Question on airbrushing primer

[Captain Mark]

Hi all,

Has anyone here had any luck decanting and airbrushing primer? Or are there bottled (perhaps pre-thinned) primers on the market at all?

I'm just getting tired of drenching kits in high pressure blasts of primer, and decanting automotive or tamiya primers into my airbrush just glues up the airbrush.

I'd prefer the accuracy and control of an airbrush, but I've not found a suitable primer which doesn't gum it up completely. Can anyone offer any advice here?

Oh, and I've tried thinning the primers with all kinds of things, no luck.

Cheers,
M


EDIT: I just found some on hiroboy.com , the Zero Paints brand. Anynoe used this before and can comment on it either way? I've not got any experience with Zero Paints.

[MPWR]

I would guess that decanting Tamiya primer would work fine- but I haven't tried it. Gunze Mr Surfacer works well out of an airbrush.

My personal favorite is Evercoat Dura Build grey acrylic primer. But you need to thin it 1:4 with Evercoat's VOC reducer. But a quart of primer and a gallon of reducer is a bit of a lifetime supply....

[360spider]

Hiroboy sells variety of airbrush primers.

[935k3]

Alclad makes their own pre-thinned primer that is very fine and is light grey in color. I especially like it for priming all of my smaller parts. It comes in a 4oz bottle for $8.99 at my local hobby shop.

[TRBJ]

alclads micro filler is veery fucgin hard to open!! or may be it only happen to me?

[sportscars24]

@Captain Mark

I always use Model Master Gray Primer it works for real car colors on plastic and also it works with Zero Paint colors.

[cyberkid]

I've personally use all Tamiya's and Gunze's primers without any trouble at all... both brands have primers in cans and bottles.. (I haven't tried Tamiya's in a bottle yet). I decant most of the time except when I'm too lazy :P

As for primer gumming up your airbrush.... that really sounds strange... a few Q's:
1.Have you stripped your AB for a total clean out recently?
2. What brand(s) primer are you using and what ratio are you thinning it at?
3. Have you tried decanting straight into the AB cup and shooting more or less right away?

As for the Zero primers, I just got some and I'd say they're just as good as his normal base color paints... goes down well, dries very fast. Just would suggest that you place a clean marble in the jar to help mix up the pigments when shaking, this goes with any decanted paint (Zero's recent products have 1 included)...or a VERY good stir.

Steve

[CFarias]

I don't know if they sell this where you are but I switched to the Duplicolor Paint Shop system:

http://www.duplicolor.com/products/paintshop.html

There BSP100 Gray primer has a very forgiveable thinning ratio, and I can shoot from 25 to 35 psi with it. I thin it with 3 parts acetone and it goes on very thin but tough.

[Didymus]

I always use lacquer thinner to thin decanted Tamiya lacquers at a ratio of about 1:5. I spray Tamiya primer straight from the can with no problem, so I'm a little surprised you're having trouble with it. But seems like lacquer thinner ought to work.

Yesterday I was surprised when I tried to remove some Tamiya primer with 99% isopropyl alcohol. It took some rubbing; the alcohol didn't easily dissolve the primer like it does regular TS-series paints. Maybe the primer has different chemistry.

Ddms

[JimboCO]

I routinely decant Tamiya primers and thin them with either laquer thinner or Mr. Color thinner. Never had a problem. Like others have mentioned, check yopur thin ratio and clean your brush. The extra hassle in decanting/thinning is way worth it in my opinion and really isn't much of a hassle at that.

Good luck!

[jasolbes]

My personal choice has been (for more than 20 years now) DuPont's Universal Primer (Value Shade) #'s 41SM (white), 44SM (light gray), 47SM (dark gray). This primer is intended to be used for acrylic lacquers, I apply it with an airbrush (30/35 psi), it's harmless on Tamiya and Fujimi plastics and protects it from acrylic lacquers. Hope this is of any help.
José Antonio (México)

[Lownslow]

anyone know the thin ratio for MR surfacer 1000

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by Lownslow

anyone know the thin ratio for MR surfacer 1000

WTF is a 'thin ratio'??

You thin until it sprays well, and you verify it by test spraying.

MR Surfacer requires A LOT of thinning, but it's impossible to thin it by ratio. Every bottle will take a different amount of thinner, depending on how old it is, how it has been used, etc. It's a moving target- so you thin until it sprays best.

[custanius]

I decant tamiya light grey primer, they always work for me, I either increase the pressure slightly or thin it with Mr. Thinner if pulsation appears, which can happen from time to time. Btw, I always run some thinner through the AB prior to putting the actual primer through. Dried up paint, even minute amount can cause clogging.

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by jasolbes

My personal choice has been (for more than 20 years now) DuPont's Universal Primer (Value Shade) #'s 41SM (white), 44SM (light gray), 47SM (dark gray). This primer is intended to be used for acrylic lacquers, I apply it with an airbrush (30/35 psi), it's harmless on Tamiya and Fujimi plastics and protects it from acrylic lacquers. Hope this is of any help.
José Antonio (México)

Back in ancient times, I was happily using SEM high-build automotive primer on resin models. Expecting no problems, I sprayed a Gunze Sangyo body with the stuff, and it etched the heck out of the surface, destroying the model. (I've heard since then that Gunze plastics are - or were - more easily damaged by some chemicals.)

So I've stuck with Tamiya primers ever since, despite the higher cost.

Information like Jose's is very useful, but if you're using unknown products on models, test, test, test! And that applies especially to automotive products, which have gotten more and more exotic because of environmental regulations.

Ddms