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.
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.
Here’s the compressor itself, this runs on 12v & has an output pressure of 1.5 Bar, which is supposed to be adjustable.
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.
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.
The wiring gets a bit messy where the power LED is concerned, with no heatshrink over the solder joints, but it’s adequate.
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.
A moisture trap is supplied for the brush, to prevent water drops being sprayed out with the paint. Very handy.
