dneid
Staff Sergeant
Well, after hearing John (I think it was John) comment about getting an Iwata and hearing Andy talk about his HP-C, I started digging around the web and ebay and youtube to learn more about the Iwatas. The failure of my Paasche compressor after less than 24 months and having Paasche tell me that they stock zero parts for it really left a bad taste in my mouth after all the years of owning Paasches. So, I started considering one of the higher end Iwatas. I found a good deal on ebay for an HP-CH for well under $200 with free shipping. I was really torn on the HP-CH vs HP-CP. I was not sure about the "micro air valve" on the HP-CH, but I decided to go for it. Well, the brush arrived much sooner than I expected.
Initial impression is very favorable. The brush feels solid in my hand, yet not overly weighty. The balance feels real nice. The added wgt seems to lend to stability. Time will tell. The construction does indeed seem to be amazingly nice. The feel of the "trigger" is crisp, yet very manageable. I feel I can get better control of the air flow through the Iwata than my Paasche Millenium or Talon (still very nice brushes). The Paasches air flow feels more like an on/off thing. I can control the flow of air with the trigger on the Iwata in ways I never could with my Paasches. The control of paint feels very nice as well, very smooth. The overall feel of the brush is solid, yet very smooth.
Well, enough with how the brush feels. How well does it shoot paint? As many know, I am shifting away from enamels and moving to Vallejo Acrylics. Needless to say, there is a learning curve. I find the Vallejos give my Paasches a bit of a challenge with drying (even with the "wetting" agents). I know that they can flow the paints, I just need to spend the time and learn the "feel" of shooting acrylics. But, I have to say that the Iwata really felt great in the few minutes I played around with it and some Model Air. And, the micro valve is indeed a nice feature. Picture below.
This is just a few drops of Model Air on some card stock. Initial impression is that I am going to really like this brush. Plus, the 5 yr warranty is nice too. Oh, avoid Paasche compressors given the complete lack of support for them now (excuse was they are all made in China and we cannot get parts - that really took the wind out of my Paasche sails).
Initial impression is very favorable. The brush feels solid in my hand, yet not overly weighty. The balance feels real nice. The added wgt seems to lend to stability. Time will tell. The construction does indeed seem to be amazingly nice. The feel of the "trigger" is crisp, yet very manageable. I feel I can get better control of the air flow through the Iwata than my Paasche Millenium or Talon (still very nice brushes). The Paasches air flow feels more like an on/off thing. I can control the flow of air with the trigger on the Iwata in ways I never could with my Paasches. The control of paint feels very nice as well, very smooth. The overall feel of the brush is solid, yet very smooth.
Well, enough with how the brush feels. How well does it shoot paint? As many know, I am shifting away from enamels and moving to Vallejo Acrylics. Needless to say, there is a learning curve. I find the Vallejos give my Paasches a bit of a challenge with drying (even with the "wetting" agents). I know that they can flow the paints, I just need to spend the time and learn the "feel" of shooting acrylics. But, I have to say that the Iwata really felt great in the few minutes I played around with it and some Model Air. And, the micro valve is indeed a nice feature. Picture below.
This is just a few drops of Model Air on some card stock. Initial impression is that I am going to really like this brush. Plus, the 5 yr warranty is nice too. Oh, avoid Paasche compressors given the complete lack of support for them now (excuse was they are all made in China and we cannot get parts - that really took the wind out of my Paasche sails).
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