0.2 vs 0.3 airbrush nozzle

[Jackalwolf]

Hey for all painters out there I wanted to check which nozzle size you use primarily, 0.2 or 0.3. So far I've only used 0.2 but it's a bit messed up by now so I just switched to the other size which already came with the airbrush until I buy a replacement nozzle.

 

Was thinking it might even work better since paint should clog less.

 

Which are your experiences/ preferences?

[Firepower]

I find .3 to be far more cooperative and better for an overall utility. A .2 is generally for super fine detail stuff, but .3 does fine detail well enough, and is friendlier for large areas and such. And yes, it clogs less. Although to be totally fair, my experience with .2 was a terrible Master (which is a redundancy) series that could do .2, .3 and .5 needles...on the box, anyway. All I learned from that junker was how to field strip an airbrush in 2 minutes flat.

Now I use a Neo, a cheap but solid $50 Iwata that's a .3 airbrush. I'm not able to, say, do OSL on a target as small as a Marine's eye lenses, but I can do it on a bike's headlight or something similar. Well...the airbrush can do it, me, not so much.

[Duymon]

I use an Iwata Ecplise HP-CS which uses a special .35 and it's been heaven for me. 

 

I would imagine the .2 would only work well if you use a higher PSI and you don't let the air flow for too long before you add in the paint.

 

I personally like to get a good air flow going first before I pull back on the paint lever so the bigger nozzle is way better for me :0

[Warhead01]

I use an Iwata Eclpise HP-CS as well. I bought a nozzle and needle set over Ebay to move it up to a .5 which has been wonderful. I mostly spray black primer or topcoat with it. The .35 has been fine for color which I thin a bit with water and windex. I also have a badger krome with  .2 ( I think that's what it is.) It's a good brush because it also comes with a .35 cone and needle set. I mostly use them for large flat areas, like tanks. or base coating models. Usually a base color and a zenith spray. It's a huge time saver.

Very recently I found some wire brushed for cleaning the airbrush which have done a very good job. 

I've found you have to play with the paint thickness and psi based on how large or small the area and how close you need to be to the model.  I added a lot of Createx paints to my collection over the last few years. they have some very interesting color options. and the psi they recommend is on the bottle. 
One trick I use is to spray a glove on the hand holding a model to check everything's they way I want it just before I spray on a model. this clears the nozzle and get the consistency before I have any problems.

 

Check out APJ Less on youtube he has a lot of tips and painting videos that may help.

[Bat33.1]

I have an Iwata revolution that has a 0.5mm needle that I use for basecoats and it can go reasonably fine too at low pressure with suitably thinned paint. I also have a HP C plus which runs a 0.3mm needle for finer work but paint thinning and flow improver are more important with the HP-C. I usually run about 14-17psi with both brushes but vary it according to what I'm working with.

[Magos Takatus]

I find .3 to be far more cooperative and better for an overall utility. A .2 is generally for super fine detail stuff, but .3 does fine detail well enough, and is friendlier for large areas and such. And yes, it clogs less. Although to be totally fair, my experience with .2 was a terrible Master (which is a redundancy) series that could do .2, .3 and .5 needles...on the box, anyway. All I learned from that junker was how to field strip an airbrush in 2 minutes flat.

Now I use a Neo, a cheap but solid $50 Iwata that's a .3 airbrush. I'm not able to, say, do OSL on a target as small as a Marine's eye lenses, but I can do it on a bike's headlight or something similar. Well...the airbrush can do it, me, not so much.

You got a like purely for the mental image of you pouring paint into your mouth and spraying it over a model. :p

I'm glad that there's so many experienced airbrush users about these days. I still haven't used mine because I don't have a proper work area for it. I'll have to plonk it down on the floor at this rate.

Just a quick question... from what I read you can buy different sized needles for the same airbrush, it that correct? I suppose it depends on the model. I have a cheapo starter set so I can't expect miracles from those, but even speeding up basecoating would be fantastic.

[Chaplain Raeven]

I find .3 to be far more cooperative and better for an overall utility. A .2 is generally for super fine detail stuff, but .3 does fine detail well enough, and is friendlier for large areas and such. And yes, it clogs less. Although to be totally fair, my experience with .2 was a terrible Master (which is a redundancy) series that could do .2, .3 and .5 needles...on the box, anyway. All I learned from that junker was how to field strip an airbrush in 2 minutes flat.

Now I use a Neo, a cheap but solid $50 Iwata that's a .3 airbrush. I'm not able to, say, do OSL on a target as small as a Marine's eye lenses, but I can do it on a bike's headlight or something similar. Well...the airbrush can do it, me, not so much.

You got a like purely for the mental image of you pouring paint into your mouth and spraying it over a model.

I'm glad that there's so many experienced airbrush users about these days. I still haven't used mine because I don't have a proper work area for it. I'll have to plonk it down on the floor at this rate.

Just a quick question... from what I read you can buy different sized needles for the same airbrush, it that correct? I suppose it depends on the model. I have a cheapo starter set so I can't expect miracles from those, but even speeding up basecoating would be fantastic.

Most models have different sized needles, the big names at least. They come with a different nozzle as well.

To the OP: I used the .2 because it came stock on my airbrush and I tried using it to learn airbrushing. It only taught me how to clean my airbrush (I'm quite fast at it now) and to pick a bigger needle/nozzle. I use the .4 now, since it's more forgiving and because I use my brush primarily to spray large surfaces. I might pick up a .3 now, since most people here seem to praise it.

Edit: Late spellcheck.