cake decorating, base or top coating for model painting

What airbrush to buy?

I gave you already quite a bit of information in there but if you are still unsure, there is few more thing that you can also consider.

If you are into fine art paint, Illustrating or want to paint plastic models, you really to have a maximum control over the amount paint and air you spray. Double action airbrushes will suit you better.

Nozzle:

You can find double action airbrushes with different size on nozzle\needle out there: 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, o.5 mm, 0.6 mm …..I already cover that in the previous paragraph.

If you need to work on large area, you will want to choose an airbrush with a large nozzle (0.5 mm or more). If you need to paint fine details, thin line, then obviously you will require a finer nozzle.

You can have a type of airbrush for a particular type of job. However, you can find some airbrush out there that have an interchangeable nozzle system. That will allow to do several type of jobs with the same airbrush (like the Iwata-Medea Eclipse HP CS). This will give you a lot of flexibility. You could spray background with a set of nozzle and then swap the nozzle\needle\cap for a thinner one do work on the details.

Stop set trigger control:

Another element I wanted to mention is the stop set trigger control. You can find on some dual action airbrush like the Badger Renegade range. It is also called “speed dial” on the Harder and Steenbeck Infinity airbrush for instance.

This will allow you set how far the needle can go back when you pull the trigger, to restrict the amount of paint that can get atomized. Handy when you want to spray even size lines. Although this feature might not be necessarily a must for the pro, it is a nice safety net to have for a beginner.

Airbrush price:

I already cover why I don’t recommend cheap, low quality airbrushes on the first section of this post.But I want to say it again. There are some airbrush manufacturers out there who produce very cheap, low quality airbrushes, with non-existent spare parts. I would stay clear from those airbrushes. They are designed to be used only a few times before they usually fail to function correctly.

So don’t buy a $30  airbrush but try to invest a bit more money if you can. You won’t regret it. You can find a very good airbrush for $150.

The main airbrush manufacturers on the market are :

• Badger – US manufacturer                                       see popular Badger Airbrushes on Amazon
• Paasche – US manufacturer                                      see popular Paasche Airbrushed on Amazon
• Aztek – US manufacturer                                           see popular Aztek Airbrushed on Amazon
• Iwata – Japenese manufacturer                                see popular Iwata Airbrushes on Amazon
• Harder and Steenbeck – German manufacturer  see popular Harder and Steenbeck Airbrushes on Amazon
• Hansa – German manufacturer                                 see popular Hansa Airbrushes on Amazon

Those manufacturer produce reliable, high quality products, with high quality materials. The all have a wide range of spare parts and accessories for their airbrushes. Very important as you will soon discover!

Simplicity of disassembly / reassembly:

This is also an important factor because at the beginning, you will  spends a lot of time cleaning your airbrush

Best airbrush for beginners:Closing comments

There you go, I think I covered everything I wanted to speak about in this airbrush buying guide for beginners. If you are a beginner, I hope this post will help you to choose the right airbrush for you and that you have found this post informative. Hopefully you have a better understanding of the airbrush now than before reading it.

Please leave a comment below and let me know if this post has helped you to choose your first airbrush.