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Recommended "Rattle Can" Primer

C

Chris flies

Member
I am going to use a can primer for my tail. Appreciate recommendations on best product available. Also, will a Sharpie show through for marking parts?

Thanks
 
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SEM self-etching primer.

If you lay it on too thick, it'll flake and scratch easily, but a couple of light
coats will stick better and allow a sharpie to show through.
 
I'm with John, I like the SEM stuff, but it is very pricey through my local supplier ($15+/can). I switched to Napa #7220 simply because of the cost and ease of acquistion, and it seems to be working just fine.
 
I'm using this stuff from Aircraft Spruce:

n12804481_32231393_3802.jpg
 
Marhyde Self Etching Primer works as good as any rattle can stuff and you can get it at most any automotive paint store.
 
SEM works well

I second John's thoughts. SEM self-etching primer works well. Two light coats works great, dries fast and lets Mr. Sharpie shine through. You can remove it with MEC, if you want. I bought my first few cans through an auto paint retailer, but you can get it much cheaper on the internet. I bought about 3 cases and they will last me through the whole project. I am about 3/4 through the fuse.
 
Napa #7220 Self Etching Primer

I second the NAPA #7220 Self Etching Primer. It works great and easy to apply. If you watch for NAPA sales you can get it half price. It usually runs around $7.50/can I caught it on sale a year ago for half price. I bought a case of it and have pretty well used the entire case up to this point (fuselage pretty well complete). I wish I had bought two cases of the stuff.
 
I second the aircraft spruce stuff - but that might be cause I can drive there and pick it up:

n12804450_32035526_1111.jpg


I also looked for the NAPA 7220, but no stores in my area carried it. Spruce had there self-etch priced at around $7-8 per can. Like the SEM, don't go to thick or it will scratch or peel easily. Learned that the hard way... a few times. :cool:
 
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This is what I use.
Primer01.jpg


Light scuff with Scotchbrite, clean with MEK, a VERY light coat of Dupli-Color to etch and then Rust-oleum Gloss Smoke Gray topcoat. Quick easy and $4.99 for each at you local Auto Zone or Pep Boys.
 
w1curtis said:
Light scuff with Scotchbrite, clean with MEK, a VERY light coat of Dupli-Color to etch and then Rust-oleum Gloss Smoke Gray topcoat. Quick easy and $4.99 for each at you local Auto Zone or Pep Boys.
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I would suggest MEK before and after Scotchbrite to keep from working oils into the surface or the pads.

My local NAPA carries both the Dupli-Color and the #7220 Self Etching Primer. I returned the Dupli-color after one use. It did not hold up like the #7220. If you don't see it at Napa then ask at the counter. Mine store stocks the Dupli-color but can get me the #7220 next day. Using two items like above may work as well but why the extra work?
 
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The best I've found is Tempo 20420 Zinc Chromate (5606 from Redden marine supply). This is the YELLOW one. The Green Zinc Chromate is garbage...the yellow goes on very nicely. After a couple of days, it is hard as a rock.

Only my opinion but I'm very satisfied.
 
NAPA or SW

I've had good luck with the NAPA or the Sherwin Williams self etching stuff. I have used the SEM and I like the way it looks. However even in thin coats it's adheasion is rather poor for a self etching primer in my opinion. Oh and it's really pricy!

I've even gone as far as putting on a light coat of the SW stuff and then top coating it with some zinc chromate.
 
Epoxy?

Several questions come to mind while viewing this thread.

Does anyone make a self-etching epoxy rattle can primer?

I've been using Alumiprep33/Alodine 1201/PPG DP40, spraying the two-part DP40 with a Preval sprayer. This is expensive.

Do the other primers listed provide the same "encapsulation" allegedly provided by epoxy?

I've read and been told that applied Zinc Chromate has a life cycle and actually repels corrosion by some type molecular exfoliation.

What would you use if your bird were to be based less than two miles from the Atlantic Ocean?

I've been told that the only way to protect the metal from the salt environment is to "encapsulate" in epoxy primer.

I plan to prime every interior inch of the 8 and the 10 now under construction and your constructive views/ideas/concerns are valued and appreciated.
 
Hard Knox said:
What would you use if your bird were to be based less than two miles from the Atlantic Ocean?
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Akzo-Nobel epoxy. The stuff ACS sells. They call it a "primer" but it's really a fluid resistant sealer designed to seal out...well...everything. My opinion is this stuff is as good as anything else you'll find and goes on easier than anything else I've tried. It's tough as nails and lasts forever as far as I can tell. If you're really paranoid, you can Alodine underneath but I don't think it's nescessary for full protection.

The datasheet tells all but I don't have it in front of me.
 
Hard Knox said:
I've been using Alumiprep33/Alodine 1201/PPG DP40, spraying the two-part DP40 with a Preval sprayer. This is expensive.

What would you use if your bird were to be based less than two miles from the Atlantic Ocean?
Click to expand...

I would upgrade from DP40 to a Boeing spec BMS10-11 product (Akzo have one). The BMS10-11 spec is a product which is a final coating in itself and is extremely resistant to corrosive environments and is also quite inert to solvents, fuels, and brake fluids. DP40 on the other hand was not designed to be a stand-alone coating....it REALLY is a primer and is recommended only where a top coat will be used.

All of the certificated spam cans (Cessna, Piper etc) now feature BMS10-11 'primers' as a standard protection.

As for the rattle can products.....they're all complete junk by comparison. You just don't get the developed cross linking of the long chain molecules in the single pack paints that you get from the two pack epoxies.
 
Captain Avgas said:
.....I would upgrade from DP40 to a Boeing spec BMS10-11 product (Akzo have one)..........
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Akzo is truly tough stuff. I like it because you can shoot a part and in less than an hour, the part is dry enough to work with. Here's something no rattle can primer can claim. When Akzo is fully cured, you can wipe it down with MEK over and over and over and the most you will do is lighten it. I have never found any rattle can primer that can hold up to a thorough and periodic wipe down with MEK, which the floor of my 6A can attest too.

Using the little spray gun fitted with a 35mm film canister, I shot the entire -8 fuselage interior....sometimes as few as one or two pieces at a time using Akzo. It is very easy to mix a small amount, frequently I mix less than 4 oz. at a time using small dixie cups as disposable measuring devices and waste is kept to a minimum.

My idea of surface prep is nothing more than a wash in mild soapy water using a scotchbrite pad for light scrubbing, then rinse and dry. Larger parts were done in the bathtub. Really large parts are done outside with a bucket of soapy water and a garden hose. Prior to applying the primer, I wipe down the part surface with MEK which as you know evaporates almost immediately.

The stuff dries like porcelain.
 
The BMS10-11 spec and the DMS 1786 spec (the one Spruce sells) look to be similar in performance (DMS 1786 perhaps a little better). BMS10-11 looks like the low VOC version, it goes on a little thinner, and takes FOREVER to dry (tack free in 2 hours). The Spruce one is tack free pretty much as soon as you spray it....within 5 or 10 minutes on a reasonably warm day.
 
Another nod toward NAPA 7220. Inexpensive, easy to apply, durable. Doesn't scratch off easily. Sharpie will show through. I first wipe with MEK or acetone, replace any markings immediately so I don't forget, then spray.
 
NAPA 7220

I don't mind Napa 7220. Initially it's a soft finish, but after a few days it's quite durable. I picked up case last year when Napa had it on sale. About $3.50 or so. Half price I think. With the QB, Vans primes the installed parts with a wash primer. No need to reprime. I'm virtually finished with the wings, moving on to the fuse soon. I've used a total of 10 cans of 7220 rattle can primer and figure I'll need another 3 or 4 more cans to finish up. The technique I've employed to date is to work on small projects at a time. So mixing up smaller batches of epoxy primer every time I need to prime would be a waste of my time(cleanup) and money(waste). If it came on sale again, I would buy another case. (do I here group buy? ;) )
 
Count me in.

cnpeters said:
Another nod toward NAPA 7220. Inexpensive, easy to apply, durable. Doesn't scratch off easily. Sharpie will show through. I first wipe with MEK or acetone, replace any markings immediately so I don't forget, then spray.
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Count me in with the 7220 guys. Works great and no fuss.

"they can pry my 7220 from my cold dead hand!"
 
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