using car spray paints on wood

[dencol]

Hi sure I asked this on the old G scale mad but cannot fid my copy and the brain is suffering from overload.
I have been using Halford car spray paint successfully on metal/plastic models but now want to spray a wood sided railbus and Want to keep a similar colour scheme.
Would These Halfords car primer and then normal top coats work on wood or should I be looking at something else. I have tried a test piece which looks ok but worried about long term result as tried to use on concrete station and it peeled very quickly
Thanks for any advice
Colin

 

[nicebutdim]

I did an 'A' level that involved spraying on wood. We used Halfords sprays throughout, and it worked very well. Basically lots of prep using the yellow filler primer spray first, lots of rubbing smooth with fine wet and dry and spraying with primer, repeating this until there is a very good smooth base. Don't let the water in the rubbing stage get to the wood, it will swell and become a pig. When there is a good base then apply the wanted colour and take your time. We managed to get a block of wood to actually look like a hi-fi system, and it took very well. A lacquer may be a good idea too, to add protection to the paint. Ensuring the wood is extremely clean, grease free and dry is how to start, just don't let the wood get moisture on it.

 

[dencol]

thanks never seen yellow filler primer, been using a grey primer so will have a look around. Rubbing smooth is going to be a pain with all the raised wood work on the sides of the carriage still it may help me to learn to be patience

 

[KeithT]

thanks never seen yellow filler primer, been using a grey primer so will have a look around. Rubbing smooth is going to be a pain with all the raised wood work on the sides of the carriage still it may help me to learn to be patience

I have used the Halfords yellow primer, it produces an excellent base coat even without sanding.
Also, I have used Plasticote spray paints from Wilkies v successfully on wood left outdoors on a bridge.

 

[Doug]

I've always used the normal grey or red Halfords primer cos they come in bigger cans

Apply coat, then sand down with 240 grit wet and dry, (done dry) never use water!!! Keep using a new bit of wet and dry as it clogs quickly. Sand down with 600 grit after one of the final coats, then spray with a final coat of primer. Then apply the top coat. Build up with thin layers as the top coat runs much more easily.

 

[Tim Brien]

As stated, definately a primer is required. I always use a grey primer. I believe that the red primer is more suited to priming metal surfaces. We also have a white primer but I find that it has no 'filling' properties.

If a really smooth surface is required, then hark back to the model aircraft flying days. Mix talcum powder to some aircraft dope to give a watery paste consistency and apply. Allow to dry then lightly sand with very fine emery/crocus paper. This will give a talcum like feel to the surface and fill any woodgrain. Apply primer and finish coats.

 

[PaulRhB]

I find the grey and red work well on fine grained wood and the yellow filler stuff on anything coarser that needs filling. Peeling on concrete will be down to the moisture. Unless it's been indoors a long time concrete will still have moisture in it as it absorbs it so easily.

 

[StephH]

Hi all,
As one who works with paint all the time, one thing to remember with the undercoat business is that the undercoat can affect the exact colour of the top coat.Not used Halfords paint (except on a car!) so I don't know if this is the case but its worth testing (some paints like some precision ones are designed to go over certain colour undercoats!).
With all types of painting I would recommend always using an undercoat and always use the undercoat designed for the top coat if at all possible. I tend to use gamesworkshop acrylic black or white spray cans as I use various acrylic paints for topcoats etc. However I have used plasticote grey undercoat for this too!

Plus as a general tip be careful to avoid reactions between types of paint they can really bugger up a job! I had one I hadn't encountered before with plasticote on a roof the other day when it appears I left the undercoat too long before applying the top coat (a new one on me but its the only explanation I could arrive at for the reaction).

One thing with wooden sides is how smooth do you want the paint finish? As mentioned above to get a really smooth finish on wood a sanding sealer (or substitute as suggested by Tim above) is essential really, (using just an undercoat paint for this would be difficult I think) I tend to like my coaches really smooth sided so I apply lots of layers of sealer, sanding down each one well (if the coach has beading etc be careful not to ruin the definition by taking off the edges and rounding them off!). The coaches below are wooden, almost totally smooth finished and were done this way, then painted with a plasticote grey undercoat and top coat. I normally shy away from this type of paint but have found that this combination work well and probably help to fill the last few blemishes.

With my "work in progress" brakevan, also seen below, the finish is slightly less smooth as I felt befitted a more work-a-day vehicle so I just didn't sand and seal so much! Sorry for the rubbish photo but you can see a slightly rougher finish on the door etc where the grain shows through..... I will be weathering this vehicle more too....

ATB

Steph'

 

[Doug]

Here's a pic of the side for the cream/brown darjeeling coach in my previous coach. Some of the wood is left bare to allow the wood glue to stick the overlay to the base. Some areas had the paint ground off with a dremel as they were too complicated to mask, or i just forgot to mask them when i started out!!!

I used white primer under the cream paint, grey primer under the brown paint. THe white primer doesn't cover the wood so well and takes more coats. I think i used 4 coats of primer, then 4 coats of top coat. This leaves the wood grain just showing through which is the effect i wanted.

 

[dencol]

thanks for all the replies have picked up some suitable cans of Halfords paint and will see how it goes.
Had just started to spray base coat, working outside but with model in a 'box' to stop any effects from breeze etc also using a dust mask when friend called up who used to work spraying cars and gave me a hard time, would appear even outside spray paints can cause problems and I should be wearing a suitable spray mask (must be honest had got a taste in mouth that may have been from spraying but did not tell him that )

Colin