Hey all....just got my new used airbrush in the mail today, got the Testors Aztec 4709 in the wooden box.....picked it up for $65 Canadian which is a steal of a deal even though it needs some TLC as far as cleaning...the person that had it definatly had not time or patience to clean their brush as it has 3 tan nozzels and they all look clogged.

So my question is....what should I do to clean the tips and body of the brush with? the only way I can see to get the tips really clean is to put them in a cleaning solutions and I am just going to have to trial and error as I don't know what the paint is, whether its arcylic, enamel or lacquer. Is it ok to drop these plastic/nylon like tips in cleaning solutions? Would it eat the nylon? The kit came with 3 tan heads(one missing the needle and spring), 2 black heads (the least used), 2 gray heads(one has the spring stuck inside the head), 1 red, 1 white and 1 turquois, all have dried paint of some kind....they all come apart ok, so I can't see the problem in cleaning them...just need to know if there are any limitations as to what cleaning solution is going to be.

The only thing that didn't come with the kit was the airline, and obvioulsy my badger line doesn't fit!!!

Any help here would be much appreciated!!!

Viper:

That was a sweet deal.. Congrats. Dipping the nozzels in any cleaning solution shoudl be fine. I do it to mine all the time when cleaning them out. I take a small soft bristled brush and gently scrub any dried on paint off and it hasn't harmed the nozzels in any way that I can tell yet.
I also know that Testors does have a little wrench type tool that comes with that kit. The ends of it are designed to fit the A/B and associated holes on the brush and nozzels to scrape off all dried on paint. Ws this included in the kit you have.
Also there is a hose adapter that comes with the brush as well. I don't know the exact thread dimensions of it, but it looks like a little nut with external threads on one side to screw on a hose and internal threads on the other to screw on the brush itself. May be cheaper to get one of them than a hose itself. The link below I don't know if this is the brush you got but it shows the wrench I am referring to on the left of the kit.

http://www.testors.com/catalog_item.asp?itemNbr=50

Again the solutions should in no way harm the nozzels at all. Congrats on your purchase and hope wordy answer helps you in some way...

Paul

I have soaked my nozzles in paint thinner (mineral spirits) that I bought from the hardware store, I believe Half yank contacted `testors and they told him you can use just abot anything to clean the tips and it will not affect them...although I have only used painter thinner myself.

Sean

I did get the wrench with it as well...also the video...lol....not that its of much use really....did show how to use the wrench as a cleaning tool as well, but will it clean the nozzels as well?
The tan nozzled is the most used on it....as there are 3 of them, one missing the needle and spring, and 2 that are so crusted with old paint that the needle won't come apart....so fear they will have to soak for awhile....the person that it came from was supposed to be a professional artist, if so...he obvioulsy didn't know how to take care of his airbrush....which could be why I got it for so cheap.
The set didn't come with the airline....so I will have to go searching to see oif I can get one...my compressor is set up with my badger line and would like to be able to use both airbrushes, so I don't have to switch lines back and forth so I may have to modify my compressor fittings to accomidate both lines....which is not really a problem.

If you have problems getting the tips clean you might try Accu-Strip. This is a paint stripper designed to remove factory paint from model trains and won't hurt the plastic. This is also a good way to remove paint from a botched paint job

I don't think the plastic wrench has any suitable extension for cleaning the nozzles. The manufacturer even says that you shouldn't take them apart (so I haven't). Obviously in your case taking them apart is needed. Just make sure that when you put them back together the little notches in the transparent plastic and the colored plastic match. Otherwise the nozzle might not work as expected.

When you get them clean and to using them the whole process should be somewhat simpler. I usually clean my nozzles like this:

1) Remove color cup and attach siphon cup with water and thinner mix. Dab the paint channel a bit with a q-tip.
2) Spray the "cleaner" out the window (less fumes that way) until there's little or no color coming out
3) Soak for a while in thinner
4) Push the rear end to see what kind of liquid comes out. Use a q-tip to get better suction
5) If not clean repeat 3 and 4.
6) Let it dry for a while in the nozzle container without the cap.
7) Test for dryness by pushing the rear part back and forth.
8) Store for future use

9) Rinse the AB body under a tap or inject some watered down thinner. Use the wrench or a mini tootbrush to get clogged paint out. (I have these little tootbrushes that are supposed to be used in between your teeth. Like miniature pipe brushes.)

Sounds complex but once you get used to it it's pretty fast and you can change colors quickly.

Congrats on your purchase btw. It might take a little practise but you can do some pretty fine stuff with that brush.

If you want to compare your kit contents you can check my Aztek pictures. There's also a picture of the compressor adapter so you know what to look for.

i have the exact same airbrush, and i need to use alclad 2 to finish a project, the thinners i used on my badger airbrush ( hammerite thinners) seem to have damaged the teflon bush inside it, or is it be the alclad itself reacting, thing is can alclad be safely used with an aztec plastic air brush? i can always find something else to clean it with

Yeah I have a bottle of Alclad Chrome, but have yet to use it.....did use some MM Metalizer the other day for the first time and it was ok in my Badger 200.

I am currently cleaning my Aztec parts with Castrol Super Clean, I figure since it won't hurt bare styrene to strip paint from models, that it won't hurt the plastic in the heads for the Aztec. Never thought about Alclad....one of the guys in the local club uses it in place of some plated chrome, never heard if he had any problems with his AB. Will have to ask!!!

after my post above i tried to extract the bush,after about 15 minutes of trying to fiddle it out i realised it has'nt been damaged, but completely dissolved! i must have sprayed it out onto the model, cos thats the only place it could have gone! incidently the alclad is exellent, i used aluminium and burnt exhaust and the're a cracking finish

I'll let you know about being able to soak the neddles in anything just stripped two of mines down and have them in a jar of cellulose thinnners only thing and I'm not sure about is using full stenth cellouse with the aztek as mines apperently melted inside and this is the only thing I can think of or the badger A/B cleaning fluid any way they wouldnt repair it under warrenty so they sold me a new body for £20 which I thought was a good price

Yeah I am not using a celluose thinner, as I have no idea what the paint is encrusted on the parts are, could be an enamel, could be an acrylic, could be a lacquer for all I know. So one particular thinner may not do it.

I am using a product called Castrol Super Clean, it comes in a purple bottle, and is used as an automotive cleaner/degreaser. I have heard alot of people use it to strip paint off of old models, and yet it doesn't hurt the underlying styrene plastic. So I figured if it wouldn't hurt model plastic, then it wouldn't hurt the plastic on the spray heads of the Aztex....the body I am not really worried about it....I can try and scrub it off with a tooth brush and a little of the Super Clean, but I wouldn't soak the body of the AB in it....figured it would do some some internal damage to the body.....will let you know how well it cleaned out the heads!!

o.k. i'm now going to bite the bullet and use alclad with my aztec. cover me lads! i'm going in!

thet went quite well,only used turps to clean the thing, but took it apart and wiped everything through, it hasnt melted (yet!) and still works fine, so it must have been the thinners i used that melted the badgers teflon bush

Sounds good almonkey.....I just finished cleaning mine....man there was some crusted on paint....it all came off with the Castrol Super Clean, except for the worst of the 2 heads, and they are all clean except for the springs...so I left them soaking in the cleaning solution for another day to soften up the paint a little more.

Next stop....a '69 Dodge Coronet that the paint is way too thick on!!!!

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Some one stop him...... he's on about those dang wheeled people movers of the non combat type!

Nothing wrong with a few auto projects mixed in for good measure.

Variety is the spice of life.

you think thats bad, i'm using the alclad on a dinky die cast restoration!