primer for fiberglass

P

pjoseph

Full Audioholic
can someone recommend a primer that will stick to fiberglass

Thanks
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
can someone recommend a primer that will stick to fiberglass

Thanks
You need a spray gun and auto paint primer. I have sprayed boats. You spray fiber glass just like you would an auto.
 
annunaki

annunaki

Moderator
A local auto parts supply store will have primer for auto-body in a spray can. You can also check the back of the can to see what materials it adheres best to.
 
P

pjoseph

Full Audioholic
If it lists "glass" as one of the surfaces it will work on will that work on fiberglass?
Thanks again
 
Johnny2Bad

Johnny2Bad

Audioholic Chief
If it lists "glass" as one of the surfaces it will work on will that work on fiberglass?
Thanks again
"Glass" won't refer to fibreglass, it will refer to plate glass (as in windows). The key part of "fibreglass" is "fibre", not "glass". Aside from the raw material it's made from (which is sand, like you find at a beach) glass fibre and other forms of glass really have nothing in common. They are very different materials.

Fibreglass is really the same as any standard stubstrate ... (eg: wood and metal) as far as paint adhesion goes, and has more "tooth" than most surfaces, which is a desirable property for paint adhesion. That's your main criteria for adhesion ... don't worry, you would have to hunt down the world's most useless primer or an incredibly specialized primer to find one that won't stick to fibreglass.

You should be concentrating on the other aspects of finish choices. I would suggest the most important of those is to choose a primer that is compatible with your intended topcoat(s). Although you can freewheel with paint and get away with it, there are enough instances where you won't get away with it that it's worth your effort to stick with what the paint manufacturer recommends. Automotive painters, for example, typically use only one brand of paint for all coats.

Were it my project, I would be using a water-based epoxy primer and topcoat, but you certainly don't have to. Your choices are vast.

When priming fibreglass, I much prefer high-solids/high-filler primers that allow you to sand and smooth the finish prior to topcoat. Automotive, marine and aircraft paint makers generally will have these types.

There is a rundown of some common house paint primers tested on fibreglass at the West Marine website. You may find that helpful.

West System-Testing House Primers
 
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robot

robot

Junior Audioholic
"Glass" won't refer to fibreglass, it will refer to plate glass (as in windows). The key part of "fibreglass" is "fibre", not "glass". Aside from the raw material it's made from (which is sand, like you find at a beach) glass fibre and other forms of glass really have nothing in common. They are very different materials.

Fibreglass is really the same as any standard stubstrate ... (eg: wood and metal) as far as paint adhesion goes, and has more "tooth" than most surfaces, which is a desirable property for paint adhesion. That's your main criteria for adhesion ... don't worry, you would have to hunt down the world's most useless primer or an incredibly specialized primer to find one that won't stick to fibreglass.

You should be concentrating on the other aspects of finish choices. I would suggest the most important of those is to choose a primer that is compatible with your intended topcoat(s). Although you can freewheel with paint and get away with it, there are enough instances where you won't get away with it that it's worth your effort to stick with what the paint manufacturer recommends. Automotive painters, for example, typically use only one brand of paint for all coats.

Were it my project, I would be using a water-based epoxy primer and topcoat, but you certainly don't have to. Your choices are vast.

When priming fibreglass, I much prefer high-solids/high-filler primers that allow you to sand and smooth the finish prior to topcoat. Automotive, marine and aircraft paint makers generally will have these types.

There is a rundown of some common house paint primers tested on fibreglass at the West Marine website. You may find that helpful.

West System-Testing House Primers
the real question is how well will the primer adhere to the resin holding the fiberglass together. the primer won't actually be touching any glass.

metal and wood are two very different materials as far as paint is concerned. (for example, metal etching primers)

the advice so far is good, use automotive primer
 
Z

zer0g

Audiophyte
Will a Primer specified for metal & wood work on Fiberglass? Paint same brand alkyd enamel

:confused:I have a nagging question along the exact lines of this thread & I am elated to have found it inside of Audioholics which I am as well. I read all of the posts: OK, I am in the midst of redoing my fiberglass van top. All the body work is done (…Somebody tried to drive it into a garage before I bought it & the patch was shoddy. I found some hairline cracks around screw holes & gel coat was peeling & oxidizing with some microscopic mold spots starting along with the gash they siliconed. In sore need of maintenance.) So, I ordered two Rustoleum products: Rust-Oleum Exterior Gloss Marine Paint (For Fiberglass, Wood & Metal & is an oil-based modified Alkyd —assuming that means alkyd enamel) & Rust-Oleum V7400 Fast Recoat Alkyd Primer - Solvent, Resin Type Phenolic Alkyd Enamel, ...they both use the same solvents. I did the primer coat & didn't like the textured finish with a fiber roller so I sanded it back down. I was going to spray but got some 1/8" foam nap rollers instead for the next try. Now I realize that Primer I special ordered & bought is aimed at metal. It mentions 'Surface: Metal, Wood' on the back label but no word on Fiberglass. I got this gallon of Primer for $65 & can't take it back; plus I just saw it online for $210, so it seems quality stuff. And they are both Rustoleum line. Do I call the Company or take your advice as word & hope for a confirmation answer? It seems like 'very good primer' & the fact that they mentioned 'wood' on the label seems like it won't be a problem on fiberglass. But in looking online it seems the compatible primer would have been Rust-Oleum Marine Wood and Fiberglass Primer. (This is not a commercial for Rustoleum lol. In fact a super expensive Interlux was their suggestion & not the latter) Yet, as you guys say: Use the Auto, Marine or Aircraft primers & worry about the paint. I'm thinking to go ahead with this very good primer I bought & used the first time 'again' rather than spend even more money on another more specifically labelled primer. What's your call on all this?
 
Z

zer0g

Audiophyte
The Department of the Redundancy Department

I researched the topic quite a bit since posting. Very sketchy & stat info that gets copy-pasted onto cans & into pdf's, but alas: The Death of Reference —nobody reads the reference material, they just copy & paste mistakes ad infinitum. (And every blogger tells you to 'just read the can for how long to wait before painting over their primer'. Read it 50 times. It seems like they were non-commital. They don't really tell you.) One commercial boat owner said you can use the metal paint but its brittle. That stuck in my head. Just now I discovered a partial Q & A at Rustoleum's own (apparently) site, but you can't find it tracing back to the home page for a site map or link. It is: https://www.rustoleum.com/CBGResourceCenterIFrame.asp?type=faqdetail&id=2&x1=Q&x2=A/ Though cryptic, if I read between the lines it appears someone is asking a progression of questions that depend on the prior answer, like: if you can use metal paint on non-rusty metal, clean metal & finally on fiberglass. Ta-da! Their reply is if the material doesn't flex to much. Duh, that's all fiberglass ever does. That's why I went to marine paint in the first place. The primer was a mistake. They mention using the aluminum primer for aluminum & then finally that they 'have' marine paint. This corporate nerd sounds like he never painted a thing in his life before writing these responses. Sounds just like the info on the labels. And the pdf's of their label is everywhere! The Department of the Redundancy Department. So it seems to imply that I should do what I did today: Order the Rustoleum Primer for Wood & Fiberglass, delay the project & wait out the hundred degree summer heat. And chill. Hey & I got it at half the price of most of the online askers. Have a good one!
PS: Hey, I got this bomb Wadia 170 iTransport. I'd like to hook it up in my van to bring some fidelity back to all the MP3's played from my iPod through the sound system. Any clues?
 
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E

epicjohn

Audiophyte
Hi guys, this is my first hand experience with fiberglass painting;

I work for Epic Doors which manufactures high-performance fiberglass entry doors. We evaluated several paint suppliers including TruCoat 623, Sherwin Williams Polane 2K Acrylic, and Aquasurtech D200.

We were looking for an environmentally friendly, single component water based paint that was super durable, had great adhesion and laid down smooth.

Based upon our evaluation we selected TruCoat 623. It was much more environmentally friendly than Polane 2K and is a single component and TruCoat had better adhesion than D200 and was priced better.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
If it lists "glass" as one of the surfaces it will work on will that work on fiberglass?
Thanks again
Fiberglass is only part glass- the rest is resin, which is really what receives the paint. Go to YouTube and watch videos- you'll find more than you want, but if you enter a manufacturer's name, it weeds out the weekend warriors and buttheads who want to be online.

If you're building a subwoofer, you can use some Krylon or Rustoleum paints, if you just want to go to a hardware store to buy paint. I would contact the company- both have good tech support.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
I would hope the OP figured this out in the 11 years since the original post!
 

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