Are SPARMAX Airbrushes any good?! Sparmax SP-35 Review

This video is a detailed and comprehensive review of the Sparmax SP-35. The .35 nozzle makes this airbrush great for general work. It sprays some very good detail as well. Within this buyer's guide we will be looking at all the pros and cons of the Sparmax SP-35 and how it performs. I'll be covering all the things I'd want to know about an airbrush including the trigger control, the responsiveness, the build quality, and the airspeed. Thanks for watching!
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[@magcolor]

👍👍👍👍👍 Thank you so much for another great review!

[@theartworkshop]

thanks mag!

[@airbrushken5339]

Many airbrushes from years ago added a lock set up so the fan was constant, like Paasche VL's. In Signage and even auto graphics you could pull a constant size line. Considering in the 1970's a Dodge Maxi Van was around 17 feet long, it really helped to lock the fan.... also in mural work. The best part of the SP 35 was the needle/fluid nozzle was 0.35mm, instead of the common 0.3mm, like Iwata and Olympus HP-C which was 0.3 mm. It can now handle any airbrush acrylic with ease and still as you stated shoot some very fine lines. I own dozens of airbrushes ... but I've got 4 SP's ... easy to service and not too pricey. Excellent post and comments.

[@8allan463]

I know a few airbrushes that offers constant air flow, like T&C Bakery Ver., Eton and BB Rich SL-73. I believe that’s either for ancient compressor which doesn’t stop at all so needs constant air flow to prevent explosion (well at least it’s what I was told😅) or for special purpose like bakery.

[@herveperottino9084]

Et oui sparmax fait partie maintenant de l'enseigne iwata qui a racheté cette marque.

[@markwakeley3835]

Thanks for a very nice review. I've seen the Sparmax airbrushes before but never looked into them. I might now. Have you seen or used the Gaahleri Airbrushes? They also look interesting and are very budget friendly. They have a duel action, gravity fed trigger airbrush I'd like to try. Have you ever used a trigger style airbrush? I would love to hear your thoughts on them. Thanks Mark.

[@theartworkshop]

thanks Mark! Yes, I bought a few of their airbrushes. I found the .2 mobius that I purchased to spray extremely well. A lot of people seem to not like them though. Apparent quality control issues that I've read about. My airbrush was fine though. I guess we'll wait and see how they turn out in the long run.

[@landwand]

@@theartworkshop Would you consider making a review of this airbrush? I trust your judgment.

[@csurumi]

Could you let me know what the needle diameter of SP-35 ? Is it 1.2mm or 1.4mm?

[@vuk8985]

He said it was 0.35

[@-Gahala-]

Hi! I'm just curious if the head system of the iwata micron takumi, micron, and creos pS771 are the same? Hope you could see my comment. 🙏🏼

[@AtelierArcasoy]

Hi, I have an experience for the head systems of PS-771 and Iwata micron series 0.18 mm. Yes they are same in principle, I took the micron head to PS-771 and it was working very nicely. But normally you should use the own parts for every single brush. Personally I am using own spares of them…☺️

[@-Gahala-]

@@AtelierArcasoy Great! Thank you for your response! 🙌

[@theartworkshop]

They are very similar, but they are different in a few ways. I haven't tried swapping them between the 2 models. All I know is that the ps-771 is an incredible airbrush. Very impressive for the price point

[@pariahzero]

A thought for the "single action valve": for folks who get pain/cramps from pressing the valve down all the time? In summer months in the past few years, I've had joint problems where my finger joints swell, stiffen, and hurt whenever I have to apply the constant pressure to anything - like the trigger. Arthritis? Dunno, but I'm not liking this getting old trip.

[@theartworkshop]

Great point! I think you may be right about this. I like it because you get it free with the airbrush, so the option is there if anyone needs. I hope you feel better when working!

[@AtelierArcasoy]

Great review Mark…Some years ago , SP-20 was my favorite…They have great affordable brushes…

[@theartworkshop]

Thanks Mehmet! I really like this airbrush, so I bet the sp-20 is just as good. Can't beat the price on these.

[@robpowell8633]

Great review. Sparmax seem to get overlooked being ' budget'. I've got three in my collection and I'm always impressed by the finish and build quality ( all 3 have a near mirror finish in the cups), let alone how they spray. I can't see why they include they single action feature either. A bit like taking the power steering off your car.

[@theartworkshop]

haha, thats a good comparison. My guess is that maybe the single action feature is for makeup or the beauty industry, since they seem to market some of their airbrushes for that. Who knows though. I think it's an awesome airbrush. Really love working with it. I'll have to pick up a few of their other models in the future.

[@HerrOrdf]

The single action valve is intended for use with simple compressors that lack automatic stop/start, as they don’t like having the airflow blocked.

[@theartworkshop]

that makes sense. Thanks!

[@ScottAirbrushwork]

I like sparmax, they're really reasonably priced, I use a max3 regularly in my toolset. The hp 20x is also nice for detail work. I just find that they don't last as long as an Iwata.

[@theartworkshop]

well said! thanks for this

[@davidefranzin6047]

Grazie per la guida Complimenti!!! Quando avrà tempo potrebbe guardare questo... Gaahleri Kit aerografo, pistola aerografo a doppia azione, con grilletto Grazie e complimenti ancora

[@theartworkshop]

thanks!

[@deanbrown7643]

Thanks for the review Mark and for that price there are bound to be flaws on build quality but ideal brush for newbies 😊😊

[@theartworkshop]

Thanks Dean. I agree with you on that!! Have a great weekend

[@Cyril-eu4gf]

Good review Mark if their brushes are as good as their compressor I might well get one. Love that portrait too.

[@theartworkshop]

Thanks Cyril. We'll be starting the portrait next week!

[@herveperottino9084]

le Sp 20 aussi et fantastique.

[@jonmurphy9424]

The conclusion I draw is that there’s so many great options for airbrushes out there

[@theartworkshop]

That's my conclusion as well. I have so many airbrushes from very cheap to very expensive and most of them are fantastic painting tools. Many great options out there!

[@robknight87]

The only Sparmax item I have is an inline moisture trap with a mac valve. ... But *it is* the nicest quality one of those that I've ever seen. I would hope the airbrushes are just as nicely made. The single action valve is a little odd. But wouldnt really change the usage of the brush. you're still getting the needle control that it has in dual action, and when using dual action.... most of the time I'm painting im spraying air the whole time and only stop to put the brush down. I dont really understand why they would include that in the kit or who its for vs the regular valve. The low airspeed would be super useful for detail work on any hard non absorbent surfaces, makes it more capable of spraying fine micro details over a brush that has a high airspeed that will push out spidering more easily.

[@theartworkshop]

That blue one right? My iwata moisture trap recent cracked around the threads so I need to replace it. Thanks for the info! I'll order the sparmax one instead.

[@robknight87]

@@theartworkshop yeah thats the one, they do it with and without the mac valve on. I got it because of the mac valve to use on one of those mini cordless battery airbrush compressors with my h&s evolution. But instantly noticed it feeling a lot better quality than my old one (which didnt have a mac valve), just some generic no brand silver one that worked fine besides no valve that i wanted. Cant say I've had an iwata one though. Although a little trivia ; iwata own sparmax. since 2018. Could be why theyre quite good products.

[@InkTongue]

I thought Iwata's neo range was made in Taiwan too.

[@theartworkshop]

that is correct!

[@louisliguore7199]

Thanks for another great review!

[@theartworkshop]

thanks Louis!

[@mitya_ka]

If you measure the exit orifice of a Micron nozzle, you will find that it is not 0.18 mm, but about 0.35 mm. The whole trick of Micron's fine work lies in other characteristics as well

[@theartworkshop]

Yes, the micron head system has some magic to it. The engineering of that design is incredible. Only other model that comes close is the ps771

[@mitya_ka]

@@theartworkshop I think this magic is called aerodynamics. Actually the micron heads were developed by engineers at Olympos. This company is the progenitor of modern Iwata airbrushes. Actually the CM and 771 micron heads work better for me and at lower pressures and are an improvement on the Olympos MP heads.

[@theartworkshop]

@@mitya_ka Yes, the magic is fluid dynamics and brilliant engineering. That is correct. The design originates from olympos airbrushes.

[@mitya_ka]

@@theartworkshop I also have a custom micron head I built from RichPen parts. And it works as well as I could ever dream of. It also runs at a particularly low pressure, lower than the CM and 771🙂

[@theartworkshop]

@@mitya_ka that sounds like a dream setup! micron and richpen!? I'm all for that. I love an airbrush that performs well at low pressure. It's so very cool that it's a custom made model as well. I would treasure that airbrush.

[@Dominator150395]

Oh hey, that's the airbrush that I've been using for the past year. Time to finally find out if it's any good, lol Jokes aside, this is my first and so far only airbrush, so I don't really have a reference for what makes a good airbrush. All I know is that it's been doing a pretty good job painting my model kits (or, rather, that any problems were due to user error).

[@theartworkshop]

haha my opinion doesn't mean much, but I really liked this model. I think it's a fantastic airbrush and I'll be using it a lot. I'm surprised these aren't more popular. They should be!