I recently bought a Crescendo 175 AB set. The set has the ff:
a) 3 Needles (f,m,l)
b) 3 tips (f,m,l)
c) 3 spray regulators (f,m,l)

The questions below are directed those who are familiar with the Crescendo 175 model. I have not use the AB yet, I am still in the process of gather information.


Questions:
1) When should I use F, M and L needles?
2) When should I use F, M and L spray regulators?
3) When should I use F, M and L tips?
4) Could I change the spray regulator without changing the tip or the needle?
5) When I change the spray regulator, needle or tip, do need to be of the same size?
e.g. fine spray regulator should use fine needle and fine tip.

Sorry for so many questions, any input would be very much appreciated.

Warthog,

Mine is Badger 150 AB but I think they have similiar features.
All you have to do is match the regulator with the needles and tips, that means you have to use the same size like F(Fine) and your needle, regulator and tips should be F. I dun think the mentioned three parts can be inter-changeable.
Hope this helps.

Hi Octo,

All these talks about Badges makes me wanna get one, is it any good? So what's the deal, you just change the tips, and it comes out with the line of your choice? No need to control it with spraying distance, etc?

Dave,

Nope, you have to control the distance and the pressure of the gas as well in order to get how thin or thick the line you want.

I have a Badger 150 brush and I can recommend it any day. Very reliable and easy to operate. Only bad thing is that it´s difficult and time-taking task to clean it.
Those markings stand for F=fine M=medium and L=large. The scale is huge, I´ve used the L set to paint a wall painting and the F set to paint Schwimmwagen camo stripes. The same airbrush does both for me.

Toni

Badgers? Badgers? We don' need no stinkin' badgers!#:-)

As the other guys said,you have to match each of these components to each other. Each has a max and minimum line it can paint, regaardles of pressure, consistency or distance. I just had to replace my M needle and head assembly and what a difference it made. It's truly amazing how almost microsopic bends at the needle tip or rough edges at the tip can affect the quality of your work.

Hi,

Thanks for all the responses....they have been a very big help especially for a newbie like me.

Warthog

Since my Gunze Sanyo AB went dead on me a couple days ago. I got myself a badger 360 Universal AB. Looked like a good solid AB to me, tried it a couple times in the week end. Now I only need to try to do some ambush pattern with it to final verify the worthiness of this AB. Anyone out there had used this one, any advise and comment will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Dave,

I think there's nobody own a Badger Universal 360. Is there any problem using this new AB?
Is it user friendly?

Steve

Steve,

I think at this moment I cannot really judge, since I only used it for a couple run for the weathering of the panhard. But I think it's fine. The following is some of the things I had found based on my limited use:

Good:

I like the siphon bottle, which is easy to use
I like the way the needle can be locked in a point, then all you need to do is press down the knob, you got constant spray. I think it should come handy while doing ambush pattern

Bad:

I am still feel not so comfortable with using the AB, maybe it's because I got so used to the Gunze Sanyo one
The gravity feed cup is too small

That's all I find.

I've used a Badget 175 for over 2 years and its still going strong. As previously mentioned you do have to have all the same size parts together (all F, all M, or all L).
As far as ease of use - I find it easy enough, I have never used anything else so I do not know. I almost always use the color cup for ease of clean up . I mix in a separate container if I need more than the cup will hold.
Clean up is time consuming. If you treat it well and keep it clean it will last and last. While cleaning be careful to clean the needle chamber that the needle runs through. If paint works its way backward into that the next time you use it the movement wont move a bit.