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My aztec broke and this is what support sent in response. I won't be buying another aztec. Aztec users, get a backup brush cause you might be down for a month or more.

Our airbrush warranty was changed Jan. 2004 to a 3 yr. warranty on

airbrushes produce and purchased after Jan 2004.

If you airbrush's was purchased before Jan. 2004, it is still covered

by a lifetime warranty. If it is not working properly, you can send it

to us for replacement.

Please send the airbrush BODY ONLY:

Testor Corporation

ATTN: Airbrush Warranty/ Customer Service

440 Blackhawk Park Ave.

Rockford, IL 61104

Please include a note with name, address, daytime phone number and

brief description of the problem.

We recommend that it be sent UPS, FedEx or certified mail. It usually

will take approximately 2- 4 weeks to process your request. If your

airbrush model is on back order, it will take about 1-2 weeks longer.

Wendy Myres 1-800-962-6654 @4052

Customer Service

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Lifetime warranty and 2-week turnaround on repairs doesn't sound so bad, does it? Though if it stretched to 4 weeks I'd be getting a bit impatient meself.

Not that I'd buy an Aztec myself. Won one in a contest raffle last year, tried it, hated it, sold it. But I know some blokes get great results, so it must've been me :unsure:

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As I've said a million times before, I absolutely love my Aztek, but I think that this is a poor decision by Testors. What this is saying, in essence, is that you get a lifetime warranty on the first airbrush you buy (if you bought it before January), but any replacement that is sent to you is only warrantied for three years. Kind of defrauds the whole 'lifetime warranty' on the first one if you ask me.

I've also heard of them sending replacement airbrushes that are not Azteks. Drew T. posted a couple of days ago that his Aztek was replaced with a Contempo. Again, not cool, IMO.

Testor needs to upgrade the Aztek to include more sturdy parts for the trigger linkage assembly, and stop worrying about the metal body. Personally, I'd much rather have a lightweight airbrush with sturdy metal internal components than a metal airbrush body with plastic ones.

All this being said, I still maintain that it's a great airbrush, but you have to clean it thoroughly. Keep that trigger plunger free of gunked up paint, and you shouldn't have any problems.

I also have an Anthem as my secondary airbrush, and while I'm not totaly comfortable with it, it is pretty nice. If I had to give up my Aztek right now, I'd say that my next move would probably be an Omni 6000, as I do like the side feed better than gravity feed (one of the features that I really like about the Aztek).

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Testors had made quite a few mistakes since moving South to the States.

First the paints increased 4X overnight and now this.

I think it would have been far cheaper for them to continue operating in Canada. Our cost of living is lower and our dollar goes far further in Canada.

I love the two Aztecs I have. I would not be happy if I had to replace one of them and if it only came with a three year warranty. As far as I am concerned the the lifetime warranty should stay with me for as long as I own an Aztec.

I guess they weren't counting on so many of us keeping our airbrushes.

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I love the two Aztecs I have. I would not be happy if I had to replace one of them and if it only came with a three year warranty. As far as I am concerned the the lifetime warranty should stay with me for as long as I own an Aztec.

I agree. As much as I am a die-hard supporter of my Aztek, I really feel that this was a poor decision on the part of the Testor Corporation. They'd make a lot of people very happy if they'd stick with the lifetime warranty, and beefed up the internal components.

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I have heard throughout the Aztek user community that Testor's has moved production of all airbrushes and accessories 'offshore' somewhere. This move I think caused a momentary (?) lapse in quality control, and this is why perhaps Testor's has changed thier warrenty. Providing a lifetime warranty for offshore production may not have been viable for Testor's to do long term. I do know that nozzle's I purchased in 1997 are still going strong, and ones I purchased 6 months ago I are now in spare nozzle parts bin, not usable as assembled. I'll mix and match parts to get a functioning nozzle out of the bits eventually. That said however, I like how versatile the Aztek system is, and will try to stick with it. There must be someone with the skills to machine metal parts to upgrade the 430/470 to a non-breakable trigger system. I would purchase several sets, and would never have to bother Testors with anything again. Steve is right about Testor's latest efforts, forget the useless chrome metal body, upgrade the 430/470 internals with cold steel and reoffer the lifetime warrenty. They would hardly have a single warranty claim to honor then............ :unsure: Peter

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Steve is right about Testor's latest efforts, forget the useless chrome metal body, upgrade the 430/470 internals with cold steel and reoffer the lifetime warrenty. They would hardly have a single warranty claim to honor then............ :unsure: Peter

Exactly! For me, one of the biggest selling points of the airbrush is the light weight, and the ergonomic design. the metal body is actually counterproductive to these assets, and defeats the purpose of a lightweight airbrush. Plus, it's kind of deceptive - if you didn't know better, you'd think you were getting an all-metal airbrush, but it's basically a sheep in wolf's clothing.

I like the Aztek not only for the way it sprays, but also for the fact that my fingers don't get cramped after extended use - it just seems to fit my hand a lot better than any metal airbrush I've ever used. I also like the side feed system - gravity feed just doesn't do it for me, and siphon bottles are just too cumbersome.

It's a great design, and properly maintained, works very well. However, I do think that it's time for a re-design of internal components. If word got out that the internal components were no longer delicate and prone to breakage, I think they'd sell even better than they do now.

A plastic airbrush just doesn't hold up like metal.

Plastic doesn't necessarily mean less sturdy, especially for large assemblies such as the body itself, it's just that the specific parts for the trigger/plunger linkage need to be beefed up. Lots of things are plastic these days that are just as sturdy as metal, if not more so. Take handguns, for example. We carry Glocks and Smith&Wesson SW99s (almost identical to the Walther P99), and I'd defy anyone to tell me that they're not just as sturdy as any other gun. The difference, of course, is metal operating components. :cheers:

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well, this maybe the thing that convince me to finally get that Omni 4000 or 6000 to replace the A430 that I traded to a friend. I was thinking of getting that a480 metal one too (it's that shiny chrome I tell you...I can't take my eyes away from it.. .:D ), simply becaue I'm used to the aztek styling.

So the metal aztek is just the body? I assume no real improvement compared to the a470 ?

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Agreed...........Azteks are not plastic, they are a Zytel polymer, like a Glock. Impervious to almost all known chemicals, and are tough. I have dropped my 470 and 430's more times than I can count, and they are completely unfazed, I have dropped my Glock too......... :o it was unfazed.... :D Dropped my 1911......... :blink: time for an ATT and off for some time in the jig. Anyway, this whole plastic airbrush thing came up on HS several years ago, (J. Sefton for those of you who remember him!) and the debate has raged since. However if you look at most of the 'movers and shakers' of the webzine world, many are Aztek dual action users. So, the system has it's believers. One just has to look at the work of Chris Wauchop :D Cheers now, Peter

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However if you look at most of the 'movers and shakers' of the webzine world, many are Aztek dual action users.

I'm new to the board and haven't heard of some of those people, but I will definitely have a look at their work. As mentioned in my earlier post I was only in possession of the Aztec for a short time, but I could not achieve a smooth finish with it and saw no reason to keep it in favour of my Iwata.

Does everyone over there own a Glock?

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that's funny steve, i've got the same deal. had an aztec for awhile, heard all the talk, went out and got a "real" airbrush, an anthem also. gotta find where i put that thing, cause i went back to the aztec. i love my aztec , never got comfortable with the anthem, maybe been using the aztec too long now

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I've always said, and I still maintain that the best airbrush is the one that gives YOU the best, most consistent results. I do use the Anthem from time to time (I built a 'T' adapter for my compressor with some 1/4" pipe and fittings), and I have both airbrushes hooked up to quick disconnects at all times. However, I just can't seem to put that Aztek down......... :D

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I'm really not surprised by this. With the amount of returns they must be getting with this product they were bound to lose money from the getgo. I don't think that Testors actually manufactures this brush. I remember reading that they import it from another country, so I'm not sure how much control they really have over the manufacturing process of the brush, so making improvements (other than an outer metal body) may not be very easy or cost effective.

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I mail-ordered an Aztec 470 that was DOA. I then endured an enfuriating exchange of emails with Customer Service trying to take advantage of the "life-time warranty." Condensed version of my travails: I'm with the U.S. forces in Germany, which means I can use the U.S. Postal Service, but they were adamant that I absolutely had to use UPS to send it to them (UPS is available here but very expensive, especially when you just want to get a brand-new airbrush to work properly). I got no response from the Germany service provider whose address they gave me. I finally gave up and returned it to the seller (Squadron, God bless 'em), who replaced it for free in just a week (yes, using U.S. Postal Service).

The new airbrush began malfunctioning in short order. I bought new nozzles for it, cleaned it surgically, all to no avail.

I now have an Iwata.

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I've said it many times. I love my Aztek, but when it broke (once in almost 10 years) i sent it back. While waiting for it, I got impatient and sprung for one from Wal Mart, which i love just as much as the A430. It's in a Testors box, and comes in a set with a paint carousel and a bunch of paints. It's a double-action version of the A320, and has a really nice hand-feel. It cost me 40 bucks, came with a dozen 1/4 oz bottles of paint, a new nozzle, paint jar and a carousel. Good deal if you like Azteks.

I do agree that Aztek does need to do somehthing to beef up the internal components of their airbrushes. Every change they've made has done nothing for the performance of the brush. It's just made it either cheaper (the one-piece color cups, or the basic sprayer models) cooler-looking (the Contempo) or just heavier and shinier (the metal body.) I will say that I like the little clamshell-case for the Contempo. It looks like a sturdy little holder.

Looking at some of the sets they offer, especially for the metal brush, I'd like to see them offer the set without the airbrush body. There's a set that comes with 9 nozzles, 7 different paint cups and bottles, a swanky storage box and it's only 70 bucks more than the airbrush alone. I know I'd pay 70 bucks for all that. (ahem, anyone from the Testor's marketing dept. listening?)

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how to dissasemble and clean aztec. http://www.master194.com/maquettes/autres/aztec.htm I believe this will void your warranty.

It will absolutely, definitely void your warranty. The only way that I would even consider this is if you had a newer airbrush with the three year warranty, and the warranty was already expired. Since Testors only changed the warranty in January of this year, that means you still have 2 1/2 years to worry about this if you bought one after January.

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