Mr. Sufacer and Primer Questions (post 'em here)

[donovan]

I'm using a can Tamiya Surface Primer (L) - For Plastic & Metal (Gray) to prime my parts.

I did a few light coats on some parts, but I'm starting to wonder how you know when you have enough primer on the part -- I don't want to over do it.

I tried some priming before with the Tamiya and some surfaces came out nice and smooth and others were a little rough. The first 2 light coats seemed rough, but the 3rd which is drying now seems a little smoother. The 3rd coat also made the piece completely gray, the first 2 coats, the original color was showing through.

How many coats of the spray can Tamiya primer are necessary, and if I use Mr. Surfacer, how many coats does that normally take? How far away should I hold the can of Tamiya from the parts I'm spraying?

I can try to get decent pics if necessary.

Thanks,
Donovan

[pgstrike]

I have some questions on the tamiya surface primer.
Can you desolve it with isopropyl alcohol 91% or doe you have to use the lacquer thinnner?
Can isopropyl alcohol be bought at a pharmecie or paintshop?
What is the ratio of thinner and primer?

thanx

[zerobxu]

Can isopropyl alcohol be bought at a pharmecie or paintshop?

I find it in the pharmacy section of my local super-store.

[pgstrike]

Thank's but i found some at work today.
I didn't know that they used it for printing :oops:

[Krausser]

What is the ratio of thinner and primer?

It depends on you.. For Tamiya Surfacer my ratio is 50:50 but for Mr.Surfacer I use 60:40 Ratio 60%  Thinner and 40% Surfacer..

Do you guys use industrial thinner in painting kits?

[pgstrike]

Well i found isopropylalcohol at work witch males it industrial I think?
I also think is 100%,and i used it yesterday for the first time and worked fine.

Can anyone tell me if I can use the is isopropylalcohol for thinning the tamiya surface primer?

[fear no evil]

Can I just add that Tamiya Surface Primer in the bottle isn't a primer!!!!!!!

It's tamiya basic putty mixed with their lacquer thinner.  It's mainly used for filling in seams and scratches.

Believe me when i say don't spray it through your airbrush, I wreked a kit that way.  Thank god that the kit was resin, now I need to find something to strip the tamiya off.

[riccardo]

Based on my personal experience you are partially right (or partially wrong..)
Primers in bottles (Mr Surfacer, Tamiya...)  are, as you say, thinned putties. They use as solvants, aceton or any laquer thinner (also acetone based). They can be used with an airbrush, however,  they have to be thinned properly to a milky viscosity (but this is true for any color...). The problem is what can i use as a thinner? I never used acetone (industrial acetone) since it attacks the plastic. I prefer the Mr. Color Thinner since it dries very fast and it cannot attack plastic simply because it has no time. I never used laquer thinner (the kind you find in Walmart, Home Depot Lowes ans so forth) for the same reason. Priming with an airbrush is certainly better since you have control on what you do. My suggestion is don't use industrial thinners, use only modeling ones. The Mr Color one is safe since it is used in the gunze laquers that dry in a snap.
USE A MASK when managing that thinner, it is really really nasty.

ric

[pgstrike]

I have no problem using the iso alcohol because it used to thin inks and is applyed to rubben or plastic printplates.
I already sprayed 2 models with it and everything went fine,but i doen't recommand that you use any kind of thinner if you dont know the instructions of it.
So you dont melt a fine kit or wreck a nice paintjob.

[riccardo]

Sorry i didn't post it before:

http://www.naritafamily.com/howto/Su27/day14.htm

you see here how the surfacer is thinned. I did the same after looking athis wonderful WIP

[Krausser]

well for Mr Surfacer you can use industrial lacquer thinner mixed with lacquer flo.. ratio would be 7:3, 7 parts lacquer thinner 3 parts lacquer flo..

[FichtenFoo]

well for Mr Surfacer you can use industrial lacquer thinner mixed with lacquer flo.. ratio would be 7:3, 7 parts lacquer thinner 3 parts lacquer flo..

And what is lacquer flo? Is it like Mr. Retarder?

[BM2]

SIL-FLO is a lacquer retarder meant to stop fish-eyes. It keeps lacquers from "flashing" (curing too quickly) and allows the paint to "snuggle" down. Lacquers are nasty stuff -please be careful with them -wear a good respirator! :)

[oteebzo]

Ok I have reading this thread since it has been started and I am still wondering after all the feed back. I have never used yet cause I still have like 3 bottles of primer. But iI do have acouple of bottles of mr. surfacer. Do I thin it to AB or NO?I have read alot of people thinning but do I have to? can I run it straight from bottle?

[pgstrike]

it's to thik to use straight out of the bottle I think, you'll get splatter out of youre ab.

[Zoccoli]

Ok I have reading this thread since it has been started and I am still wondering after all the feed back. I have never used yet cause I still have like 3 bottles of primer. But iI do have acouple of bottles of mr. surfacer. Do I thin it to AB or NO?I have read alot of people thinning but do I have to? can I run it straight from bottle?

Thin it around 50/50 or 60/40 with lacquer thinner to start, and then change it as needed if it's too thick or too thin. You might need to add a few drops of Mr. Retarder (I always do), otherwise it might "spiderweb" and dry in mid-air, which is always a huge disaster.

[bean]

I got a question.  Now bear with me if this is stupid but I have to ask.  I use the tamiya primer in can, and as anyone who uses that knows that alot of it goes to waste because of the over spray.  I was wondering, is it possible to spray the primer into a little jar and then spray it with the airbrush?  Would that actually conserve some of it, if it's even possible? or is it just being redundant?

[Ezechiel]

Bad idea. Not worth the bother/risks.
Buy primer in jar from other brands if you really don't want to use a can.

[oteebzo]

Why don't you just change the cap. When we used to spry paint walls we would use alot of different caps to get different line widths. from 1 finger to like 16 which was a fat cap. When ever I spray paint anything I change the cap because the caps that come with can really suck and they drip and spray way to much .
Try a german outline cap. Sprays a fine mist compared to to can cap and coats great you can get some here.

https://www.wildartmedia.com/cart.php?product=Caps

It is the gray one about half way down.
They make alot more then these here, like outline 2 caps that are very thin but I never used those we would always make our own for those. ( they did not have these when I was into Graff)

[Haseo]

can Tamiya Primer fill in gaps like mr. S? and do i have to sand it back down ?