Mr Surfacer 500

[Rebellion13]

Hello All,
I have the Taigen Sherman kit version and the since it is metal, should I prime it first and then apply the surfacer? Or will it adhere to the metal and then primer the surfacer.

Thank You
Wade

[Ecam]

Good question. I use an etching primer on the metal parts to give a good bond for paint. I have no idea of the Mr Surfacer adhesion properties on metal. You could do a test on the inside of the turret. I use Bondo thinned down for my texture projects and it works well on metal, paint or plastic.

[Kaczor]

Mr Surfacer 500 is good but I for the lower hull and wheels I would use car primer for aluminium.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

I most often prime metal 1/16 AFVs with good ol' Rustoleum spray cans, gray for US vehicles; red for German. Then I do the base coat paint with an airbrush. I find that enamels and acrylics then adhere well. Mr. Surfacer 500 is a favorite of mine for smaller scale models because it helps create a texture, but I do not think it creates quite a rough enough surface for 1/16.

[Marco Peter]

Actually it works really well on 1/16 scalewise.
It's 1/6 where the trouble begins haha!

[Rebellion13]

I was having a hard time deciding between Mr Surfacer and just using Rustoleum textured, maybe I will use a combination (eg. surfacer on turret, textured on lower)

Cheers
Wade

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Thanks for checking back in, Wade. Your idea to use a textured paint is interesting, but might be tricky. When I use RustOleum on a 1/16 tank, I only use RuesOleum primer. I have used RustOleum textured paints as bases (with an appropriate overcoat of the right color) for gravel parking lots on my O-Gauge railroad or bases for 1/16 figures. However, I have never used a RustOleum textured paint on an AFV. I find that Sherman castings were not so rough as, say, a WWII Russian tank. So I would guess that the textured RustOleum might be a bit too course, depending on which texture you choose. I would try to identify a RustOleum texture paint that is not too coarse. If would try a piece of scrap plastic first to see if the texture is overdone. I would also still use a primer first to make sure any paint gets a good surface to which to adhere.

[tankme]

I like Mr. Surfacer products as they stick really well to metal surfaces. I have used Tamiya gray tube putty mixed with Tamiya thin cement and that works well. I like that method better than sprays as I can precisely control where the surfacing product goes and how much texture is generated.

[Rebellion13]

Thanks for checking back in, Wade. Your idea to use a textured paint is interesting, but might be tricky. When I use RustOleum on a 1/16 tank, I only use RuesOleum primer. I have used RustOleum textured paints as bases (with an appropriate overcoat of the right color) for gravel parking lots on my O-Gauge railroad or bases for 1/16 figures. However, I have never used a RustOleum textured paint on an AFV. I find that Sherman castings were not so rough as, say, a WWII Russian tank. So I would guess that the textured RustOleum might be a bit too course, depending on which texture you choose. I would try to identify a RustOleum texture paint that is not too coarse. If would try a piece of scrap plastic first to see if the texture is overdone. I would also still use a primer first to make sure any paint gets a good surface to which to adhere.

I spray painted the bogies tonight with a black primer then with the textured, it turned out pretty decent, once all that dried I used Tamiya TS-28. I will let it dry overnight and see how the results are in the morning. With the black base the OD is darker. So we shall see.

[Model Builder 4]

When using the jars of mr surfacer I use a short bristled brush and stipple it onto the area using a stabbing motion which gives a good textured effect, once dry if the effect is a little too coarse for your liking you can always sand it down to reduce it or go over it again with another coat if you require more texture

Cheers ,Lee.