Tamiya Fine Surface Primer Alternative? Dupli-Color Primer?

[crowe-t]

How does Dupli-Color Primer compare to Tamiya Fine Surface Primer?

Is Dupli-Color General Purpose Sandable Primer a thin primer?  I see it comes in white which is what I prefer to use.

 

Edited January 15, 2016 by crowe-t

[StevenGuthmiller]

It's very thin.

I use an average of 4 to 5 coats on most of my builds, but that's mostly because it doesn't cover very well.

Many times I'll use a coat of Testors primer to cover & then several coats of Duplicolor to give a nice smooth base.

I'm not all that sold on Tamiya primer anyway.

I have a couple cans, have tried it & was not all that impressed.

 

Steve

[crowe-t]

Steven, Are you saying the Dupili-Color General purpose Sandable Primer is very thin?

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

  On 1/15/2016 at 9:51 PM, crowe-t said:

Steven, Are you saying the Dupili-Color General purpose Sandable Primer is very thin?

 

Yes, you'll not have any trouble with it covering any detail.

Just be careful about spraying too heavy of coats.

It is a little hotter than hobby primers & can craze the plastic if applied too heavy in the first couple of coats.

I use several colors of their sandable primer. Gray, white & black.

I love them all.

 

Steve

[crowe-t]

Thanks Steve.

[espo]

I have had very good luck with Tamiya primers. The white is a little thin but does cover. If you want to get a very fine primer you might look at Mr. Surfacer primers. While a little more expensive they come in different ratings. I'll use the 1200 for a final prep before the first coat of color.   

[fseva]

Duplicolor gray is very dark... Almost a grimy black. If you can find it Duplicolor Exact Match gray is much more like Tamiya gray.

Edited January 16, 2016 by fseva

[Erik Smith]

Try the smaller can of Duplicolor. It's light gray, thin, smooth, and doesn't seem to be as hot as the big dark gray can. I used to use he dark gray a lot, now I've switched to the slightly more expensive small can like this: 

[Ace-Garageguy]

The product posted above is a high-build primer, and will obliterate surface details if you're not careful.

It says "scratch filler primer" right on the label.

The "sandable" primers that don't say "scratch filler" are better suited to general model car priming.

The "scratch filler" product is excellent over bodywork when you WANT high-build and filling characteristics.

I use all of these products and many others, for various applications on models.

[astroracer]

PlastiKote Grey rattlecan was about the best I ever used. Don't know if it is still around. I use Duplicolor alot also. The '56 conversion was primed many times with it during the build process. Light coats work well to preserve details.

Mark

[Dave Van]

I have gone almost 100% to Dupli-color #1699 sealer primer.  A VERY thin gray with great coverage. 99.999% as good as Tamiya which says a lot as I buy it at my local big box store for $4 for the big can. DEAL!

[Ace-Garageguy]

  On 1/17/2016 at 4:33 PM, Dave Van said:

I have gone almost 100% to Dupli-color #1699 sealer primer.  A VERY thin gray with great coverage. 99.999% as good as Tamiya which says a lot as I buy it at my local big box store for $4 for the big can. DEAL!

Didn't know it existed. Will givt it a try, for sure. thanks.

  On 1/17/2016 at 4:07 PM, astroracer said:

PlastiKote Grey rattlecan was about the best I ever used. Don't know if it is still around. The '56 conversion was primed many times with it during the build process. Light coats work well to preserve details.

I agree about PlastiKote being great stuff. I used to get it at CarQuest, but it was replaced by Duplicolor when Advance Auto Parts bought out CarQuest.

PlastiKote primers are still available at Amazon, $8.58 for a big 12oz can, in several colors, and Amazon does free shipping on orders over $35.

http://www.amazon.com/PlastiKote-T-235-Sandable-Primer-Enamel/dp/B000CPAA3A

 

[astroracer]

Thanks Bill, good to know it's still out there. The cans I always picked up were the smaller ones. I still have quite few, They are so old most of them have lost their propellant. I usually save them and just decant to spray with an airbrush. The DupliColor seems to work just fine though so I use that for quick and dirty jobs like the '56 where I know 99% of it will get block sanded off.

Mark

[Exotics_Builder]

Plasticote primer worked well for me.  Better than Duplicolor.  Haven't found a good source to replace it, but trying not to buy any paint unless needed (hard to move it)