weird flow problem

It's not vague at all. Thanks for the "tip" tip.

I heard they changed the lifetime waranty to 3 years on all models a year or so ago. Its only three years now if I remember correctly.

I had a problems like that as well with my old A470 and found that it was normally the tips that were the problem. Disassembling the tip and giving it a good cleaning, or replacing the tip, solved the problem. If that doen't work like the last time I had a problem with mine then it might be dried paint that is inside the body. When this happend to me I ditched the brush and brought an Iwata and haven't looked back. I had voided the warantly on mine by trying to fix the problem my self. Oh well.

Taking the tip apart is easy. Just pull the sleeve around the needle out of the tip cover. The needle can be carely taken out of the sleeve and cleaned as with the spring. You can then clean the inside of the outer layer or let the parts soak for a while in some thinner or windex sine you are using acrylics. But the tip back together the same way you took it apart and it should be fine. Just be sure not to bend the needle. Sorry if this sounds kind of vague but its been a while since I have had to do it. Anyway hope this helps.

The 3 year limit that you saw in the magazine ad is interesting.

I have an A430, actually bought about four years ago, which almost the same thing as your A470 but lacking the knurled adjustment knob behing the trigger, and it most definitely has a lifetime guarantee. Even in the wooden storage case, right below the body, there is a sticker to indicate the same.

When I had replaced under warranty last August, the Aztek customer rep confirmed that all Azteks aside for the A270 are covered.

Thanks for all your help so far guys:

Probuilder:
There is no change in the pitch/sound of the compressor--it's the same as it's always been. There is no tank, as it is the Testors mini-blue model that came with the airbrush starter kit I already mentioned.

Bruce:
No apparant problems exist with the cap or hose.

ABARNE:
Air comes both from the independant compressor and from the end of the hose. It also comes from the airbrush body as well. Your protocol therefore agrees with my own guess: something's wrong with the needle/nozzle assembly. I'm NOT aware that Testors has a lifetime guarantee on the body, however--according to their ad in the inside cover of 'Scale Aviation Modeller International', the body's guarantee is only for three years. Did I miss something?

Are you sure that your airbrush body is working correctly? I had a an A430 that displayed similar symptoms to what you are describing. Ultimately, I took up Testor's on their lifetime warranty of the airbrush body.

For some troubleshooting steps:

Take the AB off the hose and see if air comes out w/o the AB attached.

If the compressor seems like it is the problem, get a small can of propel, and see if the AB will work correctly. If it works when powered by a can of Propel, but not when powered by the compressor, you need to fix or replace the new compressor.

If the compressor seems OK w/o the AB, put the AB back on but remove the tip, and see if air goes through the body and that the trigger is working.

If the AB body without the tip seems OK, but with the tip continues to malfunction, then your tip needs a better cleaning or replacement. I seem to remember some threads here from a while back that dealt with Aztek tip disassembly that may be of interest in this case.

On the other hand, if the compressor is OK but air just will not pass through the body, you'll need to make use of Testor's lifetime guarantee.

I recently picked up a Paasche VL and had a problem with the elbow in the feed tube cap. There is evidently a remnant of the metal they punched out that is in the way (or it's something like that). I switched to a different cap (one of my old Badger ones) and my flow improved greatly.

HTH

Is there any sound or pitch change in the compressor?? Does it have a tank??