Need help with primer, clearcoat and plastic

[draiman]

Well I bought a plastic babydoll to do some zombie customization on it. I've used primer and clearcoat many many times on several surfaces and never had a problem. I primed the doll last night and after an hour of sitting, it was a little tacky and this morning it's still tacky. So I thought maybe covering it with some 'flat' clearcoat, it would fix it. Nope. Being that primer is great to cover tons of surfaces and this is the first problem I've had, could someone tell me maybe what else would be a good option of priming it and then to seal it? Thanks

 

[Gigatron]

problem is most likey bad primer. Either it's an old can or it wasn't shaken properly. The hardener settled out of the carrier and that's why it remains tacky.

You can use a little bit of brake fluid to get the old stuff off, just be careful. Then get yourself a new can of primer, shake it for 5 minutes, spray and you should be ok. You can also try spraying on top of he old stuff, but I wouldn't guarantee any adhesion.

Once you get a good coat of primer on there, you can seal it with whatever you were using before.

-Fred

 

[RGPFX]

If the babydoll is a certain type of plastic, vinyl perhaps, and the primer has a mineral based solvent, you may be having a bad reaction between the two. If it cannot be cleaned, you may want to start a fresh doll head and use a water base primer, like the Krylon H2O line that Walmart and K-Mart sell.

RGP

 

[draiman]

Thank you both for your reply. It is a new can and I do shake all of my cans for about 2 minutes before spraying. I will try the H20 can to see if that makes a difference. Thanks again for the help.

 

[glim999]

Yeah, sounds like the same problem I was having when I was painting vinyl dinosaurs. The primer never fully dried and the things always felt sticky. I'm betting it's a reaction as RGPFX said.

 

[Tetmatek]

More than likely the thinner is liquifying the plastic doll head. water bourne primer should solve that problem.

when using rattle cans remember they All hve ten times the reducer than conventional spray guns use to get them out of the spray nozzle. Always spray light even coats cause too heavy will trap the solvent and it seems like it never dries and will eat up plastics.

I recommend this brand; http://www.u-pol.com/countries/us/navigate.htm ; over all the rest especially the High 5 primer. Outstanding film build and fast dry with less reducer than the average spray can primer. Acid 8 is great on bare metal surfaces.

 

[draiman]

Well I went and used the H20 and it worked perfect. Used it right over the previous primer and the tacky feeling is gone! Tetmatek, thanks for the link, awesome site! Thanks again to everyone for the help. It's greatly appreciated. Now I can't wait to turn this doll into one of the undead...lol.

 

[JtotheP]

Sounds like a fun project! Please keep us updated with lots of pics:love