Tried shellac before?

[Redliner]

Hello rocket scientists:
Have any of you guys ever tried shellac sanding sealer or primer before? Zinsser makes both and they are excellent for many reasons. They are alcohol-based, which makes them dry extremely fast. With thin coats and a warm environment, we're talking 60 mins to sand! The primer is called B-I-N, and is THE best stain-blocker on the market. It seals 100%, will bond to glossy surfaces, and you can topcoat it with any paint. As for the sand sealer, many of you have probably already used it. It is thin, and doesn't fill well, but is one of the best ways to seal your substrate before painting. Clean-up is about the only drawback. It is denatured alcohol, unless you use disposable brushes, etc. I've noticed on several threads that a lot of you are trying to find finishing supplies at Depot, Lowes, or other hardware stores. You may find some of the good stuff there, but you'll have much better luck at a paint store like Sherwin Williams. Explore some of the professional finishing supplies, and your results will be professional too!!! :D

[Tau Zero]

Have any of you guys ever tried shellac sanding sealer or primer before? Zinsser makes both and they are excellent for many reasons. They are alcohol-based, which makes them dry extremely fast.(Bill Eichelberger mode ON) Yeah. They didn't taste very good. :eek:

Not even pounding down a six-pack of Scooter McCrate's skunky beer managed to clean off my taste buds.

So no, I don't recommend them for that reason. :rolleyes:

(Bill Eichelberger mode OFF)


--It's *amazing* what you can say if you manage to override your internal censor. ;) :D :p


Cheers,

[samb]

I like that Zinsser B I N primer, especially for bigger jobs. With resonably careful brush work you can get a nice base for finishing. Keep a mask handy cause it'll make some dust when sanding ! Doug Sams introduced me to this stuff; he's a guy I like to try and emulate when it comes to finishing a rocket. Just watch it if he tries to sell you some Quest B6-0's. :rolleyes:

(see his CATO post)

[Ltvscout]

(Bill Eichelberger mode ON) Yeah. They didn't taste very good. :eek:

You beat me to it! Almost exactly what I was going to say. :D

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Funny part is, after I drink it, I can pretty much eat anything. Everything tastes like........ uh, well, it doesn't really taste like anything anymore. At all. :eek:
Someone needs to come up with a serious answer to this question, and the fact that it's me is pretty scary.
Nope, but Jay's tried wood hardner. Seems like it would be unnecessarily heavy.

[Redliner]

Funny part is, after I drink it, I can pretty much eat anything. Everything tastes like........ uh, well, it doesn't really taste like anything anymore. At all. :eek:
Someone needs to come up with a serious answer to this question, and the fact that it's me is pretty scary.
Nope, but Jay's tried wood hardner. Seems like it would be unnecessarily heavy.

HA...too bad you can't drink the den. alcohol! At about $12 a gallon, it's even cheaper than rot-gut vodka :rolleyes: Here's a disgusting fact: shellac is a secretion from an insect, and M&M's used to coat there candies in it because it's non-toxic!!! The primer isn't non-toxic though, cause of the white pigment. I'm not sure about the weight, Fish. I'm working today, so I'll compare the raw weight to that of Kilz.

[Doug Sams]

I'm not sure about the weight, Fish. I'm working today, so I'll compare the raw weight to that of Kilz.The weight difference is negligible. The real benefit of Zinnser verus Kilz is that Zinnser has the shellac option which dries almost as fast as automotive (ie, lacquer based) primers. Kilz offers only oil-based or water-based. The oil-based works fine as long as you have the time, typically 24 hours, to wait for it to dry well enough for sanding and top-coating.

OTOH, plenty of us have been painting rockets at 2am that we wanted to fly the next day. It's not considered good planning, but life sometimes finds us in those predicaments, and having a fast drying primer really helps then.

The spray Zinnser goes on real fast, so it's easy to get an extra thick coat that doesn't dry fast and/or runs, so you gotta be careful with it. I prefer the quart brush-on can. It fills well, but does leave brush strokes, so I tend to use the brush-on as a first and maybe second primer coat, then use an automotive primer for the final coat. The 1st/2nd primer coats don't need to be sanded perfectly smooth, but the final one does. The automotive primer will fill nicely any brush strokes left over from the 1st/2nd coats so sanding is minimized with this combo.

Plus, a $9 quart can of Zinnser will cover about as much as ~ten $4 cans of spray on primer.

Clean up is not a big deal. On my paint storage table (aka table saw) I keep 1 gallon cans of mineral spirits, lacquer thinner and ethanol. The shellac cleanup isn't any messy-er than any other kind of paint. A helpful hint is using a wire brush to clean the paint brush. It combs out the gunk leaving the paint brush looking like new.

Doug

[Tau Zero]

HA...too bad you can't drink the den[atured] alcohol! At about $12 a gallon, it's even cheaper than rot-gut vodka :rolleyes:Oh, you can *drink* it. You just may not recover. :eek:


Jay's tried wood hard[e]ner. Seems like it would be unnecessarily heavy.(Russian accent) "Is not *wodka.* --Is *rocket* fuel."


You beat me to it! Almost exactly what I was going to say. :DWell, I know I can always count on you for, "Mmmm, beer." :rolleyes: ;) :D :p


Cheers,