Airbrushing canned Tamiya Fine Surface Primer (L)?

Why do this?  I have found Tamiya primer works just fine, using the spray can.  Just be gentle and spray a light coat.

Cadet Chuck

Why do this?

Well, that's a question that has been asked and answered many times before. In short -- to have better control of what you are doing. Spraying from a can would be great for broad indiscriminate coats, also when ventilation is not an issue. However, when you're at your desk or a hobby spray booth, working on something small -- it is a different story.

Scaler--I have decanted TFSP as well, and I did use lacquer thinner to cut it. It worked great, and it is my go-to for primer.

I am not an authority on TFSP, but my understanding is that it is lacquer based. I used a glass jar to store it only because I was not sure if any of my plastic containers would hold up to it.

I have just one other tip. Remember to let it gas out after decanting. It is a real boiling stew at first. Some say that at all those bubbles can cause a person trouble when spraying. So I let it gas out for a few hours. I had no issues by following this process.

Why not just airbrush the bottled Liquid Surface Primer?

Bakster: Thank you, I did just that yesterday. Used a glass baby food jar, those have very good lids. Hope that the coating on the underside of those lids won't interact with the liquid. Haven't tried cutting or spraying it yet, as I was also fine tuning my compressor.

I didn't decant a lot, so I put the jar into warm water to let the propellant to boil off. Worked like a charm. 

Phil_H: One reason is that Tamiya does not sell its fine gray primer in regular bottles. And some say that it's thinner than LSP, providing smoother finish. Another reason is the cost: my LHS sells these rattle cans for under $7/ea.

Scaler: that is great to hear. Yeah that is the beauty of decanting. You can decant what you need and leave the rest for almost indefinitely. I think that in the long-run it is a good value, like what you alluded to. There is a good amount of paint in those little cans. BTW... I used an airbrush jar to store the decanted paint. For bigger jobs, your baby food jars idea should work awesome...

scaler

One reason is that Tamiya does not sell its fine gray primer in regular bottles.

Actually they do, item #87075. Excellent primer for sure and at $5 for 40ml it's got to be a much better value than decanting spray cans of the same thing.

Jay

Or get this stuff:

http://www.squadron.com/Badger-Gray-Primer-2-oz-BGSNR202-p/bgsnr202.htm

My go-to primer instead of decanting....

Tucohoward

Actually they do, item #87075. Excellent primer for sure and at $5 for 40ml it's got to be a much better value than decanting spray cans of the same thing.

 

$5 for 40 ml vs. $7 for 180 ml? Something's wrong with your math, I think. Plus, LSP is not the same as "fine" primer in a can, is it?

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

Or get this stuff:

http://www.squadron.com/Badger-Gray-Primer-2-oz-BGSNR202-p/bgsnr202.htm

My go-to primer instead of decanting.... 

Thanks, I will consider it. 

scaler

$5 for 40 ml vs. $7 for 180 ml? Something's wrong with your math, I think. Plus, LSP is not the same as "fine" primer in a can, is it?

Once you thin it, it goes a lot further. Also, remember that the 180ml in the spray can includes the propellant. The 40ml in the jar is all primer.

When thinned for airbrushing, LSP goes on silky smooth.

scaler

$5 for 40 ml vs. $7 for 180 ml? Something's wrong with your math, I think.

Not an apples to apples comparison. Spray paint is always more expensive than bottled paint per square foot. That 40ml bottle will give me what I would get from several 180ml spray cans. Most of the contents of the spray can is not paint. No free lunches.

Jay