Saturday, July 18, 2015

New Air Compressor and Two Dual Action Air Brushes

This morning took a risk and bought a small air compressor that came with two dual action air brushes at ALDI for $99.99.


Here is the product description from the web site:

Product Description
  • Ideal for tattoos, nail art, makeup, artwork and modellers
  • Airflow:20-23L/min
  • With variable pressure gauge
  • Compact and light weight design
Air Brush Kit:
  • 1/6hp compressor
  • Low noise: 47db
  • Speed: 1450/min.
  • Airflow: 20-23L/min.
  • Variable pressure: 3 bar/57psi
  • Standard 1/8" BSP fitting
  • 1.8m braided hose
  • Includes 2 dual action air brushes
  • Oil free pistons
  • Auto start/stop feature
  • Adjustable pressure with gauge (on/off light)
  • Filter and thermal protector

I haven't included the web page address as it will likely disappear shortly.

This air compressor and air brush package became available this morning (Saturday, 18 July 2015) at ALDI stores in NSW, and maybe all stores in Australia.

I have tested them and I am quite happy with both the air compressor and the two dual action air brushes.

The air compressor is very quiet when running and does not pulse the air as it seems to have a small reservoir inside it. It will take the air pressure up to 57 p.s.i. then cut off until the pressure drops to 43.5 p.s.i. then start up again, which is almost straight away once you start to use an air brush. I set the compressor output to 25 p.s.i. and it sprayed well.

The two air brushes are different, one has a bottle attachment and a small cup which are friction fit. I found that the small metal cup was a problem when I tried to spray the sides of some rail as the paint leaked over the top of the cup due to the angle I had to hold the air brush at. The bottle of course would not suffer from this restriction. So the cup will only be useful for spraying with the air brush held horizontal. Also the hole in the metal cup where the paint is drawn into the air brush is not smooth and rough edges can catch small pieces of tissue when cleaning which may go through and block the air brush. I will attempt to use a motor tool with a small stone to smooth this down but I really can't see any real use for this metal cup anyway.

The second air brush has a screw on metal gravity cup that can be set at any angle so that spraying rail is easily done by adjusting the metal cup so that it remains relatively level. The cup has a press fit metal lid with a small hole so even if you do angle the brush too far it won't be too much of a problem.

I have a large compressor with a 50 litre tank but it doesn't easily allow me to move around the layout to spray things such as scenery and track so this little air compressor is just the thing I needed.

If you haven't tried dual action air brushes then this a good opportunity to give them a go without spending very much money.

I have previously bought a dual action air brush from Super Cheap Auto for $48 so this compressor and two dual action air brushes is a very good deal.

Usual disclaimer, no I don't have anything to do with ALDI other than being an occasional customer.

6 comments:

BOLIVIA said...

Hi Ray
From reading the product description.
There must be some ruff old Sheila's out there when they have to put there makeup on with a spray gun !!
Do they have to sand blast themselves first to get adhesion ?

Ray P said...

:-)

Marcus Ammann said...

Hi All. I used my Compressor/Spray Gun as just a Air Gun to dry off some loco parts on the Workbench last night and plenty of water comes out of the Spray Gun, suggesting the Water Trap cannot work with the low temperature high humidity in the Man Cave. I really have to get a Dehumidifier or choose a warmer/low humidity day for using the Compressor. This is probably common knowledge for when spraying models but I'm new at spraying and not up to speed in this department. Regards Marcus

Both Sides Of The Border said...

Hi Ray,

Thanks for the review. I purchased one for myself as I've never owned an air brush before and figured for $99 it would be at least useful to practice with. Judging from your review I will be doing more than that.

I also purchased a hobby tool so I'm hoping it should be good enough to at least cut rails. I have to check see if it will take Dremel bits.

Regards Daryl

Don said...

Thanks for the review Ray. When in Aldi this morning (Canterbury NSW if anyone is hunting them) there was a pile so I too have bought one on the basis of your review. It looks like a goer, so thanks for the heads up!

Don

Sadakaar said...
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