AK 3rd Generation Black primer

[Dave Ward]

I've been using AK primer for a while now ( black & grey ). I was running short of Black, so I decided to give the AK 3rd Generation a trial

It needs an agitator adding to ensure good mixing. It's quite thick, OK for brush painting, but needs thinning for a/b. Once I'd worked out the ratio ( about 33% tap water ), it sprayed well at 1.5bar, with a 0.4mm nozzle.
I used my guinea pig, a He-111. I sprayed over all previous paint trials to see how it covered, which is why the finish looks lumpy & bumpy!

I didn't do any preparation, just blasted away. It covered really well & a/b clean up was easy.
I let this dry for a day, then sanded the primer back to bare plastic with a sanding sponge.
It was a rather coarse sponge, but there didn't seem to be any tearing, or paint removal in patches. I reckon a fine emery paper used wet would give a much finer finish.
AK3 products all seem to work well - I'm gradually replacing my acrylics with AK3 paints, as I run out.
I used straight Gloucestershire tapwater for thinning ( as I do with all my paints ), and adhesion seems to be OK
Dave

[Tim Marlow]

Thanks Dave
That seems worth me trying out…..it was the sanding that I was most interested in. I think my LHS stocks AK3, so I’ll try to get some next time I pop in…..

[Jim R]

Interesting stuff. Looks to have sprayed nicely. Most primers spray ok once the dilution is figured out. It's sanded back well, especially so after just a day, so that's a big plus for 3rd Gen primer.
Jim

[Dave Ward]

I tried to do it with no preparation, and a coarse sanding sponge, as the worst possible conditions! I wouldn't do that on a proper model - at least not on purpose!
I noticed that the AK3 primer bottle says 'allow to dry for 24 hrs' but on looking at the original AK primer - that says the same thing!
Dave

[adt70hk]

Thanks for this Dave. Will seriously consider getting this when my runs out.

ATB.

Andrew

[Mark1]

Think I may try this out too,was using vallejo polyurethane but doesn't sand so have been using tamiya rattle can but that's working out an expensive way to do things.

[Tim Marlow]

Think I may try this out too,was using vallejo polyurethane but doesn't sand so have been using tamiya rattle can but that's working out an expensive way to do things.

In my experience the best way to use the Tamiya cellulose stuff is to decant it to a bottle. Allow the propellant to gas off, then dilute to taste using Mr Levelling Thinners and put it through an airbrush. It was my go to primer for a long time. I find the grey is fantastic but the white is awful, by the way. Trouble is, the grey has become hard to find recently.

[Allen Dewire]

Thanks for the review Dave! As a person who never primes anything, it is still interesting. I have been using AK 3rd Gen paints for my armor kits, but find it difficult to get them to spray in my AB with their 3rd Gen thinner. Do you think a 33% mix would work with their paints as it did for your primer test? Do you spray 3rd Gen paints too? Just curious about the mix ratio here....TIA.....

Prost
Allen

[Dave Ward]

Thanks for the review Dave! As a person who never primes anything, it is still interesting. I have been using AK 3rd Gen paints for my armor kits, but find it difficult to get them to spray in my AB with their 3rd Gen thinner. Do you think a 33% mix would work with their paints as it did for your primer test? Do you spray 3rd Gen paints too? Just curious about the mix ratio here....TIA.....

Prost
Allen

Allen,
yes, I spray the AK3 paints -- I use tap water to thin - about 25% paint, although I always mix my paints in a plastic shot glass, adding water drop by drop, with a bulb pipette. I gauge how the mix is going by using a brush to draw paint up the side of the glass - it takes a bit of experimentation, but you can soon judge the consistency. Some colours take more water, some less. I use a plastic shot glass, so I don't put a poor mix into the airbrush cup. These days I always let my airbrushed paints really dry overnight - I reckon most of the problems I've had in the past have been due to not fully dried paint/primer.
Dave