Spares for Chinese airbrushes?

[melmerby]

Hi all

Some years ago I bought an AS180 compressor which came with a couple of airbrushes.

Today banana fingers (me) managed to break the nozzle in one of them whilst refitting it after cleaning.

The results have been OK.

Are spares available for these cheapo airbrushes?

Or should I just bin it and start using he Iwata Neo I bought at the same time?

 

[ROSSPOP]

The only cheapo airbrush manufacturer that you can get spares are the Fengda products.

I`ve just purchased a Fengda  FE-186K for under £25 and spares are available from Fengda.co.uk.

 

I bought it for a specific purpose ( they are cheapo copies of Iwata products) as I wanted a gravity fed airbrush to experiment with for weathering projects.

 

Interestingly it works exceptionally well (as the UK based reviews led me to believe on Youtube) and the quality ( smoothness) of it`s needle is better than my Badger Anthem which is about the same quality as your Neo.

 

Cheers

John

[melmerby]

I did actually find a few stockists of spares for generic airbrushes such as this one:

https://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/airbrush-spares/

 

They have 0.3mm & 0.5mm nozzles, unfortunately I don't know what mine is or how they are measured.☹️

[57xx]

I believe it is the hole size in the nozzle. You could you just buy a new nozzle and matching needle?

[dpgibbons]

AliExpress is by far the best source for cheapo China parts. You may well find your airbrush under several other brand names.

[Siberian Snooper]

Hi, does anyone have the destructions for these airbrushes.

 

 

 

Neither of them work, I think they have been dismantled for cleaning and incorrectly reassembled, they are part of my late mate's estate.

 

Many Thanks.

 

[RedgateModels]

26 minutes ago, Siberian Snooper said:

Hi, does anyone have the destructions for these airbrushes.

 

 

Is this any help?

 

looks like on the second one you need to get part 11 back in. I know from experience it's a damn fiddly job. I am super careful now when removing the needle to make sure nothing else moves and get the needle back in asap!

Edited May 16, 2023 by RedgateModels

[ROSSPOP]

This is very similar .......

 

 

[melmerby]

3 hours ago, RedgateModels said:

 

Is this any help?

 

looks like on the second one you need to get part 11 back in. I know from experience it's a damn fiddly job. I am super careful now when removing the needle to make sure nothing else moves and get the needle back in asap!

I've got one of those and still have the instructions. That's the bottom feed one, on which mine claims to have a 0.35mm nozzle

 

Unfortunately it's the other one which is a side feed which I have broken the nozzle on.

The metal paint container screws onto the RH side about 3cm back from the nozzle end.

[melmerby]

This is the one with the broken nozzle:

 

 

 

 

[Siberian Snooper]

4 hours ago, RedgateModels said:

 

Is this any help?

 

looks like on the second one you need to get part 11 back in. I know from experience it's a damn fiddly job. I am super careful now when removing the needle to make sure nothing else moves and get the needle back in asap!

 

It looks somewhat similar, despite it being a bottom feed, rather than a side cup, gravity feed.

 

Thanks,  I will investigate further.

 

[Siberian Snooper]

40 minutes ago, melmerby said:

This is the one with the broken nozzle:

 

 

 

 

 

Do you have the instructions for that, it looks very similar to the 2nd one, above.

 

If you can identify your airbrush, Everything Airbrush, may be able to help you with spares. I will measure the needles and if I can the nozzle size.

 

Cheers

[melmerby]

18 minutes ago, Siberian Snooper said:

 

 

 

If you can identify your airbrush, Everything Airbrush, may be able to help you with spares. I will measure the needles and if I can the nozzle size.

 

Cheers

No, I can't find the instructions for that one.

It came with the one like Redgate Models uploaded, as a package with the compressor, some years ago.

 

Anyone have any info on typical nozzle sizes for particular jobs?

[longchap]

Very fine needle / nozzle sets of say 0.15mm are used for really fine art work and graphic artists. For railway modelling a 0,35mm set up will answer for most applications in 4mm scale. My Iwata side fed Eclipse has a 0.35mm set and is very good for close work, weathering and also livery colour application, so does everything I need.

 

 

 

 

[Siberian Snooper]

1 hour ago, longchap said:

Very fine needle / nozzle sets of say 0.15mm are used for really fine art work and graphic artists. For railway modelling a 0,35mm set up will answer for most applications in 4mm scale. My Iwata side fed Eclipse has a 0.35mm set and is very good for close work, weathering and also livery colour application, so does everything I need.

 

 

 

 

 

Does that airbrush have a lid for the cup? Please.

 

 

[longchap]

It can do, depending on what size cup you use. For weathering, the small 2ml cup has no lid, but the larger 9ml one does. This side cup model is called the SBS and is what my air brushing teacher, Mick Bonwick, used. Some retailers will still have some, but Iwata recently replaced it with the Takuma. This is still side fed, but also a true gravity feed and a tad more expensive. The trigger is also much more comfortable, so I've fitted one to my old brush.

 

If you like the price point of the old HP CS Eclipse, they stll do the very popular centre gravity cup version (with lid), which is available everywhere. Neal of this parish uses one @Neal Ball and seems satisfied with it.

 

Horses for courses, but I believe a well chossen quality airbrush, well maintained, will last a lifetime.

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by longchap

[melmerby]

Is the needle shaft the same on all or does it vary?

[Barclay]

8 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said:

Hi, does anyone have the destructions for these airbrushes.

 

 

 

Neither of them work, I think they have been dismantled for cleaning and incorrectly reassembled, they are part of my late mate's estate.

 

Many Thanks.

 

The one in your second photo looks exactly the same as mine, which came as part of an Expo tools set together with a compressor, reference AB602. Rather less usefully I don't have the instructions either! On at least one occasion whilst removing the needle for cleaning I too have dislodged that little part with the hole in. It goes down inside behind the trigger and the needle passes through it, but it took some head scratching to work that out... I will dig it out and see if I can get a pic of where it goes.

[Siberian Snooper]

19 minutes ago, Barclay said:

The one in your second photo looks exactly the same as mine, which came as part of an Expo tools set together with a compressor, reference AB602. Rather less usefully I don't have the instructions either! On at least one occasion whilst removing the needle for cleaning I too have dislodged that little part with the hole in. It goes down inside behind the trigger and the needle passes through it, but it took some head scratching to work that out... I will dig it out and see if I can get a pic of where it goes.

 

Thanks very much.

 

 

[Siberian Snooper]

30 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Is the needle shaft the same on all or does it vary?

 

Having just watched the video link above, each nozzle has its own needle.

 

 

[longchap]

35 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Is the needle shaft the same on all or does it vary?

 

Needle sizes can vary between models and also within certain model ranges, so check the specs before you buy.

 

Nozzles will need periodic removal for cleaning, although not every time you use the brush. Nozzles are remarkably tiny parts and removal and replacement can be tricky with brushes needing the use of the small spanner, which is why I prefer the Eclipse range, where removal is easy and requires no tools. Harder & Steenbeck also have easy change nozzles.

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by longchap

[longchap]

On 04/05/2023 at 18:56, melmerby said:

Hi all

Some years ago I bought an AS180 compressor which came with a couple of airbrushes.

Today banana fingers (me) managed to break the nozzle in one of them whilst refitting it after cleaning.

The results have been OK.

Are spares available for these cheapo airbrushes?

Or should I just bin it and start using he Iwata Neo I bought at the same time?

 

 

I have the same compressor, which also came with two knock-off airbrushes. The compressor is well specified and is giving sterling service after several years of use and will only be replaced when it gives up the ghost, hopefully not for a lng time.

 

A good choice Keith.

 

If anyone ever finds themselves in my part of the world, they're welcome to have the unused airbrushes that came with the wind machine, as I'll never use them.

 

Bill

[Barclay]

9 minutes ago, Siberian Snooper said:

 

Thanks very much.

 

 

Yes that thingy appears to be the part that connects the trigger with the return spring mechanism. Trouble is it falls out as soon as the needle is removed and is the devil to get back in as I have just found out. Worth doing though as mine was the wrong way round. Unscrew the back end of the 'brush', then withdraw the needle - the front end is very delicate and incredibly sharp. You can then undo the back part that screws into the main body. The trigger also just pulls out once the needle isn't there. Insert the hole-ey thing with tweezers and try to keep it there with your finger while you put back the trigger, then insert the needle back into the rear part and screw this back into the back of the airbrush - only slightly or you will dislodge that annoying thing with the hole in! Push the needle right through until it stops before screwing everything back up tight. You should now have a trigger that has a lightly sprung return action (hopefully!)

 

 

 

[melmerby]

After a bit of trawling I have found my unknown airbrush.

It is a BD-132 with a 0.3mm nozzle.

Fengda have it in their range or you can get it at half the price from ebay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143605593531

Edited May 16, 2023 by melmerby

[Siberian Snooper]

Thanks very much.