AK Interactive White Primer review - or why I will not use it again

AK Interactive White Primer review 


...or why I will not use it again


You see... the primary purpose of primer is to provide optimal adhesion of paint to the underlying surface then to make uniform base color. While uniform base color is something all primers (and most paints) can provide it appears that not all primers can adhere to plastic.

   Here I want to point out that I don't want to harm AK interactive by no means, I have other their products which I am happy with and I don't have affiliation with any other company. But when it comes to user satisfaction and product quality I think all should be said as it is. 

  My Whitley build came to the point where it was time to put some paint on it. In order to provide the best possible conditions for the primer I sanded the complete surface of the model for it to "hold" on. Then the surface was thoroughly degreased.
   I used the factory recommended thinner - AK712 and the primer in question is AK177 waterborne polymer White primer.
    It was airbrushed and went on smoothly, covered really well with super fine surface finish. I left it to cure for 48h more or less. 
So far so good.

   I was surprised to see that ANY contact with hard surface would knock the primer off completely. What is more every attempt at wet sanding would fail in a pool of dissolved primer. And if that is not enough dry sanding was just peeling/scratching the primer away revealing the bare plastic.
  To prove that surface prep was good enough the silver paint (GSI H8 thinned with Mr.Hobby acrylic thinner) I used to check some seams was was clinging for dear life.
    I tried to contact AK interactive through both their e-mail and their Facebook page but I still have no word from them - their customer support is virtually non existent. 
  At this point I should have washed the damn thing but I didn't and it continued menacing my project.

   Usually removing the masking tape is one of my favorite parts of a build. Well I hope that my mindset is not permanently damaged by the experience AK interactive White Primer gave me. And since a picture says a thousand words... enjoy:




         
... and this is just part of the trouble areas.

  For the years of using Tamiya super fine primer (from spray can) I haven't had such problems. I know that solvent based primers etch in the plastic and water based primers don't but this  is comparison of the final result.

So finally I have almost full bottle (60 ml) of primer going to the trash can... money and time well spent.

Best regards and happy modelling
Metodi Metodiev
28.03.2016 

Making landing lights for scale model aircraft from scratch


How to create lights for scale model aircraft from scratch


Tutorial on how to build scale model landing lights from scratch. Here you can also see how to make all kind of headlight reflectors from scratch.







Best regards and Happy modelling
Metodi Metodiev
07.03.2016

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