RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Before painting any metal part of your Tank you MUST use a Metal Primer or the Paint just will not take,
The sequence is this----First wipe the Tank over with Acrylic Thinners using a lint free cloth,
Then paint the metal surfaces with metal (Etching )Primer
Depending on the state of the tanks bodywork paint the tank with either "Mr Primer Surfacer 1000" or if it is full of gaps "Mr Primer Surfacer 500",Carefully Cut back the finish with "FINE" Emery Paper.
follow that with a coat of red oxide primer/undercoat then comes the topcoat followed by the weathering.
AND DONT RUSH

I guess I was kind of confused by the label on the paint. I used Tamiya primer spraypaint and it said “for use on plastic and metal”. I did clean the metal parts before painting and I assumed a primer wouldn’t need another primer. Oh well. Thanks for the advice

I am trying some MIG ammo primer. Reviews say its good for PE and metal, 60 ml bottle and can be sprayed tho airbrush so should be good for smaller metal . Using the airbrush means i can prime the small bits after they are fixed in position with little overspray.

I used some red oxide undercoat in a can and some paint flaked off the metal other areas were ok. The can might have needed more of a shake to mix the contents or sat the can in hot water for a few mins.

Have you tried using self etching primer on the metal parts? I spray it on the metal parts before the first primer coat. I haven't noticed it causing any problems with the plastic, and it makes it a lot harder to chip the paint off of the metal.

Bill