Primer on Resin Problems...????

[F Troop]

Never experienced this before. I am working on a resin figure and none of my regular primers seem to be working.....either not wanting to dry hard or just rubbing off with the touch of a finger. I have used both Tamiya gray & white, Floquil and my old Home Depot Rust-Oleum Painters Touch. Figure has been washed several times with dish detergent which has usually taken care of any residues in the past.

Ideas for resin primer?

 

[bogusman53]

I would go with Krylon camouflage colours, normally I use black or more recently sand. This primer always dries matt and has excellent 'tooth' to allow acrylics to bond well with the primer. It's fairly expensive at around £6 - 7 per can but considering a bust costs £35 upwards and figures anything from £10 - 30 I think it's a wise investment, you want your work to last so what's the point of saving a quid or two on primer? You could also try cleaning your figures in a dishwasher, I kid you not! It works, you have to get the mould release off the figure as I know to my cost with a bust I spent hours on began to peel. I won't make that mistake again!
Hope this helps. Happy painting.

 

[Helm]

Plain old car primer never had any problems
Steve

 

[Gra30]

Go with Steve for priming ref car spray, halfords in UK., although for resin I just spray a coat of humbrol white over the piece and go straight in.
The sticky and non drying is common on vinyl figures if the wrong paint is used and non compatible with the resin/vinyl. Vinyl modellers recommend the halfords primer as it dries properly, I think it has something to do with the paint mix reacting with the surface and causing non drying.

 

[Gra30]

I would go with Krylon camouflage colours, normally I use black or more recently sand. This primer always dries matt and has excellent 'tooth' to allow acrylics to bond well with the primer. It's fairly expensive at around £6 - 7 per can but considering a bust costs £35 upwards and figures anything from £10 - 30 I think it's a wise investment, you want your work to last so what's the point of saving a quid or two on primer? You could also try cleaning your figures in a dishwasher, I kid you not! It works, you have to get the mould release off the figure as I know to my cost with a bust I spent hours on began to peel. I won't make that mistake again!
Hope this helps. Happy painting.

Be careful with some resin parts in a dish washer, some resin is heat reactive and will cause parts to distort at dishwasher temperature. Usually it is the softer less brittle resin that is good for high detailed small parts. Of course if you have a cold setting then no probs

 

[Tubby-Nuts2]

As another option! .. there is the 'Citadel', White and Black, primers! .. the spray is quite fine ! ... and it does stick! . .. However there are the auto trade primers, that can yield good results, and even at a pinch, the 'Humbrol Acrylic', sprays! have come in useful!

However, a question that does need to be asked, how long have you let the Primer sit for ?
Regards
Mark

 

[theBaron]

This reminds me of a similar, recent thread, but I can't recall whether it was here or at Timelines. Someone reported a similar issue with a resin figure and the primer, and the discussion focused on the content of the resin itself. Is it possible that in this case, too, the resin might not be properly mixed or cured? In that case, it might not matter about the paint.

If the issue is just getting a clean surface, I'd avoid the dishwasher, too, but I recommend using a stronger de-greaser than dishwashing detergent. I use the automotive de-greaser SuperClean. I found it gets the surface literally squeaky clean. SuperGreen is supposed to work similarly well, while being formulated to be environmentally friendly, if that's a consideration for you, too. Just a couple of drops mixed in with warm water, just as you would the detergent.

Prost!
Brad

 

[pte1643]

Always use Car Primer straight from the rattle can, for resin figures and general plastic modelling.

Never had a problem with it sticking to anything.

 

[kagemusha]

Only ever had a similar problem once. Cleaned it with neat Alcohol, end of problem

Ron

 

[Stephan]

Vallejo no problem on resin with that, take a toothbrush an teethpaste (dont know the english word) for special cleaning.

 

[Don]

Almost always use car primer for resin, Halfords Grey and White. Never had a problem. Always scrub with an old toothbrush using dishwashing liquid.
I have heard you can put enamels straight onto resin, after cleaning of course, but never been brave enough to try it.

Don

 

[F Troop]

To All That Responded - Thanks

And the rest of my story.....I did a lot of conversion work on this particular figure so I just couldn't bring myself to committing it to the dish washer. Had it been new and un-assembled maybe but not after my conversion. So off to the auto store for a primer. I settled on Krylon Dual Superbond Paint-Primer in flat black. Suppose to be "ultimate adhesion & strength" and even works on ceramic and glass. Sounded good to me. One coat and I had a couple of spots that easily rubbed off. Second coat and 99% there.

I finally figured out the trick was to allow 24-48 hours for the primer to "cure" before touching it. Doesn't necessarily make sense according to the can's instructions (25 mins - 1 hour) but it worked. Now undercoating and all appears well. BTW, the Krylon dried very nicely, thin and with a fine satin "tooth." With hindsight, I think maybe some of the earlier primers may still work if allowed a 48 hour curing period.

 

[Helm]

Theres still something odd there Rick I don't usually leave car primer more than an hour or so before painting on it and never had that problem sounds more like something else other than just the primer to me. glad it;s sorted anyway
Steve

 

[housecarl]

I've had a similar problem when the resin hadn't cured properly.
The surface seemed to weep.
I think I ended up baking it, to force dry it.

 

[theBaron]

To All That Responded - Thanks

And the rest of my story.....I did a lot of conversion work on this particular figure so I just couldn't bring myself to committing it to the dish washer. Had it been new and un-assembled maybe but not after my conversion. So off to the auto store for a primer. I settled on Krylon Dual Superbond Paint-Primer in flat black. Suppose to be "ultimate adhesion & strength" and even works on ceramic and glass. Sounded good to me. One coat and I had a couple of spots that easily rubbed off. Second coat and 99% there.

I finally figured out the trick was to allow 24-48 hours for the primer to "cure" before touching it. Doesn't necessarily make sense according to the can's instructions (25 mins - 1 hour) but it worked. Now undercoating and all appears well. BTW, the Krylon dried very nicely, thin and with a fine satin "tooth." With hindsight, I think maybe some of the earlier primers may still work if allowed a 48 hour curing period.

Glad you found a simple resolution! I'll let my primed figures sit for at least a day, too, even if the label on the can of paint lists a shorter time to cure. I'm with some of the others, I use automotive primer, and haven't had any issues with the paint itself (some brands' rattlecans and spray nozzles are trouble, though, like Rustoleum's). I have noticed that seasonal issues can affect the curing time, like changes in temperature and humidity.

Prost!
Brad

 

[F Troop]

Brad - Almost summer here in Northern Virginia so humidity is a possibility.
Housecarl - No signs of weeping; resin really looked good and was thoroughly cleaned. All looks well now and will start some more serious painting tonight hopefully.

 

[Hecky_uk]

Is it all over the figure you are having problems or just one place. I had this issue once and it was because the resin hadn't been mixed properly on a particular area and it never really cured. Just a thought

Ian

 

[F Troop]

Ian,

Just a couple of spots....but it looks like everything is working now.

 

[polyphemus]

Perhaps it's something with the benign climate around here (North West UK) but I've never washed or primed a figure. Straight on with the undercoat (acrylic or enamel - depends what I have lurking around) then oil topcoat. Maybe I'll wake one morning to find all the paint's dropped off the little beggars.

Geoff

 

[theBaron]

Brad - Almost summer here in Northern Virginia so humidity is a possibility...

I hear ya! I'm in Bethlehem, PA, and we probably see much the same kind of weather. I run a dehumidifier in the basement from May through September.