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Stewart Systems Primer

aarvig

Well Known Member
Does anyone out there have any experience with Stewart Systems primer? If so is it suitable for priming interior structural components? I am going to be shooting paint in my basement and I HAVE to protect my health and the health of my family. Please, I am not trying to start a primer war...I would just like advice on Stewart Systems. Thanks!
 
That's what I'm using. Also in my basement. Non-toxic, non-flamable, nonexplosive, easy clean up. I usually spray two light coats with about 10 minutes in between. After a few days, it's hard as nails. If you have any specific questions you can PM me or call Dan Stewart. He's always been very helpful with my calls.
Good luck.
 
Loved the stuff.

Not hard as epoxy but hard enough!

Did I say I loved the stuff?

When you spray it, it will look like it is going on with a texture but once it dries, it lays down nice and smooth.

The best part is the water cleanup.
 
I'm another happy user of their Smoke Gray primer. I called Mr. Stewart himself and he helped me setup my Habour Freight HPLV sprayer. Works great! It dries fast, smooth, and is hard as nails. It doesn't have a bad odor, isn't cancerous, non-flammable, and VERY easy to cleanup. You can't go wrong with EkoPrime. Use their EkoEtch product with 50/50 water in a spray bottle to clean up/etch parts before you prime.
 
Loved the stuff.

Not hard as epoxy but hard enough!

Did I say I loved the stuff?

When you spray it, it will look like it is going on with a texture but once it dries, it lays down nice and smooth.

The best part is the water cleanup.

I agree with this with one exception - I had to put a little bit of distilled water mixed in with the primer, otherwise it was going on too thick and wouldn't smooth out. At one point I called Dan to ask about something else and in the conversation he said they recommend adding water to the primer, particularly when it's warm in your paintbooth (anything over 80 F, I'm thinking).

All in all, very happy with it...very tough stuff.
 
So, did you guys just spray it in the basement/garage or did you spray it in a booth?
 
So, did you guys just spray it in the basement/garage or did you spray it in a booth?

I sprayed it in a garage and my hangar...actually, some things even got sprayed outside in front of the hangar in the open air. They all turned out well, I was just trying to prevent getting overspray on everything.
 
I sprayed in my basement using a Harbor Freight HVLP gun (the model where the gun is seperate from the pot). Sometimes I open my workshop door after shooting large batches to help clear the air, but it really wasn't a big issue. No paint or fumes migrated upstairs.
 
Roll it

Another option is a roller with the Stewart Primer, I have been using a 1" Rubbermaid touch up roller that has a paint reservoir on it. I am only doing mating surfaces though. This eliminates overspray in the basement and the rest of the house.

Keith
 
More Basic Question

Does the Stewart primer require prep work or is it self-etching? I'm just starting to build in my garage and can't figure out the best way to prime/corrosion proof the inside of the HS and VS I am working on right now.
 
Does the Stewart primer require prep work or is it self-etching? I'm just starting to build in my garage and can't figure out the best way to prime/corrosion proof the inside of the HS and VS I am working on right now.

No it's not self etching, it is a 3 step process but all 3 steps are water clean up. Another plus for me besides the ones already mentioned is that what ever paint is left in the gun can be poured back into the resealable jar and used later.

Here's their web site if you want to have a look http://www.stewartsystems.aero/default.aspx
 
So, did you guys just spray it in the basement/garage or did you spray it in a booth?

I'm spraying in my basement with the Harbor Freight 5.3oz HVLP gun. I've almost finished the empenage and have had no problems with smells getting upstairs. That said, before I start my wings, I'm going to build a small booth with a bathroom vent fan blowing through an old drier vent to the outside. I think that will eliminate the small amount of mist in the air for about 5 minutes after spraying a batch.
 
Set Up

I'm another happy user of their Smoke Gray primer. I called Mr. Stewart himself and he helped me setup my Habour Freight HPLV sprayer. Works great! It dries fast, smooth, and is hard as nails. It doesn't have a bad odor, isn't cancerous, non-flammable, and VERY easy to cleanup. You can't go wrong with EkoPrime. Use their EkoEtch product with 50/50 water in a spray bottle to clean up/etch parts before you prime.

What were Mr. Stewart's recommendations for the gun set up?
C.:confused:
 
No it's not self etching, it is a 3 step process but all 3 steps are water clean up. Another plus for me besides the ones already mentioned is that what ever paint is left in the gun can be poured back into the resealable jar and used later.

Here's their web site if you want to have a look http://www.stewartsystems.aero/default.aspx



I'm interested in switching to Stewart system primer also. The website leaves a few questions. It also mentions a DuPont m50 cup for thinning, is that required?
Does the alodine coating need to be removed first or will the Ekoetch take care of that?

What are the 3 steps?

I'm only seeing:
1. clean with Ekoetch
2. prime
3. ?


thanks,
 
Any of you guys ever spray a test part, and (after thorough drying) put it in water to see how durable it is?
 
For new aluminum they told me to use the cleaner, then the etch, then prime; no scuffing required for areas like the inside of wings, that won't ever get touched. To prime before painting you need to scuff the surface too, as shown on the videos. The primer seems to stick well if you just scuff and clean or any combination of the above, with or without alodine. I haven't water-tested the one-part primer-sealer but the two-part epoxy primer is resistant to lacquer thinner. I had flash rusting on steel parts with the epoxy primer and won't use it anymore for steel.
 
Ive been using the system for years. The Dupont cup is useful to determine the correct amount of water to add to get the desired viscosity. I was surprised how much it takes. Follow the directions for thin passes in opposite directions.
 
It is water borne....once it drys, it is not affected by water.
Somewhere I read that there is a difference between water borne and water based.
 
The viscosity cup is only necessary if you don't weigh the paint, catalyst and water when you mix, as shown on the video. The cup is hard to find and local paint suppliers had their own favorite brand costing about $50. But the Dupont cup is available from Stewart for less than $10. Be sure to order with the paint as the shipping $ is about what the cup costs.

The paint seems be pretty forgiving. I had just a small area to spray and used an airbrush. It's hard to mix that small an amount and the catalyst probably wasn't quite right. Then when I tried to spray, I had to keep adding water to get the HF airbrush to spray. Once diluted enough, way more than for the DeVilbiss gun, and without using any viscosity cup or scale, it went on OK.
 
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