Are you looking to purchase an airbrush for the first time but find the choices mind-boggling?.. Join the crowd!..

I felt the same way a few years ago.. Now I have 4 airbrushes and still counting!..Why?.. Because I didnt know then what I DO know now..And Im happy to share my Trial & Error knowledge with you..

I paint & sell custom made wooden fishing lures here on eBay.. I needed a preferrably easy to use airbrush, yet one that produced quality results too..

Thru trial & error I settled on one that meets my needs quite well..

First thing when choosing an airbrush is: dont be tempted to buy a single action airbrush because of the lower pricing..You WILL BE SORRY.. I wont bother to discuss their attributes or rather their lack there of..

Find a double-action airbrush you can afford to start out with.. Some of the top quality brands are Iwata, Badger,Paasche, and Aztek.. Expect to pay a minumum of $75-$250 for a good one.. Most use an interchangable system of needles about 5" long, combined with a corresponding nozzle tip for different spray pattern widths & paint types...And most are not the easiest things in the World to master, especially needle changing.. Except for Aztek, which is explained further down.

Most use the gravity feed: (paint cup on top), or the syphon feed: (paint bottle on bottom or side of airbrush), or they have both methods available..

The gravity feed systems will probably drive you crazy.. The paint cup is on top the airbrush & almost always blocks your view when painting up close as I am always doing.. Artists prefer the Gravity feed because you can turn down the air pressure, add more thinner, and create finer lines..

And the syphon feed models, well, the glass bottles are usually so bulky you can not hold the airbrush steady.. For example the large Badger/Paasche glass bottle is about half the size of a coffee cup!.. That is quite bulky when filled..

I own a Paasche VLS, a Badger Cresendo, a Aztek A4709, and finally the Aztek A7778..

Luckily for me I invested in the Aztek A4709, a great beginners & Pro user airbrush.... Later on I purchased the A7778 model..

Originally, I knew nothing about Aztek products & figured I'd be throwing it away in disgust, but I couldn't have been more wrong..

Aztek has several models, both single & double action, but believe me, you dont want the lesser single-action models regardless of the brand or the price..

If you plan on trying an Aztek, buy the A470 ($75),  A4709 ($95),  or A7778 ($150+) models, all double-action.. They are basically the same, inside and out, with the following exceptions: Each series number denotes how much, or how little an amount of extra accessories you will recieve in your new airbrush kit.. 

The A7778(+$150) has a sweet metal casing that holds up to paint solvents much better..

Note: prices I listed are average cost online in reputable ebay stores at the time of this posting.. All Aztek models are plastic except the A7778.. I suppose thats why most Pro's frown on Aztek, believing they're cheap plastic junk, but thats hardly the case..

The color cups load from the side, and are a tough but light weight plastic.. The glass bottles also load from the side & are small, non-bulky.. The airbrush body is a nice comfortable, hand fitted design.. And it really does fit perfect in your hand, nicely designed.

Heres why I recommend this product:..No big needles to deal with!..And its exceptionally easy to use & master.. The needle, about 1/2" long, is inside the nozzle!..The entire needle-nozzle assembly screws into the front of the airbrush.. When its time to clean the nozzle just unscrew it, its finger tight, & drop it in some solvent for a few minutes..

You do not need to actually change nozzles to change your spray band width .. If you use the fine size nozzle you can achieve most any spray width you'll need.. You only need adjust your air pressure and practice using your double-action control.. The airbrush also has a control near the rear that adjusts spray band width.. I primarily use the fine nozzle and can spray from 1/32" to 1/2" band width just by using the built-in adjustments on the airbrush itself.. I use the medium nozzle for base coating and clear coat.. I personally have found no use for the several other nozzle sizes available thru Aztek..

The Aztek cleans up really easy too.. I keep a spare syphon bottle with thinner nearby & when I change colors, just pop on the thinner bottle, spray a few seconds, pop on a color cup, & back to work I go.. Complete color changes in about 10-15 seconds..

Its a good idea to disassemble the nozzle and soak thoroughly in a solvent during downtime.. It comes apart easily, a total of 4 parts: the outside nozzle casing, an inner casing which holds the last 2 parts, which are the short needle & a spring that slides over the needle..Its far less complicated than it sounds..and by the way, the entire nozzle assembly is only about 1/2" or 1.35cm in length!.. It is not 4"-5" long like the "other" brands.

If you're using waterbased paints use warm water to clean up.. With enamels, I use lacquer thinner for clean-up.. I also use lacquer thinner to thin my enamel paints with great success.. I also spray a small amount of laquer thinner between color changes just to clean the nozzle out quickly..

But remember: DO NOT soak your airbrush or nozzle over night in lacquer thinner.. I do use laquer to clean up after usage but only soaking for 5 minutes.. Laquer thinner cleans almost any paint out very quick.. No need to soak over night..

I for one am an extremely happy Aztek user & recommend it to everyone who questions me about my work.. And my Badger & Paasche, well they're in the closet & my Aztek is in my workshop!..You can see my stuff here on eBay, all my custom lures are done w/the Aztek..

All the above info is just my opinion.. You can choose any brand you like.. All the companies I mentioned make excellent products.. For me personally, the Aztek takes the cake.. Thanks for reading my guide & I hope its been of some help to you..

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: when airbrushing, always follow the manufacturers safety warnings on the paint and thinner labels!.. Spray in a well ventilated area, use the proper breathing apparatus at all times, and use disposable gloves to prevent unnecessary skin contact with paint and solvents..NEVER spray paint, or use solvents near open flame!!!..

EPOXY CLEARCOATING:  just for an extra HELP note, if you're thinking of using EPOXY clearcoats please read on:

Epoxies are difficult coatings but well worth the effort.. Most lure buyers prefer & even demand epoxy coatings on their lures or they wont buy your product.. If you clearcoat an item with epoxy, make certain it cures 100%!!!.. Generally a semi -thick coating is needed for fishing lures.. Tho the word thick can be decieving as we are talking about 1/128" -1/64" as being thick!.. 2-3 times the thickness of a sheet of paper(2-3mil) is usually sufficient.. Acheive this thru multiple layers not one nasty thick coat!..  3-5 thin layers is better than one thick coat that will never cure.. A heat lamp helps also.. I apply 3-5 thin coats over a  3 day period then leave cure for 2-3 days before attempting to install hardware.. I also made a rotating drying wheel to make the coating dry even & smooth, which is a MUST for epoxy..

USING EPOXY: I've tried many products, Top Secret, Nu-Lustre55, Devcon 2 Ton, and others.. I stuck with Devcon 2 Ton, also known as D2T.. Devcon makes several epoxy products, most are fast drying, 5 mins or less! ( too short of a  pot life ) and nearly useless as they set-up too quickly to be properly applied.. However, D2T has a 15 min pot life so you have more time to mix & apply.. Epoxy should be applied in temp ranges of 70f-80f.. It it is too thick just warm it up a little( place epoxy tube in a pan of hot water ) or thin mildly with acetone or denatured alcohol.. I prefer denatured alcohol myself..  Rotate freshly coated lures for 30 mins then  hang the lure for 3 hrs.. Dry to touch at that point, but I dont consider handling or attaching hardware for at least 12 hrs.. Use disposable brushes for applying the epoxy or your fingers protected with surgical gloves for application works great, my preferred method..

If you get air bubbles in the wet epoxy coating which definitely will happen: huff your breathe on small areas of the lure until you have huffed the entire lure surface.. Just like when you want to steam up a mirror or window with your breathe.. This will pop the air bubbles.. Some insist its the carbon, others say its the heat.. You can use heat lamps to expedite drying the epoxy or just let it go at room temps above 70f..

ROTATING DRYING MACHINE: These can be made in many ways, but they should be slow rotators, in the 3-6rpm range.. Ive used Christmas light display rotators, motors off used BBQ rotisseries, and most recently made a heavy duty rotator for large Musky-Saltwater lures from a 1750rpm motor with twin  gear reducer units mounted in tandem.. But most luremakers dont need such an elaborate setup as that!.. Attach alligator clips or similar holding clips to a wood or metal wheel.. Wheel attached to shaft.. Screw luremaking eye screws in the lure body to use as paint sticks.. Put the screw eyes in the alligator clips to hold lure on the wheel.. Quite simple..

I decided to add this response message which Ive sent to many people already..Perhaps it will answer some of the questions swimming about in your head right now.

Thank you for viewing my Guide, hope its been interesting and helpful... Dont forget to submit a positive vote for my Guide~

My large drying wheel..... Rotates 6 large lures on outter ring & 12 smaller lures on inner ring..