Primer for wood

[tstage]

I have a can of Tamiya light gray fine primer.  On the label it states that it's "For plastic & metal".

Are there any reasons it would NOT be good to use on a wood laser kit - e.g. AMB caboose?

Thanks,

Tom

[doctorwayne]

I can't imagine that it would be detrimental on wood, but if you have a spare hunk of scrap wood, a little test should ease your concerns.

Wayne

[Pruitt]

Could be that the volatiles in the paint would be absorbed too fast into the wood grain and the pait won't cure correctly. Might make it behave more like a stain than a coat of pigment. If that's the case, a second or even a third coat might be needed to get paint-like coverage.

[maxman]

I googled your question and found a lot of info on wood primers including Tamiya. I didn’t read through all of it, but you might find more “professional“ opinions if you go the google route.

[tstage]

doctorwayne

...if you have a spare hunk of scrap wood, a little test should ease your concerns.

Oh, that was a given, Wayne.  I just wanted to know if there was something obvious that I wasn't seeing.

Pruitt

Could be that the volatiles in the paint would be absorbed too fast into the wood grain and the pait won't cure correctly. Might make it behave more like a stain than a coat of pigment. If that's the case, a second or even a third coat might be needed to get paint-like coverage.

Thanks, Mark.  Tamiya paint goes on very fine so I do plan on multiple light coats and letting it dry well before applying the top color coat.  I also want to do a test to make sure that the primary paint is compatible with the primer (and vise versa).

Tom

[Overmod]

My practice in restoration was to use thinned primer as a first coat, then 'regular strength' once there were no more visible 'thin spots' of film starvation.

That ensures good bonding of the primer to the wood, and also a full area for bonding the topcoat to the primed surface.

[tstage]

Sprayed a scrap piece of wood from the laser kit with primer and paint.  So far, so good.

The Tamiya primer I let dry overnight (12 hrs), sniffed it for odor in the morning (negliable) then sprayed the scrap with a single coat of Scalecoat I.  After 15 hrs the paint is still a wee bit tacky and has a slight odor.

I do not see any reaction - e.g. paint bubbling.  And the paint looks uniform.  Is it safe to say that the primer (for metal & plastic) and the paint are compatible with one another?  Or do I wait till it completely dries to call it good?

Thanks,

Tom

[MidlandPacific]

You might want to spray the wood with a sanding sealer first.  This covers the wood with a thin layer of varnish-like material, which keeps the pores from absorbing the paint.  That reduces the number of coats you need to apply and ensures that the finish of the painted wood will more closely resemble the finish on, say, detail parts made of metal or plastic. YMMV, of course, and if you're satisfied with the results, there are always a couple ways to skin the cat.