Alclad II primer question

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Here's what the Alclad site has to say on primers:

Apply one of these primers before using Regular ALCLAD:
Tamiya Plastic Primers-white or grey
Auto Primer-white or grey
Future/Klear -floor sealer/polish

Do I have to use those exact primers or will any primer work? My favorite is Floquil primer or Krylon, but I wanted to make sure before I screwed up my project.

[Saturn]

As much as I do love Alclad II, it's really frustrating that their primering instructions have always been kinda nebulous. This question pops up repeatedly in every online model discussion forum I've frequented.

The primer serves two functions:
-to provide a smooth surface
-to barrier coat the plastic

You *could* use any primer that meets these two functions and it should work- but Alclad is simply more durable with certain primers. I used Testors Acryl on my first Alclad job and it worked until I tried to mask it- and it lifted/peeled right off. (but the unmasked portions are stil fine- three years after I painted it) I've used Tamiya Aerosol Gloss black primarily since then as well as the Alclad brand gray and gloss black primers they now sell. Both work great. I've also heard that Mr Surfacer and the Tamiya Surfacer Primer also work well.

If you want to use Floquil or Krylon, I'd do a lot of testing on scrap plastic first. See if it stands up to masking and see if you could see a luster difference between primers. Also check out this pseudo-scientific study on bare metal finishing products on ARC...

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Thanks! That page helps a lot. I'm definitely gonna test it out first because I've never used Alclad II before.