Priming Canvas Phenolic

[Banzai88]

OK, just finished assembling a MAC Scorpion. LOVE the kit, awesomely well thought out.

Now it's time to paint it.

I've sanded it to 320 grit and put a full coat of filler primer on it, and it still looks pretty rough. I'll sand it tomorrow and recoat.

For those that have finished a canvas phenolic tube and fins before, any secrets?

 

[mpitfield]

OK, just finished assembling a MAC Scorpion. LOVE the kit, awesomely well thought out.

Now it's time to paint it.

I've sanded it to 320 grit and put a full coat of filler primer on it, and it still looks pretty rough. I'll sand it tomorrow and recoat.

For those that have finished a canvas phenolic tube and fins before, any secrets?

Good timing on this thread as I contemplate prep, prime, and paint for my MAC BlackFly. I was just looking at the tubing and my thought was that it is a perfect substrate as it is just prime with my Dupli-color Mastic filler primer, sand to 320 then lay down my base coats. What primer did you use, and what base and top coats are you planning?

 

[Banzai88]

Since it seemed sorta absorbent and showed some canvas printing in one section, I started off with some high build Rustoleum filler primer. It's my go to for something like this.

I'll sand it tomorrow after it dries overnight. Things often look a lot better after the first sanding.

Once I'm satisfied with the primer surface, it's getting a color coat of orange and blue Montana Gold spray.

 

[EXPjawa]

I've painted three of them now. I've scuffed everything with 180 grit then shot with Rustoleum filler primer. No issues. The fins require particular attention to scuffing, since their surface is so smooth.

 

[watheyak]

I'm in the middle of priming and sanding my MAC kit tight now. The only issue I had was getting the leading edges smooth. Soaking some thin CA into them and sanding with 320 did the trick.

So far I've used Duplicolor filler primer, most of which has been sanded off. The final primer and colors will be Klass Kote epoxy paint. I've never used the stuff before, but I've heard great things and I'm excited to try it.

 

[dixontj93060]

+1 on the filler-primer as there are some slight fabric impressions in a few areas. Couple of good shots and sanding rounds and it goes away.

 

[pondman]

When I painted my Scorpion there were some areas of fabric that showed thru. Some spot putty filled the imperfections nicely & followed it up with my normal catalyzed primer/filler.

 

[Banzai88]

So far I've used Duplicolor filler primer, most of which has been sanded off.

+1 on the filler-primer as there are some slight fabric impressions in a few areas. Couple of good shots and sanding rounds and it goes away.

When I painted my Scorpion there were some areas of fabric that showed thru. Some spot putty filled the imperfections nicely & followed it up with my normal catalyzed primer/filler.

OK, after dodging the rain, I got a chance to dry sand some. Everything above checks out, nearly all of it gets sanded off and it seems to go away somewhat. So far I've hit it with a whole sheet of 320, and it'll take another sheet until I'm satisfied enough to want to put another coat of primer on it. After that, it'll be spot putty to make anything that remains go away.

Once I wet sand the final primer coat, I'll have to re-evaluate whether I want to use a lacquer or if a thicker enamel would be a better choice.

 

[Nytrunner]

+1 on the filler-primer as there are some slight fabric impressions in a few areas. Couple of good shots and sanding rounds and it goes away.

What's a good paper to use on the filler-primer? It seems to clog my paper way faster than my normal 2x primer (which is marked as "sandable").

 

[Banzai88]

I tried to wet sand to keep the paper from clogging so much, but it wasn't getting very much done. I started dry sanding and finally got some pretty good 'cut'. I'm using 320 grit 3M brand. Took me 2 full sheets to get rid of 99% of the printing.

Second coat of primer goes on as soon as the rain stops!

 

[EXPjawa]

I usually do the initial primer sand with 220 grit or so. The filler primer is high-build, so you probably have to take off a lot more to get the high areas (which might most of it) down to the spots that have been filled in. So, its an iterative process. I typically prime, sand, prime, sand a few times. Also, I assume that by clogging, you're talking about powdery paint dust coming off. But, if you see clogging with solid, shiny build up in the paper, your primer isn't dry enough to sand yet.