airbrush problem

I'm not at all familiar with the Aztek airbrushes, and am very green at using any airbrushes, but three things come to mind that you can check:

1) Did you clean your brush THOROUGHLY the last time you used it? If not you may have left paint in the nozzle that has now dried and is blocking the airflow.

2) Your paint should be about the consistency of milk. If it is any thicker than that you probably need to thin it out some. You didn't say whether you were using MM acrylic or enamel. I usually use Tamiya acrylic, but have used MM acrylic once and did need to thin it some.

3) Your propellant can may be getting low on pressure. If you painted another model with that can it may be about done. They don't last forever.

If the paint is too thick, the air pressure too low, or the nozzle clogged you won't get anything but a hiss. Check your owners manual for the proper procedure to thoroughly clean your airbrush, and make sure your paint isn't too thick. If those don't work you might try a new can of propellant.

I used to get very good results from my aztek, the keys to success with this brush is to carefully take apart and clean the nozzle and thin your paints to the consistency of milk like musiccity said. If clean and paints properly thinned you should be able to spray fairly well down to 7-8 psi with that brush. I'd advise you to invest in a compressor. Propellant cans costs will add up fast.

I am using MM enamel paints. I did change the propellant can after the first model because the can that came with the airbrush was quite small. When I put the new can on the airbrush worked for about 10 seconds that started spraying nothing but propellant again. The sheet that came with the airbrush suggests using the Aztek 9315 Airbrush Cleaning Station which I don't have. So I sprayed straight thinner through the airbrush till it came out clear. It also says to "infrequently" use the nozzle wrench tool to clean out the nozzle housing and the ports on the side of the airbrush so I tried that as well. I have a feeling that the nozzle may be plugged with paint. I don't know if I can spray thinner through it again to clean it since it may already be clogged! At first I didn't have the nozzle in the brush tight enough, the paint was too thick (I think) then my original propellant can ran too low to work! Now the nozzle might be clogged. I find this all very frustrating to fix one problem then have something else come up but I guess it's a learning process. Anyway thanks for your reply!

I used to take apart the nozzles every time i used that brush. Otherwise it wasn't reliable for me. Enamel paint seemed to get stuck somewhere and make life difficult.

I did that too with mine. Really it was quite a bit harder and more time consuming to clean than my Iwata is, especially when you consider having to disassemble the tip.

It sounds you are going to have to physically break down that brush, if you can, I don't know Aztek ABs, and clean out a clog. The clog is probably at the very tip of the nozzle. Solutions won't dissovlve the clog (clot!?) since the paint has already set up and hardened. If you can find a very, very fine wire you might be able to break up the clog. Can you buy a new nozzle and try again to get the AB to work?

I could order a new nozzle. First I'm going to give it one more try noe that I did everything I could as far as cleaning the old one. Are all nozzles as touchy as the Azteks? I did spray thinner through it when I was done and used the wrench tool on it.

Nozzles are like small funnels to pour liquid. Your nozzle, as a guess, is a small 'funnel' with a 'rock' stuck in it. Solvent or solutions wouldn't wash a rock though a funnel. You have to pulverized the rock and get it out of the nose of the funnel. You'll have to probe and clean that nozzle. And take your time doing it. A little WD-40, solvent oil, might soften that 'rock' in your nozzle.

QUOTE: Originally posted by maddafinga I did that too with mine. Really it was quite a bit harder and more time consuming to clean than my Iwata is, especially when you consider having to disassemble the tip.

Yeah, Iwata rules! Almost too easy to clean.

QUOTE: Originally posted by plum1030 QUOTE: Originally posted by maddafinga I did that too with mine. Really it was quite a bit harder and more time consuming to clean than my Iwata is, especially when you consider having to disassemble the tip. Yeah, Iwata rules! Almost too easy to clean.

It takes me all of 20 seconds to disassemble, clean and reassemble my Aztek nozzle. Doesn't seem difficult or time consuming to me.

QUOTE: Originally posted by thevinman QUOTE: Originally posted by plum1030 QUOTE: Originally posted by maddafinga I did that too with mine. Really it was quite a bit harder and more time consuming to clean than my Iwata is, especially when you consider having to disassemble the tip. Yeah, Iwata rules! Almost too easy to clean. It takes me all of 20 seconds to disassemble, clean and reassemble my Aztek nozzle. Doesn't seem difficult or time consuming to me.

I found that fussing with that teeny needle and spring took longer than that. My aztek got plugged up if I wasn't very thorough in my cleaning. I would say that it took me a minute and a half to 2 minutes to clean my aztek. I had to clean inside the nozzle receptacle too. Though the Aztek was much easier than my pasche H, VL and badger 350.

From experience, I'm guessing that your nozzle is clogged, as the general consensus seems to be.

Are you planning on ocntinuing to use propellant cans? Do they last long? I'm thinking they may not - so here is a suggestion I'm sure has been made before. You can get a 5 lb bottle of CO2. The cost is only about $40 or so, and mine lasted me a year. And it's nice and quiet too.

Just a thought, the main thing is have fun with the hobby.

I used an A470 for the last year. My guess is the needle is stuck in the nozzle.

While Aztec does not recommend pulling the needle out of the nozzle – it voids the warranty – it’s about your only choice. There’s a spring inside the nozzle that accumulates paint, especially fast drying paint, and no amount of flushing or soaking with thinner will clear it.

My recommendation is to pull the needle out of the nozzle. Clean the spring and the needle and reassemble. Also, make sure the needle housing and the inside of the nozzle are clean.

Plugged nozzles and poor to nonexistent double action operation (even after a warranty replacement) finally forced me to buy an Omni 6000, with the Aztec paint cup adaptor.

Solved both problems……

Hope this helps.

Good luck.