Non-toxic primer suggestions needed

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ToledoRocket

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2014
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Returning rocketeer with kids, and I need some advice. 25 years ago I finished everything from pinewood derby cars to rockets with a wet sanded lacquer primer covered with enamels from rattlecans or the ubiquitous Testor's enamel from a Badger 300 airbrush.

Now I'm older and have small children, so I want to find a less toxic solution. I am currently using Rustoleum auto body primer and sanding between coats. I think I may have developed a sensitivity to this product, if that's possible. I love the finish and I am familiar with the process, but it's time for a change.

Are there any sandable acrylic primers? Is it possible to lay down a few base coats and wet sand them? My goal is to shoot acrylic colors from the airbrush and then clear coat. Any ideas are welcome.

John


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum
 
I shoot acrylic color coats but have not found a good non toxic substitute for Rustoleum auto filler primer. The problem seems to be that the acrylic paints don't get hard like lacquers, so even if they are thickened, they aren't really sandable. I have tried gesso type products without much success.

I have used drywall filler or carpenter's wood filler followed by airbrush primer (Createx brands like Auto Air and Wicked Colors). But putting water based fillers onto cardboard body tube can cause swelling, and in sanding down I break the glassine and cause fuzzies. Yuk.

You might try this:
1. Paper the fins to minimize filling needed.
2. Shoot whole rocket with Auto Air sealer primer.
3. Use drywall spackle to fill spirals. Doesn't take much to rub off excess when dry... can probably lightly sand without over scuffing the adjacent areas of sealer.
4. Second coat of sealer to make uniform surface.
5. Color coat.
 
I think the big problem is with the carrier solvents (the part of the paint that evaporates). We used to make our own sanding sealer/primer by adding baby powder to clear dope. Since butrate dope is a lacquer, it can be used under both lacquer and enamel. You might be able to find something that is sandable and add filler (like baby powder) to it. Maybe a tempra-type paint? Just thought of something else I've done fairly recently - I do small woodworking projects. I do these year 'round. Sometimes I have to put a finish on and let it dry in the house because it's too cold in the garage. I started using General Products (brand) High Performance Water Based Polyurethane. It has almost no smell, and is supposed to be non-toxic. I've tried using it as a grain filler by mixing it with baby powder. Don't know if you can over coat it. I've sprayed it with a PreVal sprayer, but not the grain filler. Might be worth taking a look at.
 
Many of the rockets for school programs [for youngsters] just turn them loose with multi colored markers & let them draw/color the rockets. Those are non toxic & maybe solve your problem, of course less than stellar results are to be expected compared to our standards. But the kids don't seem to care, they actually get to do it, rather than "watching" daddy or mentors spray paint. I would prime them white first, so they have a nice base.
 
Last edited:
My latest rocket I painted with a foam brush with white art paint (<$1). Very sandable and filling, though some brush marks. I then shot some white spray primer which seemed to soak in, sanded a bit more and went to 2 final color coats. I did get a little outer coat popped off where I think it compressed the spiral in the tube during landing. This wasn't rocket tube, it has overlapping wraps, even harder to hide and yet barely visible spiral. I think with regular tubing, spirals would be eliminated without even trying. There's lots of other kinds of brush paints to try. My last all rattle can rocket gained less than one ounce from paint and I used about 20 oz.
 
Gesso works. You can thin it with some acrylic polymer or airbrush medium. It certainly takes longer to dry than VOC alternatives, but it works. If you are painting with acrylics then mix a little bit of your color into the gesso and it works even better.
 
I tried an acrylic gesso from HobLob or Michael's ( not a real gesso which would have an animal binder) but did not find it to sand well. Even thoroughly dry it balled up and made a mess of my sandpaper. Would not recommend it. Tried adding some Spackle to it but that didn't help much.

As an aside, while we rocketeers may get a bit choosey about glues and such, it's nothing like the religious wars over on the art sites about, for example, what constitutes a true gesso...
 
I ended up using a hair dryer to dry it completely. I also sprayed it very lightly with an airbrush. Granted, nothing works as well as a VOC primer, but the gesso method if you give it some drying time. Might be a good idea to pre-prime body tubes you have in stock so that they're nice and dry when you need them to build a rocket.
 
A couple suggestions are: Zinsser Fast Prime 2 is a thick water-based primer can be brushed on easily or thinned for airbrushing. It dries fast and sands easily. I picked up a small can at Menards. Another is Vallejo Surface Primer, water-based and ready to spray from an airbrush. It can also be applied with a brush as well. Vallejo has to cure a few days before it can be sanded or it will come off. Both primers are safe around children.
 
Thanks for all the ideas. Glad to know I am not the only one with this concern.

I think I might try the Zinnser product.

As for the question of gesso, I once worked with a bunch of art school students and grads. There is a lot more chemistry to painting than I would have thought.

John


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum
 
My local Home Depot has Zinnser peel stop triple thick primer.
Does this sound like something that would work?
Was thinking this might mix very well with Chris (HCMBanjo) and George Gassaway idea as posted by Mushtang
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?64398-Pigasus-build-thread
Post 7.
Could put the tape on and brush this stuff on?
Anybody know if this stuff sands off?
 
Back
Top