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Anyone use the new Sign Prime from Sign Foam. It has a greenish tint. I just wanted to see someone else's opinion. I used to love this primer, now not so much.
-------------------- Eric PA Posts: 149 | From: Intercourse, PA | Registered: Jun 2004
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I emailed the company and they said it had changed. It is now overnight drying between coats instead of an hour or two. Sanding used to be the best part but now it balls up on the sandpaper. I was using it on a 2'x8' sign on the back I used the old stuff and I only needed 1 disk. The front side was the new stuff (before I knew it was so different) and used 4-5 disks. It has more of a latex smell to it. I have tried most of them and was by far my favorite, not sure what I will use now.
-------------------- Eric PA Posts: 149 | From: Intercourse, PA | Registered: Jun 2004
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Wow... thanks for the info. My current can will be my last. Bummer. I'm about ready to try Mathews primer for hdu. It is spray only and has a catalyst which I am not too fond of since this will promote a lot of waste. But I'm going to use it on some hdu letters that I will spray with MAP and then gild.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5397 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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It sounds to me like the Matthews primer is something like standard catalised Automotive High Build Primer.
-------------------- Joe Crumley Norman Sign Company 2200 Research Park Blvd. Norman, OK 73069 Posts: 1428 | From: 2200 Research Park Blvd. | Registered: Sep 2001
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We do some routing for another shop, and they got a can of the new stuff and sent it back after using it and got fsc-88. I think the high build is like the auto primer. It would be nice for big panels but would be a pain for small areas and letters since you need to mix it. I'll probably end up going back to the coastal primer. Anybody use a lacquer based high build?
-------------------- Eric PA Posts: 149 | From: Intercourse, PA | Registered: Jun 2004
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Yes, at my shop we use catalyzed automotive HB Primer, lacquer, on all 3D HDU signs. I've found it to be an excellent product in this application. It sets up ready to sand within 30 minutes. I apply several coats. You'll be able to see a glass smooth surface in less than an hour.
I use an inexpensive spray gun, It's sold on Amazon under the name "Critter". Dave Sherby turned me on to this marvelous little gun. I don't think it can be screwed up and it will spray thick latex paint. $39.00
We gave up on FCS-88 a long time ago. Although you will need lots of it on their 15lb or 18lb HDU. It's extremely soft and needs a bunch of filler before applying paint. Ronan and Chromatic makes a good water based primer.
Good luck with your signs.
[ September 06, 2010, 09:59 PM: Message edited by: Joe Crumley ]
-------------------- Joe Crumley Norman Sign Company 2200 Research Park Blvd. Norman, OK 73069 Posts: 1428 | From: 2200 Research Park Blvd. | Registered: Sep 2001
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You are talking about the Matthews 6001 Polyester Primer-surfacer, right? It is rollable. I roll it. It dries very quickly and you can roll second and thirds coats in a fairly short time. It sands beautifully, with few pin holes. If you have dents or bigger holes to fill, just let it stiffen a little and knife it on. Once it starts to kick it will harden on you quickly, like Bondo, so work rapidly if you have a lot of filling. If you spray it, you will like it even more. You can pile it on heavy, if need be, and it still dries just fine. It gets hard as a rock. Spray three coats with a 20-minute flash time between them and get a very good build. In an hour-and-a-half or so after the last coat you can sand and topcoat.
True, it must be catalyzed. Careful estimating and measuring is a must. But then most of Matthews products need a catalyst.
Joe C. may be right that it's a repackaged autobody product. It smells just like Bondo.
Two cautions I've learned: (1)It will pull the skin right off a quarter-inch foam roller sleeve, just like the old XIM Flash Bond. Roll fast and change sleeves frequently, or use something other than foam. The red and white candy striper sleeves should work well, though I haven't tried them yet. (2)Use a fairly large spray tip on your gun. A 2.0 is recommended, but mine is a little smaller and it works okay. And very important: clean your gun immediately and thoroughly after spraying. I've not fouled a gun with this stuff yet, but when I do I know I will be sending it off for a rebuild. After a thorough cleaning with solvent—till it comes out of the nozzle crystal clear—I take the further step of pulling the needle and the fluid nozzle, the inner nozzle, for cleaning and inspection. But then I'm a fanatic about cleaning my gun, anyway, so this is no big deal. I haven't been using this primer very long, but I love it too much to stop using it. It's so fast and sandable; I can get a glass-like finish if I want to with relatively little effort.
I plan to use this primer on MDO and Gatorfoam edges next. The dry-to-sand time is comparable to latex. And I will, of course, experiment on the Gatorfoam before using it on a cash job. If it works on Gatorfoam edges without melting the foam, I may not go back to latex primer.
By the way, the catalyst comes in small tubes, four tubes to a gallon, and each tube has increment marks so mixing less than a quart is fairly pain-free.
............
Oh, and about my cooking ability, Dave. Your doubts are reasonable. Perhaps you will be at the Walldogs event in Wisconsin next year? I will bring you a quart of pozolé. There are many recipes for this Mexican stew made with pork and hominy, but mine is one of the best, at least for a gringo.
Pronounced, poe-SOE-lay.
-------------------- Brad Ferguson See More Signs 7931 Wornall Rd Kansas City, MO 64111 signbrad@yahoo.com 816-739-7316 Posts: 1230 | From: Kansas City, MO, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Thanks for the informative post. I'll order in some 6001 and it's hardner.
I would encourage you to give the "Critter" spray gun a look. It will spray much heavier liquids and cleans up in half the time. We use it to spray Sculpt Nouveau which is loaded with metal shavings. One neat thing is the resivuor is a pint Ball Jar. This allows us to bottle up the paint for repairs or future use. A dozen ball jars costs $7 bucks. It's really neat for wet on wet spray techniques.
Thanks for posting.
-------------------- Joe Crumley Norman Sign Company 2200 Research Park Blvd. Norman, OK 73069 Posts: 1428 | From: 2200 Research Park Blvd. | Registered: Sep 2001
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How come you dont use latex flat for priming HDU? That's all i ever used and had no problems with it, I'm just asking
-------------------- You ever notice how easily accessible people are when they are requiring your services but once they get invoice you can't reach them anymore
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If anyone is interested in receiving a no charge pint sample of the FSC-88WB primer/filler, please let me know.
Yes, we do recommend that it's reduced with water, (so it flows better) but that just means the Gallon will go further. (we also have a training video with a lot of tips and tricks!)
Thanks, Kellie
-------------------- Kellie Miller Customer Service Mgr. Coastal Enterprises Company Mfg. of Precision Board (800) 845-0745 www.precisionboard.com hdu@precisionboard.com Posts: 118 | From: Orange, CA | Registered: Feb 2002
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I would be interested in a sample of FSC-88WB, but to experiment on Gatorfoam edge filling rather than HDU.
I used FSC-88 (the solvent based version) in the past and loved it. I especially appreciated being able to wet sand it with mineral spirits for a super smooth finish. I have marbleized a number of Precision Board slabs in the past and got a beautiful result, very realistic looking. I was not happy with FSC-88WB when it came out. I couldn't get the glass-like finish with so little effort as when using the solvent based version.
Water based primers in general work okay on HDU, but sanding to a super smooth finish can sometimes be a problem, as sandpaper loads up quickly if enough dry time has not elapsed. Most everything we coat is sprayed. And as we do not have an airless sprayer, it seems simpler to use a fast-drying solvent based primer with the euipment we already have.
Brad
-------------------- Brad Ferguson See More Signs 7931 Wornall Rd Kansas City, MO 64111 signbrad@yahoo.com 816-739-7316 Posts: 1230 | From: Kansas City, MO, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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-------------------- Len Mort Signmaker1.com 11 Juniper Drive Millbury, MA 508-865-2382 "A Good Business Sign, is A Sign of Good Business"(1957) Posts: 811 | From: Millbury, Ma | Registered: Dec 2006
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