Your Color Choice For Primer

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I've always bought Gray Primer for some reason. Are you supposed to use certain color primer with certain colors of paint ?
 
Yes. The rule of thumb is dark primer under dark colors and light primer under light colors. Some paints are more transparent than others and the primer color becomes even more important in those cases. Having said that some automotive painters claim it doesn't matter, I beg to differ.
 
I painted a model car a few years back in bright red. Part of the car had white primer and part had dark gray. The same red top coat was a completely different color depending which primer color was under it. I wouldn't have thought it mattered until I saw the results myself.
 
Originally Posted by Warstud
I've always bought Gray Primer for some reason. Are you supposed to use certain color primer with certain colors of paint ?


There are many shades of primer, when you buy paint to spray it will have the color code for the primer right on the can. If you use just light grey and it needs a dark grey the paint will not match. You have the VS code from 1-7 plus white, yellows, beige, black, reds and tintable primers. I buy Axalta DTM 2k in light grey then top that with the correct color of primer in 2K urethane.


Primer Shades VS
 
Developing a color currently for a customer industrial Cat yellow I need to play around with open time. I could mess around with various color primers and give variance if any with computer readings customer currently sprays over raw steel no primer.
 
I usually just tint the primer to the color I'm going to paint it. Usually the primer has a slightly different color even with the tint so you can tell. Easier to get good coverage that way with the final coat.
 
Same here but if only a panel and a blend I use the OE color primer. I find you have the best chance at a least a blendable match,
 
If you using an inexpensive topcoat, it is better to use a primer that has a similar shade as your color.
 
Gray was for a long time default. PPG and Axalta now suggest a shade of gray to be used with basecoat/midcoat color. PPG calls it the A-Chromatic tint and states which shade of gray from G1-G6 to use.

Sikkens uses colored primers for the same reason, they call it Colorbuild and it's used with both their premium(Sikkens) and standard(Lesonal) lines. I painted my old car at the local community college back in 2007, I used Lesonal base and clear. The mixing system recommended a black primer-sealer for better coverage and so I used that.
 
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[align:center][/align]Just for fun of it to show color change or not over different base primers. Working today pulled sample from 275 gallon batch to be put into aerosol cans of John Deere green OEM touch up for distribution.
Color sample was sprayed over black and white card cut 20% thinner 2coats approximately 3 mills wet. Color was full hide easy with 2 coats. These are the results and what shows color with full hide will show no difference in base color used.

White card Black card

L. 44.86. L. 44.83
A. -22.17. A -22.22
B. 20.99. B 21.00

L. -.03
A -.05
B. .04

E*ab. .06

Much of this is Greek to most if not all people if not in the paint or coating industries. The above shows on change in color if sprayed over black or white. The delta E number of .06 is not seen by a human eye most people have hard time to see a .25 or less

L. Is Light to Dark
A. Is Red to Green
B. Is Blue to Yellow

The above was read against each other no let's say it's used against a standard color and how to utilize and what is done with numbers

Std Trial sample
L. 44.12. L 44.85
A -23.58. A -22.85
B 21.07. B 20.99

L .73 Color is light side
A 1.37 Color is red side
B -08. Color is blue side

E*ab 1.56 color would need to be corrected to a .5 or under Eab

Above numbers give me direction in color and how to move it
It is also a reference batch to batch in what was done and shipped.

In general in industrial paint formulation for me hide hide hide is goal key number one in my book some and many colors can be challenging sometimes not achievable and color selection of primers are very important.
 
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