Question about painting and priming

[ejk]

Good afternoon (it's about 3:00 PM here in Florida).

I am getting ready to paint a small model hull (the middle project in Model Expo's three project intro group (Norwegian Sailing Pram). I have sanded everything to provide a good base for paints and primers. I also applied two coats of sanding Sealer (Sand 'n' Seal), sanding slightly with very fine paper between coats and after the second coat.

My question is whether I should proceed directly to the first coat of the hull paint (going to start with the interior and then do the exterior), or whether I should prime (using an off-white or very light gray primer color) both inside and out before going to color.

Any advice or guidance will be appreciated.

TIA

Ed Kant
Naples, FL

PS: Here are a couple of pix of where I am currently.

 

[Smithy]

Personally, I would usually prime but since your wood is pale and sealed already I’d chance it without primer.

To be sure, seal and try a piece of scrap wood as a test.

 

[ejk]

Thank you, Smithy. I will check that out.

 

[AndyA]

Cap'n Ed:
Looks nice! I doubt that you need a prime coat for adhesion. However, a primer might be appropriate to obtain the look that you want. Much depends on the characteristics of the primer and of paint you use for your final coat. Smithy is right about doing test pieces. Use the same wood and sealer as the model and try various combinations of primer and paint and see what looks good. In general, it is best to minimize coats of primer and paint as multiple coats tend to blur details. Fair winds!

 

[AndyA]

BTW, I had the pleasure of rowing a similar craft at the Small Craft Workshop at Mystic Seaport. I was surprised at how well it rowed.

 

[Corsair]

If you are going to paint it, Prime it and sand it. THe primer will show any surface flaws and also cover up some that are small.

 

[Roger Pellett]

Generally speaking I do not like unpainted models. The subject and your excellent workmanship make this an exception. Why not just splay it with a coat of Matt varnish and call it done.

Roger

 

[ejk]

Thanks, AndyA.

I had not thought about the blurring of details - good observation. Thanks. I will do a few test patches with varying applications of sealer, primer, topcoat, etc. Fortunately, I have enough wood scraps from the laser sheets to assure that I am getting the same color(s) as the model.

At least this is a small boat with not a lot of detail; however, I will use what I learned on this one for my next project(s).

I plan to post a message with a picture of the finished boat - whenever that might be (possibly in a few months as a vacation is sneaking up.

 

[ejk]

If you are going to paint it, Prime it and sand it. THe primer will show any surface flaws and also cover up some that are small.

Thanks for the tip. I appreciate it. Doing so my save me some time.

 

[ejk]

Generally speaking I do not like unpainted models. The subject and your excellent workmanship make this an exception. Why not just splay it with a coat of Matt varnish and call it done.

Roger

Thank you for the compliment. I will consider that for future builds, but for this one, I plan to paint both the inside and the outside of the hull to match the color scheme on the box picture. I like the contrast.

 

[ejk]

BTW, I had the pleasure of rowing a similar craft at the Small Craft Workshop at Mystic Seaport. I was surprised at how well it rowed.

I used to live in Connecticut near Mystic, but I have been out of there for almost 50 years. I would really like to go back and re-visit that area. Perhaps one day ...