Lookee, lookee...



It's arrived! Anest Iwata Kiwami4 13BA4.

Smaller and lighter than I expected.

250ml/min, 280mm fan and 270 litres/minute air consumption.

Bought from Japan on Ebay.com.au. $AUD279.

Also looking at a Kiwami4 V13WB2. 160ml/min, 300mm fan and 390 litres/minute air consumption.

Specs put these similar to the Prolite, depending on aircap. Hopefully they will be better basecoat guns (not that the Prolites are bad, just looking for improvements).

NFT5 wrote:Lookee, lookee...

PXL_20241201_222029450.MP (2).jpg

It's arrived! Anest Iwata Kiwami4 13BA4.

Smaller and lighter than I expected.

250ml/min, 280mm fan and 270 litres/minute air consumption.

Bought from Japan on Ebay.com.au. $AUD279.

Also looking at a Kiwami4 V13WB2. 160ml/min, 300mm fan and 390 litres/minute air consumption.

Specs put these similar to the Prolite, depending on aircap. Hopefully they will be better basecoat guns (not that the Prolites are bad, just looking for improvements).

Looks great!! I'm guessing it would be a nice improvement over my old AZ3. Could you PM me the Ebay seller you bought from--I'm always afraid of fakes on there?

Rebel Racing wrote: I'm guessing it would be a nice improvement over my old AZ3.

That's what I'm hoping, but I'm not knocking the AZ3 which is a very good gun, albeit just with a smaller fan that still suits some jobs better than a wide fan where you're just wasting paint. The AZ3 will always have a place in my gun kit - simple, reliable and capable of some really good finishes. It was these qualities and my experience with Star guns (very similar to Iwata) that made me take the plunge.

I already have 5 Prolites plus a Tekna Copper and, amazingly, the best of those for basecoat is the fake Prolite that I bought as a bit of a joke. It's starting to show some signs of wear and since parts are not quite interchangeable then it will end up in the bin in the not too distant future. So I need a good basecoat gun.

What made the fake Prolite good was the aircap which, due to imprecise copying, actually ended up somewhere between the RP caps and a HVLP. Devilbiss must have recognised this gap and later introduced the HV25 aircap which is a hybrid RP/HVLP. I could have gone for another Prolite with the HV25 cap, but wanted to get away from the complex baffle design.

The DV1 isn't worth the extra compared to the Prolite and SATA guns are too fast for my style of painting. That left the WS400/LS400 but they're now pushing $1200, like the SATA and DV1. I do want a supernova, but just to hang on the wall and look at.

This Kiwami ticked all the boxes, plus it's much cheaper without any compromise on quality. The Kiwami range is touted to replace the W400 (uses same needles and nozzles plus some aircaps) so it has to be good to replace what is now pretty much legendary.

The one I bought fits somewhere between the Prolite with T110 and TE10 caps but has an "I" spray pattern which should be better for basecoats, especially metallics/pearls. It's still an RP gun but the other one I'm looking at is a hybrid RP/HVLP.

Yes, fakes are a problem and Anest Iwata get more than their share. There are pages on the iwata websites that explain how to identify a fake, but the problem is that you have to buy it first. Apart from sticking to known, reputable suppliers the best thing is to look for sellers with high numbers of satisfied buyers. In this case the seller was upfront about the box having been opened and discounted accordingly, so I jumped on it. Japanese sellers do seem to be somewhat better than those who are based in Eastern Europe and ship from China. The seller I bought from doesn't have spray guns as a major line, mainly selling anime and other stuff, but does seem to get the occasional Iwata guns on special. If you want one decide on the exact model that you want and then just search. If it's really cheap then it's probably fake, but sometimes there are good deals to be had. It took me a couple of months to find this one and it was a one off.

NFT5 wrote:

Rebel Racing wrote:
Yes, fakes are a problem and Anest Iwata get more than their share. There are pages on the iwata websites that explain how to identify a fake, but the problem is that you have to buy it first. Apart from sticking to known, reputable suppliers the best thing is to look for sellers with high numbers of satisfied buyers. In this case the seller was upfront about the box having been opened and discounted accordingly, so I jumped on it. Japanese sellers do seem to be somewhat better than those who are based in Eastern Europe and ship from China. The seller I bought from doesn't have spray guns as a major line, mainly selling anime and other stuff, but does seem to get the occasional Iwata guns on special. If you want one decide on the exact model that you want and then just search. If it's really cheap then it's probably fake, but sometimes there are good deals to be had. It took me a couple of months to find this one and it was a one off.

I did a quick search and there are several in Japan, anywhere from $290-$335 USD. When the time comes, I'll do a little more research. Curious, did you pick a 1.3 or a 1.4 tip for yours? It will strictly for base for me. As always, thanks for all the info--much appreciated!

1.3mm. It's really the standard and the best way to judge the gun against others with (supposedly) the same size tip. I have a few 1.2mm guns, as I do with 1.4mm, so don't need any more of those sizes.

NFT5 wrote:1.3mm. It's really the standard and the best way to judge the gun against others with (supposedly) the same size tip. I have a few 1.2mm guns, as I do with 1.4mm, so don't need any more of those sizes.

Thanks Chris, I was leaning towards the 1.3 also.