what primer to use?.

tals7

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hi, i am getting ready to do a full resto on one of my stargates,and am looking for a good primer to use.i will be most likely sanding down to bare wood.the cab is not in to bad of shape,just the typical gouges and grain raiseing.i am doing a galaxian resto now and tried the zinsser primer/sealer over bare wood/bondo,sands like cement/applys very lumpy.i have also used 2k auto primer on a ms pac resto before,looked good until it dried for a while the shrunk up and cracked in the grain of the wood.so i guess i am looking for a primer that sands good/wont shrink up/accepts oil base top coats.i did search for this but seems every one just says that they primed the cab,but dont say what type primer they used and how well it holds up.thanks for any help!. p.s i do own a body shop so i do know a little.
 
the auto stuff is fine. You laid it on too heavily. Nice thin coats. By the time your done spraying one side the top half should already be dry or half dry.

The reason i say thin coats is because if the wood is real dry its going to suck it up like a sponge. You want to keep priming untill it stops sucking it up. If you laid a few quick heavy coats you wont see it, the primer eill be too thick, and when the solvent evaporates it will shrink up on you.

using a "2k" speed sealer seems like a good idea but its always been a mess imho. I can never get that krap right. regular old non catalized primer primer works just fine.


one to two thin coats, let dry preferrably 1 hour + , sand with like 400, 2x more thin coats, sand, etc untill its butter smooth. if you havent taken icing to all the small flaws and imperfections it will take alot of priming and sanding before its smooth and ready for paint.... hell same goes for a car you know that.


best of luck.
 
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thanks for your reply,but i am wanting to stay away from the auto primer.i did not put on to thick.i put three med coats on then sanded down(almost seeing wood),then did this again.it looked good and was super smooth,but after a few weeks of being done and in the game room it started to shrink up just like it would over a rough auto body repair.i thought i saw someone say to use a oil based primer?.
 
I use rusteolum's primer. Occasionally I'll get a crack or two, but that only happens when I put it down too thick. I've used it on metal and wood.
 
I have been using the rusteolum rattle can automotive primer. It doesn't sand for shit and cakes the sandpaper bad. Humidity might be one of my problems tho. It was hot as hell yesterday when I switched to wet sanding and I did see some improvement.
 
I use Kilz Premium primer. It accepts latex and oil. Easy to sand and I've never noticed any shrinking/expanding. I don't spray, so I don't know how or if it could be sprayed.

KILZ_ProductPgImg_PremiumNew_105x125.jpg
 
Rustoleum will sand fine if it's dry. And I think anything cakes up sandpaper. I've switched to steel wool a lot now...no clogging there.
 
I use Kilz Premium primer. It accepts latex and oil. Easy to sand and I've never noticed any shrinking/expanding. I don't spray, so I don't know how or if it could be sprayed.

KILZ_ProductPgImg_PremiumNew_105x125.jpg

+1

This. Don't go cheap with primer since it's the foundation for whatever paint you'll be using. The only time I use spray-on primer is for restoring control panels. Even then, I try to get the premium quality.
 
I use Kilz Premium primer. It accepts latex and oil. Easy to sand and I've never noticed any shrinking/expanding. I don't spray, so I don't know how or if it could be sprayed.

KILZ_ProductPgImg_PremiumNew_105x125.jpg

cool,thanks.i think i will try this,its hard to tell from the pic if it is oil based?.
 
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