I just broke out one to use since my trusty badger 200 is on the fritz and i have to say that i really liked its ability and control. I especially like the easy to change heads and the fine line control was really amazing. I used it on my next OLD OLD OLD creation. You all should like this one, it came out very nice. Look for it in the next week.
How do you like your aztex and do you have any problems or advice for me?
Thanks Bill
Got mine in '99, it left the others far behind! I liked it so well I sold my paasche and badger. All this fear of shooting something through your brush that could mess it up. Not with an AZTEC. If you DO mess up a tip, you can get another for $7-9 and just screw it on. Ready to go. No regrets. Never looked back.
I think I’ve been an Aztek user for almost a decade now. See no reason to change it.
NTM
I have had no problems in the three years I’ve had mine. Best advice is treat it nice and keep it as clean as possible! I’m sure there are those out there who have had problems with them as I have read posts on such. Much like anything if it works for you then thats what counts…
I think traditional old fashioned airbrushes are better in most respects until…something goes wrong. In the Aztek, the most common solution is replacing the nozzle which is instant and inexpensive. In my Badger Anthem which just stopped functioning properly I will have to replace its nozzle too but this is made of like 3 or 4 parts. I will have to order those parts online without knowing if this will even help. All I know is that the paint pulsates rather than shoot in a steady stream and this happens with paint only, not thinner. I spent a whole day disassembling the Anthem, spraying through it, reassembling and disassembling again. An Aztek either works or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t you replace the nozzle and your’re done. Having said that I have to admit I don’t like the feeling of an Aztek in my hand but have no choice but to use it until I figure out what to do with the Anthem.
I been useing one for over ten years. I have my ups and downs with it. But i think its a good airbrush. You here a lot of bad things about from time time from other’s. But i think it more the human mistakes then the air brush myself. Im ok with it my self.
I’ve used mine for three years now with no problems. In fact, I still have the same tips that came with the airbrush. I’m very happy with it.
Aztek A470 user here. I sold my Badger after I got my Aztek. Personally, I love it. I think the control is so much better than the Badger. I also love the fact that it can work in single or double action mode. I use it alot in single action. I think many people who don’t like the Aztek either don’t know how to use it properly, don’t spend the time getting over the learning curve, or don’t clean it right.
Jesse
I’ve been using mine for 12 years without any problems with the exception of one tip fouling. It was my fault as I forgot to clean it after use. After soaking it in thinner for a day, I got it loosened up and working as good as new. I also have a Badger model H-something that I’ve given up on as it definitely was not designed for left hand use. There are a lot of airbrushers out there who will.scoff at Aztecs, but as I have only used an Aztec and that lefty unfriendly Badger, I don’t feel that I am missing anything.
I like my Aztek. I have an older plastic bodied one, so I don’t believe that the precision is up there with the higher models of the Badger’s and Iwata’s. Here’s the thing: I’m lazy, and this thing is easy to maintain.
Grant
Ironically, you had the exact opposite experience from myself. I had an Aztek A430 that went on to fritz. I’m not really sure what happened, because I followed all there cleaning and care instructions to the proverbial letter, but the body just died and after only a few models at that. The only thing that makes sense, although this is a guess on my pary, would be that some paint leaked out of the paint chamber, past where the tip seals against the body, and mucked up something inside the body. While waiting for the warranty replacement, which ultimately ended up taking almost three weeks, I started using a Badger 200. Oddly enough, out of the gate, I found the Badger a lot easier to control than the Aztek.
Obviously I don’t like my Aztek and it has remained unused since I got it back from Testors. While I would never advise that one actually purchase an Aztek, since you are having good luck with yours and you like it, I would mainly suggest following the cleaning and care instructions religiously. A lot of people use Azteks and have them blow up for no good reason, but since they haven’t gone out of business, a lot of people must have success with them as well. Hopefully, you’ll continue to fall into the latter group.
Andy
tchah. I found my aztek quite inconsistent. I switched to abadger, and now use that and my Iwata exclusively.
From what I’ve seen, people either LOVE their Aztek and would use it over anything, or people hate the thing. You’re going to get hero stories AND horror stories with that bad boy, so I guess there’s only one thing to do… try it out yourself! And if an Aztek isn’t right for you, clean it up nice and sell it. I’ve got a couple Paasche airbrushes and I like em a lot. So, go for the Aztek. If you don’t like it, try a Paasche on fo size[:)]
Been using my aztec for about two years now. Replaced the tip once or twice, but that total cost of maintenance was less than $20 bucks. I don’t usually spray enamels, I stick to acrylics only, so I don’t know about solvent based paints and whether they’ll have an impact on reliability. Either way, I love it. I generally just practice a bit on scraps before I comit to the model, and make sure the paint is thinned properly, and away I go. No probs.
I have used my Aztec since they first came out, first one died and was replaced, other than that, I have repaced a couple of nozzles but no other problems, just clean it good when I’m done
Mine die about six months ago. I brought back from Tamiyacon what I thought was a great tip in cleanining the thing with Windex, since I use Tamiya acrylics . Bad move, it appeared that this didn’t work well with the nonmetalic internal components.
Love it when it was working. Just keep it clean and don’t use windex to clean the Tamiya paints.[BH]
I love the Aztek airbrushes for convinience theyre great an innovative brush for sure nice control etc… , however i’ve had every model they produced and all failed me in the dumbest of circumstances ! i’m obsessive about cleaning my airbrushes so i too followed thier instructions to the letter my first one split right in half overnight right along the side not the seam ! i sntit back and the exact same thing happened . i then upgraded to the A470 that blew up ! quite literaly exploded right in my hand i depressed the trigger it farted [censored]and ended up in several peices LOL . i plumed for the metal body in the finish it worked great , and lasted the longest i had one for …3 months that leaked air furiously from inside and in the finish wouldnt even produce air from the nozzle only dribbles of paint . I’ve simply been unlucky with Aztek but i know of at least 3 people who have had one model for 4 years or more.and still going strong . so dont let my stories scare you , its sounding like its doing a sterling service for you and its obvious you are comfortable with it and thats what an airbrush should be about . Good luck with your models .
K
I bought my Aztek last summer when my other AB’s nozzle died on me… I still haven’t returned that one for warranty replacement, I use my Aztek all the time now, have all the nozzles, but only use the grey standard one. I have replaced the nozzle only one time in the 6 or 7 months I’ve had it, and that was because I took the nozzle apart to see how it worked and bent the needle tip. I love it… now that I’ve figured out how to use it to it’s potential!
Mine first one went straight to the waste basket… I won a second one in a contest and that was given away on this site. Childs toy. Junk. Pa–toooey. [V]
I had one before they were called Aztek. I loved it at first but later it became a contankerous thing. Spitting and sputtering. I had if about a year before I bought my Paache VL. Don’t even remember what I did with the MM brush. One thing I do remember though. I and my uncle both used to store our tips in laquer thinner. Small jar, filled enough to cover the whole tip, drop it ion and forget about it. Never did I have tip problems until right at the very end. Maybe a year of constant emmersion in the thinner did it. If it were not in the brush being used it was stored in thinner. I learned to take the tips apart also and that helped keep them clean when just blowing thinner though didn’t work. I cleaned the body with thinner and q-tips and occasionally would get a piece of fuzz stuck in the tip. That’s when I learned to take the tips apart.