Masking over Zero Paints?

[coolingthunder]

Hi all,

 

I have been using Zero Paints for a few models (their entire system from primer all the way to the 2K clearcoat) and have been really liking it. It sprays beautifully and without much of an issue, save for some operator error...

 

However, I am now starting some more complex color schemes (just some basic striping or two-tone color schemes) but the paint ALWAYS lifts off somewhere, all the way down to the bare plastic... Which means sanding down the entire panel or if it is really bad stripping the paint off and starting from scratch... What am I doing wrong? I use Tamiya tape or the white Nitto tape for curved surfaces, and I first stick it on my hand or a surface a few times to reduce the power of the adhesive, but even then it always just lifts straight off...

 

Does anybody else have this issue? I spray with a 0.4mm needle at about 30psi (which seems like a good middleground between the 15-40psi it says on the bottle) starting with a mist coat or 2 and then slowly building it up as per their instructions.

[Andy J]

How long are you leaving the basecoat before applying the masking tape? And what primer are you using?

[Toftdale]

Hello, the only two tips I can give you is make sure you rough up the surface with some very worn wet and dry to give the primer a better chance of sticking and make sure you wash the model thoroughly to remove any greasy finger prints before spraying and then avoid handling were possible.  Oh and as Andy says leave it at least a couple of days between spraying the the primer and colour.  - Andy

[coolingthunder]

I use Zero Paints primers (preferably the grey, but if spraying a light color I spray white primer, but I don't like the white primer on account of it leaving granules all over the model)

 

The primer and basecoat I usually leave for about a day or so, sometimes a bit more depending on the time I have, but I figured that would be fine as according to their site the stuff dries very fast...

 

I will give the wet and dry a go, I haven't tried that yet, always thought I would end up with swirl marks if I did that... I have most grains from 400 all the way to 3000, guess I'll give 1200 or 1500 a try for the next model.

 

Finger prints are a good remark, I usually wear latex gloves when doing models (usually I do planes, have only completed 2 car models so far), but I ran out and with the current situation gloves are either impossible to find or they ask exorbitant prices for them... That might be a cause as well, as it is a problem when spraying real cars too.

 

 

I have already sanded one model with 1500 grit just now, let's see if that is a solution to my problem.

 

Thanks!

 

[Steve Noble]

It's probably the Zero primer. I used it a few times and the adhesion was poor. I only use Tamiya, Halfords or Mr Surfacer primers now and have no problems with paint peeling off. You can actually apply clear over the colour coat after 20-30 mins, no need for long drying times. I always apply a thin clear over the colour before I do any masking. The base coats mark quite easily and a little clear protects them whilst masking.

[cmatthewbacon]

+1 to what Steve says. I use Tamiya Fine Surface Primer or Stynlrez silver, and have never encountered any lifting with Zero base coats... It’s odd that the supposedly “same system” primer doesn’t work as well, but I’ve never seen a need to switch to Zero primer. I wonder if it’s that Steve’s setup at Hiroboy is all about using as much as possible real auto paints to match. Once  you’ve got primer on the base coats and clear work fine, but you need a dedicated styrene primer rather than one designed to go on metal and ABS/Polypropylene plastic...

best,

M.

[Alan R]

I use Zero paints primer almost exclusively, and only have had one incident where the paint peeled off.
I think that if you wash the plastic in warm water with some washing up liquid in it.
Keying the surface with  a very fine abrasive might help as well.

 

Cheers,

Alan.

[Steve Noble]

Unless they changed the formulation of Zero primer, as the one I used was quite a few years ago now, I just couldn't get on with it. It sprayed terribly from the airbrush, no matter how I thinned it and seemed to dry with an almost 'rubbery' feel to it, making sanding down difficult as the sandpaper seemed to stick to the surface. I used to end up pulling paint off whilst trying to sand it, the adhesion was very poor..

[coolingthunder]

1 hour ago, Steve Noble said:

Unless they changed the formulation of Zero primer, as the one I used was quite a few years ago now, I just couldn't get on with it. It sprayed terribly from the airbrush, no matter how I thinned it and seemed to dry with an almost 'rubbery' feel to it, making sanding down difficult as the sandpaper seemed to stick to the surface. I used to end up pulling paint off whilst trying to sand it, the adhesion was very poor..

See, I have experienced this too.

 

The white primer dries very grainy, leaving what feel like sand grains all over.

 

The grey goes on nicely, and sprays very good IMHO, but always feels soft or whatever and yes sanding it is very hard, and often it will just flake off.

 

Seeing other people have good results using other primers, think I will start doing the same. Time to order grey and white primer!

 

I love the black primer from Mr paint (the Czech stuff) but I have noticed that a black undercoat also really darkens the final color, more so than other paints.

 

I guess then maybe the primer isn't the best? Because if it peels it's always down to the bare plastic, so it seems like it just clings to it rather than kinda etching in like other primers do.

 

Interesting!