Airbrushes - Inexpensive and High Quality? Yes!

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

After some 40-odd years, my Binks Wren B brush was showing signs, a few months ago, of heading for that great Paint Shop in the sky. I looked around at the usual suspects (Paasche, Badger, etc.) and realized that a good airbrush was going to be really tough to find at a reasonable (read “low”) price. In desperation I turned to the infamous auction site (eBay).

Lo and behold, I came upon a company called Airbrush City. They actually manufacture the airbrushes and compressors they sell. Their GD102 dual-action gravity-feed airbrush was selling for less than $40, with hose. Great feedback, and no negatives. I took a big chance and bid on it, and won the item.

To make a long story somewhat shorter, I received the airbrush promptly, and immediately tried it out. Wow! Smooth, easy to operate (and I’d never used a dual-action brush before), great paint job. Also easy to clean (much to my surprise - I’d heard dual-action brushes could be a bear to clean).

Hog Heaven. But, I still wanted a single-action brush for area coverage. So, a week or so ago, I went back to the computer and started looking around again. Found their Model 1404-BA kit (with extra braided hose) and got it for $17.99. I received it several days ago, and just got through trying it out. Su-u-Weet! A great, lightweight single-action brush, and my old Binks paint jars will fit it! Good coverage, even on very low pressure (around 10psi).

In summary, I highly recommend Airbrush City to all modelers, especially those (like me) on a budget. They have great products, and low prices.

And no, I have nothing to do with the company, except as a very satisfied customer!

2

I just happen to be in the market for an affordable airbrush, thanks I will give it a try.

3

I use one for my weathering. I think its great!!! Very easy to clean and opperate. Good price to!!!

4

That’s good to know. I’ve looked at their site before. I’ve been thinking about trying one of these.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95810

Probably be good enough for weathering. Can get 3 tip sizes for it. I see them put it on sale for $15 once in a while.

5

Hey, Loathar - might be a decent one. I’d be a little leery of the open-work at the back - looks a bit fragile - but then, my shop is a bit hazardous to fragile things… [[sigh]

6

[:-^]

To HUBBARDS98, Yes their products look great and I would like to try them BUT…

They do not ship to Canada, and actually get quite chippy about it when you try to discuss it with them. It is really too bad as I know a number of people here that would like to deal with them. NO SUCH LUCK.

Johnboy out…

7

That’s a real shame, because shipping to Canada isn’t expensive or difficult (the USPS will even give you free boxes to use). You have to fill out a customs form but that takes five minutes. Shipping to Canada only costs a couple of dollars more than equivalent shipping within the States.

Given the value of the dollar now, it’s bad business not to ship to Canada.

8

I did a quick search on eBay after typing in Airbrush City and found a link to their auction. This section was in the shipping info area. Who did you deal with?

Canada - Please use shipping calculator
Click here for terms on Canada Shipping

$4.00 Packaging/Handling fee is automatically added to the shipping cost in the eBay shipping calculator for this item, and is included in the price the shipping calculator displays.

May take 1-3 weeks to receive item depending on your location, do to customs clearance

9

Another alternative, if you live near the border, is an American business who will receive parcels for Canadians. Winnipeg is only an hour’s drive from the border and there’s a business in Pembina, ND, (within sight of the border) which will receive parcels and hold them for you to come and pick them up. I found out about it from a flyer in a nearby truck stop, and one of the local TV stations did a feature on them. If you live near enough to the border to make this viable, you might want to ask around and see if there’s such a service south of the border near you. It would get you around those dealers who don’t like to ship outside the continental US and would save you on shipping (but cost you on gas). Just a thought.

10

Just to add some fuel to the fire, Badger has an awesome garage sale on airbrushes (just the brush, no hose or colour cups). I grouped together an order with six friends as the shipping Badger was charging was quite high. I had my misgivings about the order as they only shipped UPS. I went ahead knowing full well I was gambling after I asked if they would ship USPS and they replied no.

WELL, UPS charged me another $83 at my door for the nine brushes. Of that $30 was sales tax, $53 was their ‘handling fee’. I paid it. Even after that, my 150 only cost me $43 Cdn. So even if you are in Canada, find some buddies to pick up some cheap airbrushes.

11

I got this one…it BITES!!! Don’t buy…clogs VERY easy, hard to clean and VERY tempermental… Looking for a new one now…

Brian

12

So is this one (from Airbrush City) one that’d be decent to learn how to paint with?

13

What paints do you use and how was the cleaning process?

14

Good to know, gmcrail. I’m picking up an airbrush compressor tomorrow to go with an old Badger I haven’t used in years. If the Badger’s finally bought it, I’ll know where to look for a replacement.