Airbrush for $20 *REVIEW*

brandomack · Post by **brandomack** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 12:39 pm

So I ordered the VETA 130A Double Action Airbrush from ebay,

http://shop.ebay.ca/alicegottogo/m.html ... ksid=p3686

I paid .99 cents for the brush and $19.96 for Shipping.

the Airbrush arrived in 2 weeks, and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the construction, with a decent weight and smooth action.

It came with a quick disconnect for the hose, so I removed it and purchased a 3 meter 1/4" - 1/8" Hose.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/3M-air-line-hose-air ... 3f06edfdd8

I do have to say that the nozzle is delicate and must be treated as so
(Do NOT Overtighten) otherwise the threads will snap off in the main body.

Overall, I give this unit a 4 out of 5.

eeun · Post by **eeun** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 5:42 pm

Thanks for the review. I bought the same brush, same price, same seller, last week. Still waiting for it to arrive.
Good to know the gamble might pay off with a halfway-decent airbrush.

Will definitely note the fragile nozzle.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 8:12 pm

The truth will be in the long run.

How easily is stays clean, accuracy of pattern, strength of materials, etc.

Mind you, for $20 you could damned near buy a new one every time it breaks.

USS Atlantis · Post by **USS Atlantis** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 8:18 pm

There is that

The replacement air-valve for my 20 year old Badger 200 is costing me $16 with shipping (details of why on my blog) - and that's just a single-action unit

So $20 for a dual-action might not be a bad thing

Again, depending on spray- control, fineness of lines, ease of cleanup and durability

brandomack · Post by **brandomack** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 8:33 pm

Cleanup is not difficult, I would recommend immersing the tip in water or thinner when it's not going to be immediately used to keep things from clogging up.

Nice clean operation, paint flowed smoothly, it feels like a $200 brush.
I used to have a badger professional 150, and I like this unit better.

I would recommend buying 2 or three for multiple colours, just so you're not wasting time cleaning, then run through with water or thinner to keep things from clogging over time.

but definately watch out for that delicate nozzle, and you should stay out of trouble.

Joseph Osborn · Post by **Joseph Osborn** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:14 am

I have one of these that I bought a few years ago off eBay for about $20. It works very well for what it is, i.e., a cheap knock-off airbrush. It's not as refined as my Eclipse, but it's darn good for $20 and better than a Badger 150 for sure. All it really needs is a little polishing on the needle and some lube. I haven't broken anything on it yet, and when I do I'll probably just put it away in a drawer. I don't see the point in trying to buy replacement parts for this kind of tool. These same brushes used to be sold by BearAir under the name "Expendables" for twice the eBay price.

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 8:20 pm

Aren't these the airbrushes that bear more than a passing resemblance and parts commonality to Iwata's?

Ken

Paulbo · Post by **Paulbo** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 8:53 pm

USS Atlantis wrote:...The replacement air-valve for my 20 year old Badger 200 is costing me $16 with shipping...

Last year I sent my 30 year old Badger 200 in for service and a couple of weeks later I got it back with a new needle, new air connector, new o-ring seal, new trigger, (probably new valve as well) ...

My cost - less than $3 to ship it to Badger. I'm a Badger guy for life, now.

(That said, I do have one of the $20 dual action jobs from Harbor Freight. Pretty much the same as the Ebay model - it works pretty good, but haven't played with it that much.)

eeun · Post by **eeun** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 5:59 pm

Got mine yesterday. It arrived in a surprisingly nice faux-leather box with magnetic clasp. Cheap, but better than the loose-in-packing-peanuts that I was expecting.

Biggest challenge was neither my Badger nor Paasche connectors would fit it. Fortunately I had a hose scavenged from some ancient compressor at a previous job that fit.

I first just sprayed some isopropyl alcohol, just to verify it sprayed at all before loading it with paint. Alcohol ran all over my hand. The nozzles weren't tight. Carefully tightened them up, and I can now see brandomack's warning about overtightening...the threads are very fine, and on the inner nozzle, it looks like there's only about two threads to hold everything on. Very easy to strip, yet needs to be tight enough to prevent leaks.

Just a light finger tighten was all it needed, and no more leaks. Loaded up some Tamiya.

It's pretty good. Definitely designed for details, not large swaths of spray. Got down to a hairline, which would have been better looking if I'd thinned my paint more. I'd say it's better than my Paasche H, and probably better at a fine line than my Crescendo 175.

Cleaning is a bugger, but not much worse than my Crescendo, and I expect that's no different than any other 'brush with a built-in gravity feed.

Haven't checked the seals yet to see whether they're rubber or some slightly more lacquer-friendly material.

I like that idea of getting another for spare.

Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Airbrush for $20 REVIEW

Airbrush for $20 REVIEW