Opinions of Aztek Airbrushes

Scott, that's a loaded question! You say you already have bought the Aztek. Aren't you asking this question in the wrong order? Having buyer's regret?

I've never used an Aztek and everything I know about them is based on stories I've read. There are some who swear by them and some who swear at them, and there are enough of the latter that I can't bring myself to recommend them. OTOH, Brett Green of Testor's Model Workshop uses one to great effect. He's certainly better at airbrushing than I am! The link I posted above even has a workshop specifically on the Aztek airbrush. From the ample evidence available in those videos, the Aztek should be a fine tool. Brett Green makes his living using an Aztek. That's pretty darn serious!

There is a member here who uses a Kenny Roberts quote in his sig line that I have long admired:

A 100% rider on a 70% bike will always defeat a 70% rider on a 100% bike

Practice makes perfect and use over time will bring familiarity and confidence, and that will be far more important than the brand name of the airbrush you use.

The biggest negative I've heard about Aztek is that they can get gunked up inside the body, and opening the body voids the warranty. So you're supposed to send it back to the factory for refurbishing. That put me off of buying an Aztek. I want to be able to break my airbrush down to the individual parts and put it back together myself. And I have to admit a certain amount of confusion for all the different types of nozzles. My Badger has three sizes (fine - inks and very thin paints; medium - most thinned acrylics, lacquers and enamels; & coarse - thicker paints such as textile or craft paints) available to me, but I can do 99% of my airbrush work with the medium nozzle. Changing nozzles brings an additional layer of complexity into the equation, and airbrush is challenging enough as it is!

Arespontus

Hi 

I recently asked on the forum about buying a new airbrush

I have an Aztek A4308 airbrush with all the nozzles

I would just like some feedback about  what you more experienced airbrush users think of Aztek airbrushes and their nozzles and if I want to be a serious modeler am I wasting my time.

Thank you,

Scott

Scott,

I had a Paasche H for years and did not like it. I upgraded to a Aztek 470 after seeing all the Brent Green videos, but decided that I couldn't do what Brent did with the Aztek. I got rid of the Aztec (in a month) and got an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS and had been very happy with it since.

The Iwata came with a 0.35 mm nozzle as standard. It can spray fine lines to fairly wide pattern for a larger model. A single nozzle does 99% of the job very well. If I really want an large area spray for primer or finish coat of a large scale model, I turn to my Badger Patriot 105F. I found the Aztek multiple nozzle inconvenient.

The difference of airbrushes are NOT in needle taper or tip diameter in microns. It is about the handling, control and easy of cleaning. It is about the enjoyment of your hobby. And the quality of construction of an airbrush has a strong influence on how an airbrush works. The final choice is very personal. You will have to try it to know what you like the best.

BTW, I am a weekend modeler, use airbrush enough to know what I like. But my skill is very limited. There are many experienced airbrush users on this forum.

If you'd like some thoughts and info on the Azteks, check out this page.

Don

my 2 cents worth...

I started out with aztek's..  was pretty much convinced I couldn't airbrush worth a darn....

Then I went badger and my outlook totally changed....  

I have 3 badgers...   no aztek's..   nuff said..

Thanks everyone for your input

Right now I'm looking at either the 

Badger 105 Patriot or

Iwata HP-BCS Eclipse

I am wondering though, Can you tell me if there is a Badger or Iwata that has both a gravity cup and is able to hold a siphon jar. I have a bunch of siphon jars and I would hate waste them.

The Badger 150 has siphon jar capability but no gravity cup

Scott

I started with a Paasche H. Liked it when it was new, but it was hard to readjust after taking it apart to clean.

Bought an Aztek and liked it ok, but that's only because I didn't know what I was missing. The biggest problem, besides it being plastic and not substantial, is that the needle spring is in the paint path and it gets all gunked up and has to be strip cleaned between colors, which means removing the tip, taking it apart and trying to keep track of the little parts.

I bought a Badger 105 for 40% off which is a regular discount they offer. Realized the Testors was basically crap. IThe Badger 105's a great basic brush, plenty up to/ above my skills, and they have great customer service in my experience.

I think they are a gimmick personally.

howdy..

I have the badger 360 which does both the gravity and siphon feed..  I found myself using gravity feed most of the time because it is to me better than the siphon feed, and my one problem with it was because of the siphon feed ability it had a very small paint cup...

go with the 105,  you will not regret it...  it is the same as the 155 siphon feed and the 360 but with a larger gravity feed cup....

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the Aztek.  We all know the Chuck Yeager saying of how it's the man, not the machine.  Same holds true here.  I had an Iwata and it was fine.  I wanted a second airbrush in my arsenal so I got the Aztek A470 and it's been great.  There was one time about four years ago where I had a problem with it.  I'd pull the trigger back and I heard a crack.  Something on the inside had broken.  I sent it off to Testors and just a handful of days later, I got a brand new one back in the mail.  It was just that simple and effortless.  And my Aztek has been soldiering on faithfully ever since.

While my Iwata did a good job, it just didn't have the flexibility that the Aztek offers me.  The gravity feed cup on my Aztek was never big enough for larger models.  I'd always have to stop and pour in more paint every so often.  I know this sounds trivial but sometimes when I'm holding onto a model, the last thing I want to do is put the thing down, refill the cup and hope not to spill or drip, then pick the model up again and have to do this two, three or four times during a bigger painting session.  With the Aztek, I can decide how big of a cup I wish to use.

The Aztek nozzles are extremely easy to take apart and clean.  Yes they have those springs in their needle assembly.  I fill a small baby food jar with a dash of thinner, drop the needle in there, swirl it around for a couple of seconds and then I'm done.  It's no more difficult than those who completely disassemble their other airbrushes to clean them out.

Eric

Yeah, but Chuck was talking about aircraft, and lets face it, flying anything is better than never flying! Chuck would have tried to fly a wheelbarrow with wings, and he would have come out grinning.

Though I echoed a similar statement in my post by invoking Kenny Robert's saying. Mind you, I think the Aztek is a 70% machine!

Arespontus

I am wondering though, Can you tell me if there is a Badger or Iwata that has both a gravity cup and is able to hold a siphon jar. I have a bunch of siphon jars and I would hate waste them.

Just use the jars to hold paint instead. Transfer with disposable pipettes or pour straight from them (using a toothpick against the rim to keep spills to a minimum).

I used to be all about siphon feeds, but these days, apart from an old Paasche H that lives in the back of a cabinet, I'm exclusively gravity feed. The jars still get plenty of use.

ok I think I'm going with the Badger 105 Patriot. There is a hobby ship about 35 minutes away and has one for $99.00.

Does anyone know of a better price somewhere online?

Bondoman you mentioned that you get yours for $40% off. May I ask where you bought it.

Thanks again everyone you have been most helpfull.

Scott

Check your conversations

I used an aztec airbrush for years, and never really had any serious problems with it. So long as you clean it well, which for me was also a breeze. I'd just remove the tip (NOT disassemble) and dunk it into some windex that was in a film roll canister. After a little while, rinse, and that was that.

I have a Peak and a Badger Patriot now. I love them both, but I still rely on the Aztec every once in a while.

Also, the price you speak of there is way overpriced for a Badger Patriot. Just keep a lookout on ebay and a few online retailers. They go on sale often, and can be found foe 30% to 40% less than the number you posted.

Give a Renegade series a try...from Badger. Great brushes, not much more than the patriot, and you can't beat Badger customer service.

Arespontus

ok I think I'm going with the Badger 105 Patriot. There is a hobby ship about 35 minutes away and has one for $99.00.

Does anyone know of a better price somewhere online?

Bondoman you mentioned that you get yours for $40% off. May I ask where you bought it.

Thanks again everyone you have been most helpfull.

Scott

Look at the top of the Swanny's page. Use the 40% discount code at webairbrushes.com.

The Aztek airbrush is alright.  It's not the greatest airbrush out there but it will get you good results.  In fact, I'd say that its a really good beginner airbrush.

Cleaning it is not difficult.  I've never had to disassemble the nozzles to clean them.  Just make sure you clean them as directed by Aztek.

Don't expect magic with an Aztek, though.  It seems like it has a little more difficulty with acrylic paints than it does with lacquer paints.  As people have noted already the needle springs are in the paint flow and it seems like they get gunked up with acrylics fairly quickly.  You have to thin your acrylics properly for it to work well...but it will work.

Also, in my experience, you can't get as fine of lines as you can with something like the Badger 150.  So painting complex camouflage paint jobs is a bit more work with the Aztek.