Primer Blues

I have been using a can of Krylon white primer for most of my builds, but I find not only am I becoming annoyed with having to wait so long for it to prime before painting, but I am finding some of my rockets have a distinctive "tacky" quality to the paint once I've allowed a day or so to go by.


I've also experimented with spraying out of doors on 50 degree days...and find that has something to do with the clogging of the nozzle...which I've been fortunate enough to overcome. I store the can upright inside a headed basement, and now, during the winter, have taken to backing the car out of the garage, and then spraying the rocket over newspapers spread on the floor. I take the rocket into the heated portion of the house to dry, and then open the garage door to let the fumes get sucked out by the cold winter wind... then start the process again, about a half a day later.


Am I doing something wrong? Rushing too many coats, too soon? Not letting each layer dry long enough? Or should I not be using Krylon in a can from Lowes??? I've been shaking it well, and inverting it so that the nozzle doesn't clog between uses, with only occasional lack of success.

Any reason why I should not be using a brush on grey primer paint instead of white spray paint?

Any advice appreciated.

I have found great happiness with Rustoleum light gray auto primer. Let it dry for a week or so and wet sand. with a 1000-1500 grit. Those grits will prolly be debated, but in the long run you'll wonder why you ever used Krylon white in the 1st place. I usually do a flat white paint over the primer especially when using light colors as a finish coat. Hope this helps.

Gary Byrum said:

I have found great happiness with Rustoleum light gray auto primer. Let it dry for a week or so and wet sand...

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A week?!?! I don't know about Rustoleum primer but Duplicolor primer is lacquer which dries so fast that you can sand it in about an hour.

Is this problem coming from the same can of primer?

Nathan said:

A week?!?! I don't know about Rustoleum primer but Duplicolor primer is lacquer which dries so fast that you can sand it in about an hour.

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Exactly... I can do the same in summertime with the cheap Walmart Colorplace primer...

Later! OL JR

luke strawwalker said:

Exactly... I can do the same in summertime with the cheap Walmart Colorplace primer...

Later! OL JR

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Wow, I use Walmart Colorplace primer and I can sand within an hour or two.

Nathan said:

A week?!?! I don't know about Rustoleum primer but Duplicolor primer is lacquer which dries so fast that you can sand it in about an hour.

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+1

Plus being that Duplicolor is a lacquer, you can pretty much spray whatever brand of paint you want on top of it and not have to worry about it. I use the high-build gray for pretty much everything, and I'll overcoat that with white primer for the lighter colored paint jobs.

Rustoleum Filler-Primer is also lacquer based and priced decently at Walmart. I don't know about Rustoleum Automotive Primer--never used it.

Check the can. IIRC, Krylon says "recoat within 24 hours or after 7 days".

For me, the Krylon dries pretty quickly, and I can sand a couple of hours later. i'm not sure what causes the stickiness, but be careful to maintain the recommended temperatures and not to put on too heavy a coat.

I have to agree with Gary and Nathan Rustoleum and duplicolor primers are better choices and you would get better results using them and be less frustrated. I've used them both, but I don't know about spraying in 50 degree weather. Both primers dry fast andh sand nicely. You will probably pay about $6-7 a can, but it's definitely worth it

bradycros said:

Is this problem coming from the same can of primer?

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Yes, with every problem. I'm beginning to wonder if the can of primer is not primer, but something else, mislabled? Is this possible? Has anyone ever experienced this before?

I always shake it well, and make certain that it is warm, at room temperature.
I'm about to switch to your idea of a cheaper grey primer instead.

YMMV depending on where you live. Here in the Piedmont, some things take longer to dry because of humidity. I've been able to sand within a couple of days and up to a week because if I can still smell the gasses, it ain't dry by my standards. The Rustoleum auto paint is what I use and have been quite pleased with it. I used to use Krylon but that was before I knew about how much better I was going to like the Rusto.

Kirk G said:

Yes, with every problem. I'm beginning to wonder if the can of primer is not primer, but something else, mislabled? Is this possible? Has anyone ever experienced this before?

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I use Krylon primers and paints all the time and have never experianced any of the problems you are having.

I would trash the probmatic can and use a brand new/freash can of primer.

Follow the directions on the can as closely as possible to eliminate bad applications in the future.

hball55 said:

Wow, I use Walmart Colorplace primer and I can sand within an hour or two.

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Ditto:
Most important thing is to follow the directions on the can paying particular attention to recoat times.

I generally let it sit overnight but If needed it can be sanded almost always within 2hours. I don't recommend going that fast just because the longer most primer have to outgas the less likely you'll have any compatibility problem.

Since we are sanding away most of the primer anyway it really doesn't make much sense to me to spend a lot of money for primer. I always use the Least expensive primer I can get my hands on. To date I've had Zero compatibility problems with Colorplace Walmart Grey sanding primer. Most of my paint jobs look like plastic so I fail to see the need for spending another dime on Primer.

According to the paint mixer at the local NAPA auto parts, where you buy it can make a difference. He told me that Wal Mart can sell Krylon paints and primers cheaper because they have less pigment in the cans. I'm not sure how absolute his information is, but back before I switched brands, the Krylon white primer just didn't coat very well. And I can remember when it did some many years ago.

djfuller said:

+1

Plus being that Duplicolor is a lacquer, you can pretty much spray whatever brand of paint you want on top of it and not have to worry about it. I use the high-build gray for pretty much everything, and I'll overcoat that with white primer for the lighter colored paint jobs.

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I use Duplicolor high-build filler primer for everything too, but I'd like to see if I can find something better. The problem with Duplicolor filler primer is that it shrinks over time. I have rockets that were perfect right after I finished them, but then after 3 or 4 weeks you can see some woodgrain in the fins and spiral marks in the tubes that weren't visible before. VonMises has experienced the same problem with Duplicolor filler primer.

That is one of the reasons (other then the Cost) I stopped using "High Build" rattle can primers from any manufacturer. They do indeed shrink over time sometimes causing unsightly stress dimples and spiral marks.

Gary: Your NAPA man is sort of correct. There are different Grades and particle size Filler in various "Color" Primers. Black & Browns generally have the largest Filler particles (not Pigment). Red, Dark and Light Grey have medium and White the finest filler particles. White and some Red primers are Intended as "finishing Primers". There are also a few Special purpose Spot and special use primers that have differing color and particle size as well. Most are either white or Red also but are generally 3 or 4 times as expensive as gereral use red and whites. These are used mostly for re-finishing damaged paint jobs. It is really important to read the label on every single can of rattle can product you use to KNOW what exactly you have and it's intended use.

Wal-Mart sells Things Cheaper because they Buy in Huge Purchase lots demanding the Lowest Price.
Conversely this is why "most" Mom & Pop hardware store Prices are much higher for similar or identical products.