Aerosol sprays and priming wood

[Soar Valley Light]

Hello all,

My apologies for re-opening a debate which must have had more come backs on here than Frank Sinatra! I've trawled through various searches but can't find the answers I'm looking for, in any case it's a topic which I've not seen discussed recently and people my have new experience to share.

This is really a two pronged question. Firstly, what brand of aerosol do people favour for quality, cost and most of all not clogging up after 10 seconds! Secondly, what brand would you recommend for priming wood?

I recently bought some off ebay, only to suffer an almost instant blocking up of the nozzle. It was cheap - but it's now cost me more in replacement nozzles than it originally cost! There's a moral in the re somewhere!

All the best,

CFLR Andrew

[ge_rik]

This is really a two pronged question. Firstly, what brand of aerosol do people favour for quality, cost and most of all not clogging up after 10 seconds! Secondly, what brand would you recommend for priming wood?

I recently bought some off ebay, only to suffer an almost instant blocking up of the nozzle. It was cheap - but it's now cost me more in replacement nozzles than it originally cost! There's a moral in the re somewhere!

All the best,

CFLR Andrew

I'm sure I'll not be the only one to bestow the virtues of Halfords car paints. Never yet had problems with clogging unlike some I bought from B&Q which not only clogged but spattered irregular blobs and dibbled from the nozzle.

Can't help with a wood primer aerosol. I've always hand primed or sealing sanded and then rubbed down any wooden models I've made.

Rik

[philipy]

I'm with Rik, on Halfords spray paints and hand priming. Actually I'm not sure I've ever seen a spray primer for wood, only metal/plastic.

[Peter Butler]

There are possibly two questions combined here and therefore two answers....
Firstly, is the primer used to put a base coat onto the timber simply to seal the surface?
If so, a grey acrylic spray primer will allow a brush or spray top coat to be applied, both of which should use less paint by restricting absorption into the wood but still show the wood-grain effect, possible enhanced when varnished or lacquered.
The second alternative is to use a spray filler/primer which will work as above but with the added benefit of smoothing out and disguising the grain, something I am in favour of in certain circumstances.
Both are available in the Halford's range and well used here!

[Tingewickmax]

You don't actually say what material you want to spray onto. Generally I agree with the use of the Halfords products suggested and their different purposes and applications. However I would reccomend using a cellulose based sanding sealer first on ply & strip wood before anything else is applied. If you are working with MDF, a material being increasingly used by some companies, then a decent MDF sealer must be used before anything else. Rustins is the one most people suggest (it's a thinned down version of PVA) should be used before any priming coats.

For spraying these materials from a tin I have used use a very basic airbrush like one of these https://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/badg ... 503-250-3/ the same one for 30 years. Although I use a small compressor rather than the "air in a can" as shown. Sanding sealer you will have to thin down with cellulose thinners to spray unless it is ready thinned. MDF sealer you may get away with straight from the tin. I find a little bit of fuse wire is handy if the airbrushe's paint nozzel clogs. Don't be afraid to give one of these a try, they are surprisingly easy to get the hang of and could save you a lot of money in the long run.

If you are spraying onto resin then straight to a basic Halfords primer and then your chosen colour coat. Halfords have a vast range of car colours tha may suit, otherwise Phoenix Precision enamels thinned with their specified product are excellent, airbrushed, and then a coat or 2 whatever final finish you want - gloss/satin/Matt. If spraying onto styrene make sure you select the "plastic" primer from the Halfords range.

Edit - Just remembered. A little trick to improve the flow and atomisation of paint sprayed from a rattle can - Place the can in a container filled with hand hot water for about 3/4 minutes. Just sit it in there not totally immerse it. It raises the pressure in the can improving paint flow and reduces the risk of clogging. Hand hot water not, repeat not, neat boiling from a kettle.

[BertieB]

Wilco’s spraycan grey ‘All purpose Primer for wood, metal, plastic & ceramic’ (£5.50) is my usual choice, initially because there was a store locally (and it used to be cheaper) — but it’s never ‘spluttered’ or ‘blobbed’. I always have a couple of cans in stock.

If the surface can do with a bit more help, I use the yellow Halfords Primer Filler (£6.49) before the grey primer. As Tingewickmax suggests, I always drop the cans in a saucepan of hot water for 5min before vigorously shaking for another 2 min: it’s become a bit like a religious ceremony.

[Soar Valley Light]

Thanks everyone,

You've collectively provided some really handy tips and advice. It's going to be very handy for future builds.

Halfords seem to be very popular with most people. I'll investigate their range of colours further. It looks like I'm going to be dipping my elbow in a few bowls too before 'bathing the can'. I'd never heard of that one before!

All the best,

CFLR Andrew