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What are folks using as a primer coat for Signfoam? I had a gallon of the stuff you're SUPPOSED to use (recommended by Signfoam) a long time ago and found it thick, pasty, awful-smelling and difficult to work with. Anyone getting away with using reg'lar old primer? I know you're supposed to fill up all the "cells" in the signfoam, hence that thick pasty primer... Thanks!
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I have the Precision Board primer, but if you don't like the stuff, Columbia Paints sell an "Industrial Primer" that works great.
------------------ St.Marie Graphics & Makin' Tracks Sound Studio Kalispell, Montana Mkntraks@digisys.net Carving America into a better shape! PEACE, through superior chisel-power!
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I love Precision's primer. And, they are an advertiser of this site. BTW, check out the "how-to" section on their website. There are a lot good tips there.
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Hey Peter, if the primer you have is really thick and smelly it might be solvent based Coastal Enterprises FSC360, which is meant to be applied with a putty knife or squeegee. It's great stuff for flat panels as it will go on thick enough to fill in one coat and dry well enough overnight to powder up in the sander, leaving a really flat surface. If you need to cover blasted or irregular surfaces, you may need to thin it with mineral spirits to get it to a brushing consistency. The thinner it is, the more coats will be required.
We can only get it in the water based version now. The water based putty grade (FSC360WB) sands a whole lot easier than the brush grade (FSC88WB) but isn't recommended for large flat areas that will be carved into after top coated. Supposedly it can chip around the edges of the letters.
We have also had decent results using 'block-out' type solvent based primers but it takes 3-4 coats to get sufficient thickness to eliminate the cells.
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We've been using Jay Cooke's water based primer with good results. I get it at the sign supply here, but you could probably order it from Jay. (he may even be on the merchant page for this site)
------------------ Sonny Franks Sign Creations Lilburn, GA
"If you do what you've always done, you'll be what you've always been."
Posts: 4115 | From: Lilburn, GA USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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posted
All the above are good answers. One other product you might try is Zinnsser Bullseye primer. The can has a big 1-2-3 on it, available latex and oil, I think.
------------------ Victor Georgiou Bob Loves Signs Inc Danville, CA email blssigns@verio.com
Posts: 1746 | From: Danville, CA , USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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posted
Remebered the name......It's AQUA-LOK. I actually prefer the PB primer, but if the smell is intolerable, AQUA-LOK works too.
------------------ St.Marie Graphics & Makin' Tracks Sound Studio Kalispell, Montana Mkntraks@digisys.net Carving America into a better shape! PEACE, through superior chisel-power!
posted
Thanks for the helpful replies, fellas. Joe, you're probably right about that being Coastal primer that I had and didn't like. I will give Precision's primer a try - always glad to support an advertiser to this fine site...
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