Airbrush is spurting; HELP!

[grandmasterofpool]

When I first got my Aztek 320 it sprayed wonderfully. Now it spurts whenever I try to use it. I suspect it's because it has moisture in the airhose. I ordered a new hose and a moisture trap to try and solve the problem. Any other ideas (nothing is clogged i checked that). BTW: I use faskolor paints and about 35-40 psi of pressure. Thanks!

[HauntedMyst]

One problem I've found with the Aztek's is the needles get clogged and need to be cleaned thoroughly. At your LHS, have them order you a bottle of Testor's Acryl dried paint cleaner. Take the needles apart (You WILL have to remember which needle parts go together) and toss them in the bottle. Leave them for a few days. Then take a funnel with a mesh filter and pour out the contents into a glass and cpature the pieces. Gently take a toothbrush and clean the needles and springs and reassemble them. Now pour the cleaner back in it's bottle thru the filter again, you can reuse it.

If there is moisture in the hose, you don't need a new hose, you just need to crank up the compressor and blow out the hose without the airbrush on it. If your compressor has a bleeder value, open it about once or twice a week to blow any mooisture out f the tank. Do this before you paint anyways.

[HumbleEagle487]

how old is the paint?

[HauntedMyst]

The needle can spray water and still be clogged with old paint. The paint is much thicker then water. Often just spraying water through it isn't enough. You need to spray Fascleaner through the brush as well.

[ 05-08-2001: Message edited by: HauntedMyst ]

[Railman]

I read on another post about a guy thats had to fix a bunch of those at a Hobby Town shop. If I remember right he said that the spring fatigues rapidly & has to be replaced. He's not a big fan of them! If I can remember where I read it I'll lok it back up. Good luck.

[ 05-08-2001: Message edited by: Railman ]

[grandmasterofpool]

Thanks guys for all the replies. The paint I'm using is brand new faskolor paint. I finally got it to spray well. I cleaned everything real well and it still spurted. So I thought hmmm... if it sprays water well then... Faskolor paints are just too thick for my airbrush, but after thinning them out about 2 parts paint to 1 part water they work great! BTW: i'll still plan on installing an air filter/moisture trap for future use.

[Railman]

I'm glad you figured it out. I did find the site again, & it was the Aztek gun that was having problems. The guy (Tony)is a very knowledgable RC guy & body painter..has his own website for painting masks, & specialty carbon fibre parts for the XXX. He said that the wires stretch & the springs fatigue after a while & that all the ones the shop sold came back for repair. Maybe you'll have better luck, I hope so. :)

[grandmasterofpool]

The needle isn't clogged. I sprayed water through it like you're supposed to to clean it out and it sprays fine, but for some reason it spurts w/ the paint. Thanks for the advice though. BTW: I read your turtorial stuff on painting. Nice work!