Product review - Harbor Freight double action airbrush

I bought one of these some months back, intending it to be my entry-level, let's see if I am any good at this at all, airbrush.

I finally hooked it up and tried it out today on some scrap material, and I thought I would provide a quick review for anyone else thinking of getting one.

First, a warning. This is so far the ONLY airbrush I have tried using, and I have never tried a single-action airbrush. I never intended this one to be my only airbrush ever.

The set up was easy and the airbrush fits my hand well. The hose that is sold separately fit my 1/4" NPT compressor hose just fine. I ran the whole works through one regulator that is a little dodgy but would limit overall pressure, and then another regulator with a moisture trap that I have found to be a little more precise.

The first thing I noticed, and the reason I am glad that I never intended this to be my only brush, is that the control is not very sensitive. You have to depress the button nearly all the way just to get any air coming through, and so your only true control is how much paint goes in the mix. I used Badger acrylic paint thinned about 3 to 1 with distilled water.

I had intended this brush to be my "choose your own rattle-can" airbrush, basically a spray-paint replacement where I could mix my own colors, and that's about what I got, but since I bought it on sale for about 12 bucks, and the air hose was maybe another 6 bucks, I think I got a pretty good brush for doing bulk painting. I don't think I would attempt to do any detailing with this.

Is it as good as a $60-100 Paasche or Badger? I seriously doubt it. Does it beat a kick in the pants? Yes. Will it spray paint all right. Sure. I had no problems with glopping or uneven spray, it's just that the adjustment wasn't very fine tuned. As far as I know, replacement parts are not available, so it's basically use it until it breaks.

Now... once I get a hose that will fit it, I have a Badger 155 Anthem that I got for my birthday that I am just dying to use.

I have no affiliation with Harbor Freight, Badger, or anyone else in the industry. I am merely posting this so if anyone just wants a quick and dirty airbrush for a couple easy projects they can get some insight into whether this will meet their needs.


Adam

 

Adam-

Fine for the price. The lack of being able to fine tune the pressure is a big minus, though. The ad says 30 pounds of pressure. That is wayyyyy too high for most detail applications.

 

I would say that it would be good for scenery, or for shooting a coat of a color, but forgot any sort of detail work. If you want a good airbrush, it will cost more than 12.99.

 

I think this brush will eventually become my spray black india ink washes brush or something like that.

 

The max/min pressures given are 30-50 psi. I should try it lower just for laughs. I was running at about 35 psi just because it was at the low end. Maybe I would get better detail by going under 30 psi.

I intend for my Badger 155 to be the main airbrush for things like shooting locos. This one was always going to be for hitting scenery with a wash of color and running basically like a choose-your-own-pigment spray-can replacement.

 

$12.95 isn't going to get you the precision valving you need for very long, if ever. These are very small yet complicated valves, and I suspect they are machined from titanium on the higher priced brushes. The tolerances and durability just aren't there at $12.95.

These brushes typically have ball-and-socket valves that are perhaps 1/8" in diameter or smaller. Steel just won't stand up. They are like camera heads for tripods, which are about 1" in diameter. I can't count how many cheap heads I broke before I went to a high-quality head (about $200, IIRC).

You gets what you pays for.

 

I figured that, and I never entertained the notion that I was somehow scamming the system by getting a real peach for $12.99. I thought it would help me get used to the idea of a dual action, and lo and behold I now have a Badger 155 (which, I have to say, has a much better feel to it right out of the box) for which I only lack a compatible hose, which is currently on order.

I thought I would pass on the lack of sensitivity in controls to this list for anyone considering buying one. I am going to use this one for more of the bulk spraying and use the Badger, assuming it works out for me, for more detailed work.

 

The Badger Anthem Rocks!

 

You probley can get parts at Central Pneumatic. I have one of there duel action air brushes that came with a compresser, air brush kit, from Harbor freight, and it seems to work fine. I spray the paint right out of the bottle, at 30psi, no thinner. Bruce

 

Oh, good! It was not a model I was considering, but then I got one in the mail for my birthday and thought, well, this one looks nice.

I am still awaiting an air hose for it so I haven't tried it out, yet. The threads for the Harbor Freight one don't match up precisely. I get the impression that I could probably jam it on, but I would prefer to not screw up the threads.

It will be interesting to compare the two. The Anthem is about 5 or 6 times the cost of the HF one. Is it a lot better? If it is even a little bit more sensitive than the HF one I think it will be worthwhile.

Adam

 

Here is the bottom line. If the results you get with the cheap one are not what you were expecting, it was either you or the brush. If and when you decide it was the brush, go for a better one and see, once more, if it is you or the brush.

If you get past the Badger 150 or the Aztec whatever, and whether you believe it or not, it is you.