Anyone used a Aztec A470?

[gainsy]

Hi
I am new to air bushing so a friend has lent me a Aztec A470 airbrush to practice with
I am using Faskolor acrylic paint
So far i have had no luck with it really, paint seems to come out when it feels like it, this stuff say's it's ready to spray so tried that & nothing came out, so watered down a tiny bit, got a little coming out, watered down some more, no change really, watered down loads & nothing came out
It sprays water through the bottle no probs
Took it all apart & soaked it all last night so hopefully i will get better results today
Anyone got any good advice on the brush?
Got no idea what needle size is in it as it doesn't say nothing on it
Have been practising on some spare lexan i had but don't fancy trying my new shell until this thing is working properly
Or should i just send it to Jon for a pro job
Cheers
Gainsy

[julianb]

I used to use one prior to the Iwata.

The nozzles are prone to build up and paint blocking if not kept spotless. If you're careful you can gently tease out the sprung loaded needle to clean them properly. Gently pull on it from the back of the housing, it will give eventually and pop out. Then once it's scrupulously clean press it back in gently.

[gainsy]

Hi Ju
The compressor is a Badger BM250 1.8 bar micon minibox & the tip is a grey colour
Pulled the needle out last night & soaked
Have just tried it again with undiluted paint & it seems to be working much better, not perfect but that is probably me
Will get some more tips next week & keep trying

[pro4nut]

I had one, i have to admit i used it once and that was all i could cope with.

Have a look at these AB brushes at £30 an with replacement needles freely available they are worth a look

http://www.everythingairbrush.com/ac...vity_Feed.html

[julianb]

Originally Posted by gainsy

Hi Ju
The compressor is a Badger BM250 1.8 bar micon minibox & the tip is a grey colour
Pulled the needle out last night & soaked
Have just tried it again with undiluted paint & it seems to be working much better, not perfect but that is probably me
Will get some more tips next week & keep trying

There's your problem I think. 1.8 bar equates to about 26 psi (unless I'm misunderstanding the conversion in google! You need a good 40-70psi

Does anyone else have a better compressor that you can try?

regards

Julian

[gainsy]

Ahhhhh
Did wonder about the pressure
Don't think i can borrow 1, might be able to hire 1 in the week to see if it improves
Seen a few on ebay so might get myself some new kit

[U1timate PigDog]

I don't think the pressure would be the problem if the conversion is correct? or at least not the only problem. (dont get me wrong the compressor is no way ideal but should work)

I spray paint alot lower than that sometimes below 10 psi with no problems (different airbrush tho) I think that you are likely to have a blockage in the nozzle, I personally would try spraying some airbrush cleaner through it and give it a thorough cleaning if that doesn't work then I would try a different compressor if possible (doesn't have to be one designed for airbrushing any good hobby/work compressor would do the trick).

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[julianb]

Originally Posted by U1timate PigDog

I don't think the pressure would be the problem if the conversion is correct? or at least not the only problem. (dont get me wrong the compressor is no way ideal but should work)

I spray paint alot lower than that sometimes below 10 psi with no problems (different airbrush tho) I think that you are likely to have a blockage in the nozzle, I personally would try spraying some airbrush cleaner through it and give it a thorough cleaning if that doesn't work then I would try a different compressor if possible (doesn't have to be one designed for airbrushing any good hobby/work compressor would do the trick).

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Yeah, from experience the Aztec doesn't like low pressures that most double action quality brushes can handle. I had similar problems with one in conjunction with an old Holding compressor that couldn't maintain much more than 30 psi when spraying larger areas continuously. It would just peter out, and clog!

[gainsy]

Hi
Would paint thinners be any good instead of airbrush cleaner? just thinking of what i have to hand, maybe soaking it overnight?

[julianb]

Soaking the parts will help, but ultimately you'll need to carefully remove the needle from it's housing to clean the actual needle and spring. It's amazing how much paint remains, even after copious amounts of clean thinner etc, are blown through the brush.

Give the small tube that the needle fits in a good clean with a pipecleaner or such too.

To save money I use an inexpensive car screen wash to clean the brush out - it's less harmful to the plastic parts and any rubber o-rings or seals.

cheers Ju

[U1timate PigDog]

Julian is right it really does need to be taken apart and given a thorough cleaning Thinner will be better than water (probably not quite as good as cleaner but....will do the job).

I'd only soak the nozzle and parts that can be taken off at the front and not the whole brush.

Fingers crossed will be better in the morning.

[eyeayen]

They do different nozzles for this, I'd suggest trying to get a 'High Flow Nozzle'
http://www.mikes-models.co.uk/index....?filter_id=139

This is a guide to what nozzles you should use for what
http://homepage.mac.com/srogers4/hob...h/nozzles.html

Thinning the paint with AutoAir Reducer http://www.everythingairbrush.com/ac...0ml__4oz_.html ( it's the medium one you want 2nd from bottom on this page ).

Then combine this with a better compressor and 40 - 60 psi and you'll be getting on much better.

[gainsy]

Cheers guys
Well i soaked it last night & it seems to be working pretty good this morning
I see what your saying about the pressure & nozzle sizes, will look about for a better compressor, i am only borrowing this 1 so will look for my own airbrush as well
Can you guys recommend some to me? nothing to expensive as on a pretty tight budget, but even the results so far are far better than a spray can so i gotta have 1

[U1timate PigDog]

glad it seems to be working better, like mentioned a decent compressor will be better when you choose to get your own.

I personally like Iwata airbrushes but there a touch expensive and probably dont need anything quite so good for spraying bodies.

but for a decent budget buy I would contact Jon at RCS I believe he has a couple of airbrushes that he sells and I'm sure he could recommend one to you. He also sells paint masking, stencils etc.

I bought my compressor from Machine mart a few years ago for about £90 i think, not so quiet but does the job. you will also need moister trap and air hose.

Post some pics of the bodies you've done when your finished.

[gainsy]

Well it's working sweet now
Sussed the paint out, couple of drops of water to each bottle has made it spray nice
Thanks for all the great advice everyone, much appreciated

Will put some pic's up soon as almost confident enough to get the shell out of the packet

[eyeayen]

I don't know what Jon at RCS is stocking but I'd say he should be your first port of call for anything you need.

Aside him I'd highly recommend www.everythingairbrush.com, who do chinese copies of the iwata's for about a quarter of the price. There is a difference and if money is no object I'd go for the Iwata, but getting yourself going I'd go for one of them. They also do compressors too but you need one that's going to keep up with the high pressure you need constantly. And as UPD says above machine mart are super cheap, you will have noise issues with their ones though. I think they do a quiet range though ?

To airbrush this sort of stuff I'd say a 0.3 to 0.5 nozzle is best, the smaller ones don't like our thick paint so you'll struggle to get it through them without thinning it down loads.

[julianb]

I think airbrushes.com have some deals on compressors, but you'd need check out their website. But again, maybe a bit pricey.

I thought my old Holding compressor was pretty quiet until I got hold of an Iwata Shark. It's as quiet as the refrigerator in our kitchen!!!!

cheers

J

[U1timate PigDog]

The thing to consider with the compressor is that you pay alot extra for being quieter and if you spray during the day and have no-one to disturb you dont really need a silent compressor.

get a decent sized tank and it will only need to build the pressure back up every so often anyway so it will be quiet enough anyway.

when you decide to get a airbrush go for gravity feed its much better, as far as the Iwata the Eclipse HP-CS is really good and I have heard good things about the Revolution as well.

[gainsy]

This is the first shell, nothing too advanced i know but i like it

[U1timate PigDog]

Its turned out pretty nice good work.