Posted on Leave a comment

eBay Airbrush & Compressor

For my latest project, I needed an easier way to paint without messing about with brushes, and the associated marks they leave in a paint job. eBay provided me with a cheap airbrush & compressor.

Airbrush Kit
Airbrush Kit

For less than £30, this kit doens’t look so bad. I’ve never used an airbrush before, but I’ve had no problems with this as yet spraying both water based paints & solvent based paints.

Compressor
Compressor

Here’s the compressor itself, this runs on 12v & has an output pressure of 1.5 Bar, which is supposed to be adjustable.

Compressor Internals
Compressor Internals

Removing a couple of screws reveals the internal components. Nothing much unusual here, a DC diaphragm pump, pressure switch & outlet fittings. There’s also a thermal cutout fitted next to the motor for protection.
The pressure switch attached to the manifold trips at 1.5Bar, keeping the pressure to the brush pretty much constant.

Air Block
Air Block

Next to the air outlet fitting is an adjustment knob, supposedly for varying the pressure. However it’s just a piss-poorly designed adjustable relief valve that vents to atmosphere. There’s not much of a control range.

Messy Wiring
Messy Wiring

The wiring gets a bit messy where the power LED is concerned, with no heatshrink over the solder joints, but it’s adequate.

Airbrush
Airbrush

The airbrush itself isn’t too bad. It’s solid Brass, with a very nice Chrome finish. I’m not expecting miracles from a very cheap tool, but it certainly seems to be reasonable.

Water Trap
Water Trap

A moisture trap is supplied for the brush, to prevent water drops being sprayed out with the paint. Very handy.