Need help with primers

I really like Mr Surfacer 1500 in the rattlecan or Tamiya Fine,both work good for me.

I'd like to get a paint that's in a large can that's reasonably inexpensive. I know tamiya is in a small can but quite pricy a bit... Not sure about Mr. Surfacer.

Yes,neither are really inexpensive.

I have had little problems using the Krylon primer with metal.  But metal must be really clean.  It must have no oil film on surface.  I double clean metal, first with detergent wash, second with a solvent wash- mek or acetone or lacquer thinner.

I use Rustoleum grey primer in rattle can with no issues. Spray in a couple light coats will give you a nice smooth finish.

Actually I found what I'm now using out of a stroke of luck, kind of. Went in to Ace Hardware to try to find some Plastikote primer which they didn't have. Instead I walked out with a can of Krylon Fusion black primer. I've used it on a few things now and so far it works well. It adheres to clean and roughed up PE reasonably well although not too astoundingly and it goes on pretty light. I think I'll stick with it for now. Thanks guys.

Don,

Picked up a can MEK and was wondering do you scrub the metal with, say a sponge or do you just soak the metal in the MEK.  I used vinegar before and used a small basting brush.

I wash the plastic in detergent wash and us a basting brush to softly scrub the material.

Marcus

Yikes no MEK is bad stuff. It will do you some damage. Just a little lacquer thinner will do the job. And do not wipe the fret with anything. Thats a disaster.

I think that if Tamiya white or gray is not going to work for you because of the $$$, the next choice is another model primer like Model Master. Or plain Testor's gray in a spray can.

Now, I do use Rustoleum Red Oxide as a color coat on the bottoms of my ships. Anything that comes from the hardware store, and yes I am guilty; is thick and you need to be careful with it. My dragster was finished in Krylon Gloss Red and it came out ok, but I had to be careful about runs (Stauffer's First Rule of Brinkmanship).

I just wipe on solvent with paper towel, and no metal I know of is affected by MEK.  Also, many lacquer thinners have high percentage of MEK in their mix, so using lacquer thinner does not avoid it.