Alternative primer suggestion please

I use regular grey automotive acrylic primer from Halffords. It works ok, just apply thin coats.

Any particular brand you can recommend?

I just got Krylon white and grey primer . will try it out tonight, see about it ...

I called Krylon. Their primers are Laquer based, which would be just as bad, probably worse, than Alkyds.

Pretty much all primers are laquer based so you could be out of luck. But testors sells 3 Oz enamel primers though those may be better.

QUOTE: Pretty much all primers are laquer based so you could be out of luck.

Not true. Primers can exist in many forms, including lacquers, acrylic and alkyd enamels, etc. Actually, just about any flat paint can be used successfully as a primer, since that is what a primer basically is. The idea (as I undersand it) for primers is to fill minor scratches and provide "tooth" for the topcoat. A good flat enamel, like Testors will work just fine. Typically grays are used, but for bright or light colors like reds, yellows, blues, etc., a flat white enamel could be used as an undercoat primer. I, like other modelers on this site have also had good success with Floquil's reefer white as a primer. Yes, it's a lacquer; but applied correctly in thin coats, it provides excellent tooth for enamels, acrylics, etc. and does not damage the styrene substrate.
If you are limited to rattle cans, Testor's flat enamels will work, as will any of Krylon's (and other paint companies) flat enamels which come in acrylic as well as alkyd varieties.

Hope this helps a little.
Gip Winecoff

How bad are the fumes from testors' enamel ratttle cans, compared to, say, a laquer?

QUOTE: How bad are the fumes from testors' enamel ratttle cans, compared to, say, a laquer?

From a rattle can perspective, I can tell you that both of them have problems, with lacquer getting a slight edge because it's a little hotter (more volatile). You're going to want to make sure you're in a well-ventilated area (preferrably outside) or the area you're spraying in should be equipped with some open windows and fans to circulate the air and dilute the vapor concentrations. A GOOD spraybooth is highly recommended. In lieu of a spraybooth, you should wear a good half mask respirator equipped with organic vapor cartridges and a paint prefilter to catch pigment residue. In addition, a small fire extinguisher should be readily available/accessible.
Most of the solvent vapors generated during painting have the potential to cause simple narcosis, and/or leave you in a drunken stupor (acute effects). Additional symptoms may include nausea and vomiting. Some solvents have the potential to affect certain target organs such as the liver or blood system. Children should not be around when you spray. Remember that solvent vapors are heavier than air, and will accumulate in low areas, so don't spray near gas water heaters, etc.

Sorry for the rambling, but I hope this helps a little.
Gip Winecoff
As time and budget allow, you should give serious consideration to obtaining an airbrush.

Gip has given you some very good advice. I would make one addition to his list - Latex Exam gloves. I use them for two reasons, A. Keeps any paint off my skin (where the chemicals can be absorbed while wet - if your're using a rattle can or airbrush, you're eventually going get paint on your hands) and B. to keep the oils from my hands off the model while handling it prior to painting. A box of 100 costs me about 15 bucks at my local drug store (about 13 cents a pair I believe) and will last me 6 to 8 months.

QUOTE: As time and budget allow, you should give serious consideration to obtaining an airbrush.

Actually I have one but because I use canned air, I traditionally use rattle can primer (outdoors!), reserving the airbrush for actuall acrylic paint work.

I am curious why you mentioned it in this context though. Is it because an airbrushes output is more focused and thus generates less "excess" to worry about?

QUOTE: Is it because an airbrushes output is more focused and thus generates less "excess" to worry about?

What you say is certainly true, but I also think it has a lot to do with being an issue of volume and pressure. When you mash the spray button on the can, you get a specific volume of paint at a specfic velocity from the nozzle that is uncontrollable except through the variables of increased distance and speed. The beauty of an airbrush is its ability to spray variable volumes of paint. Because volumes as well as pressure can be reduced, overspray is lessened as well as vapor concentrations that may be potentially inhaled.

I also believe (and I don't know if I'm saying this right or not) that by using an airbrush I achieve a higher degree of "accuracy" in the application of thinner coats and thereby attaining a better "scale thickness" (if there is such an animal) in my paint jobs.

As an example, I can prime a 1/35 tank and use most (>1/2) of a can of Testor's flat enamel, or I can use my airbrush and use about 2/3 of a color cup doing the same task. (I spray with a Paasche H1). With the spray can I'm holding at a distance of about 10", and moving rapidly to avoid build up and runs. With an airbrush set at where I want it, I'm about 2-3" away (on average) and moving at a more advantageous pace that puts the paint exactly where its needed. Overspray is minor, and the concentrations of vapor I'm exposed to, or that have to be diluted out of the air, are significantly reduced.

Does this make ANY sense at all?

Gip Winecoff