Aztec A370 blows bubbles into paint jar

Just a thought, but for the price you're going to pay for a new Aztek, it may be worthwhile looking into a Badger 155 kit on Ebay.  They can be had for around $40-$50.  If you don't want to go with a used one, Dixie and Bear Air have them for reasonable prices.  You can get jars online pretty cheaply.  Another alternative is a gravity feed brush such as the Badger 100 series which eliminates jars altogether.  With the 155, one tip does it all.  All in all, Badger makes a good brush and the parts for them will be around forever.  I've had my original Badger 200 for 29 years. Again, just a thought.

 

E

bigrig wrote:

My Aztec A370 (bought at Walmart as a kit) has worked great for 5 years, last week I tried to use it and it is blowing bubbles into the paint jar. I have fully disassembled it and cleaned it but can't find any problem. It looks as if there should be an o-ring or seal in the body where the nozzle seats but I can't find one on the cleaning instructions or the parts list. Any ideas?

Are you using a different paint or paint medium? The paint could be too thick or the pressure not properly set....

Might be worth a try, I'll let you know if it works, Thanks.

Steve

Any chance you can at least temporarily seal up a possible crack with some beeswax or something?  Not having an Aztek airbrush, I don't know for sure how they're made, but it might be worth a shot just to see if that's the source of your problem. 

 

 

Thanks for your input guys, but I,ve already cleaned the nozzle very thoroughly, had it completely apart. I even totally disassembled the the airbrush body and found some dried paint inside around the trigger mechanism which I cleaned as well. After reassembly, it still blows bubbles into the paint jar. It does this with the original black nozzle and my brand new orange tip as well. I suspect there is a tiny crack in the surface where the nozzle seats, allowing air to pass thru, it's hard to see because the area is so small and made of shiny black plastic. I e-mailed Testor's and their recommendation was to send it to them for inspection and replacement, a follow-up call to their customer service line didn't net me any more insight, they don't even have a tech line where you can talk to someone familiar with the products. I checked into shipping costs- $25 each way, it was only $70 brand new! Guess I'll buy a new one since I already have all the bottles, tips and cups for them. Thanks again guys.

I've gotten to where I take apart my nozzles after each use. A quick clean up underwater takes care of it.

hkshooter is likely correct- a good nozzle cleaning should do it. If i have one that is clogged, I drop it in lacquer overnight, then pull it apart and clean it the next day. 

Sounds like your nozzle is clogged. The instructions tell you not to take them apart but I found that it was the best way to keep the brush running properly. Take them apart to clean them and store them in lacquer thinner and it should help. The best way to prevent a problem would ofcourse be to replace it with something else.