Add White Lead to Topsides Primer?

[steve wiseman]

I am wondering if anyone has ever added white lead paste to a current production top side primer such as Interlux PreKote. As a side note, for some reason the Data Sheet for PreKote on The British Interlux (International) site (yachtpaint.com), for wood hulls, recommends their "yacht Primer" before Prekote. I called the UK and the Tech. rep said "well of course as "Yacht Primer has aluminum in it to protect the wood." They consider Yacht Primer the primer and Prekote an undercoater. As a "dry" architect (studying yacht design", I've noticed British architectural specs in general expect more paint build up for better protection. Interlux's USA Prekote data sheet says apply directly to wood w/o and "Yacht Primer" The USA site seems to promote Yacht Primer only for metal.
Is it market driver where they believe Americans just won't take the time to build up a system?!

Back to white lead - woud this be a good idea to help protect the topsides? I just don't know if it would cause a compatibility problem. Anyone done it? I use redlead for a primer for the bottom.

Thanks!
Steve

[Jay Greer]

Actually, I have never used white lead as a primer, only as luting and for bedding canvas. However, I have used quite a little red lead thinned with turps as primer on new planking
I have never had a topside job blister when red lead has been used on raw wood first. Standard primer is then used over the red lead for grain fill. If you really want to go the way the old pros did it, then skip the white primer and lay on many thin coats of enamel over the red lead.
JG

[Bob Cleek]

Very poor idea to put white lead on. You'll be doing a lot of sanding and refinishing over the years and the less lead dust exposure, the better. Use the recommended undercoat over a good primer. Red lead is fine, or CPES even better. You must cover all the "color" with your undercoat. I don't know what the rep was talking about with aluminum "protecting" the wood. Sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about. Aluminum or zinc oxides are now used instead of lead oxide to produce the white color, not to "protect the wood." Undercoat has a lot of talc in it, which makes it very easy to sand. That and its ability to cover color is its purpose.

[steve wiseman]

Thanks guys,

If "red lead is fine" which it is and I used on the hull, why wouldn't white lead be better since it's the color of the hull and would be a closer color of the finish. I've never had adhesion problems with redlead - anyone has? I'm not interested on putting something on the wood like a penetrating epoxy (especially with no rot) than forever changes the structure and "feel" of the wood and is not reversable. As a preservation architect we have been guilty of this in the past and are moving in the direction of trying to specify reversible products. Treatments we think are the "bee's knees" today are many times found undesireable in the future.

Thanks!
Steve

[neptoon]

Prime or not to prime....no need for drastic measures...primer in itself should be a transition coat between bare wood and finish paint...as a fairing medium for a fine filling of deep grained woods...that's it...excess build up of primer will absorb moisture..in itself not very stable...primer does not have the charcteristics that we need for good adhesion. so keep it to a minimum...you should be able to see thru it when sanded to its correct film thickness....I ran the painting crew at Dion's Yacht Yard....for a few years....these are not new techniques

[Dave Fleming]

In days of yore it was not uncommon to use 'yard paint' to prime a hull.
'Yard Paint' was the unfinished cans of Oil Based paint left after a previous job had be completed.

It was dumped in a 55 gallon drum in the paint shack. When primer paint was needed the painters would ladle out some into a pail and add turps or paint thinner to it. It was applied very thin for the first several coats to soak into the wood. Lightly sanded and the process repeated then the finish painting would begin with thinned coats of the top coat.

Aluminum Oil Based paint was used on the edges of cut plywood and MDO supposedly to seal the grain.

Please Note; this was all done at the time only Oil Based paints were used. Nowadays I have NO idea what is in paints. :confused:

Probably best to stick with one companies products as I am assuming ( dangerous word that ) they are all formulated to work together.

[Nicholas Carey]

Originally posted by neptoon:
Prime or not to prime....no need for drastic measures...primer in itself should be a transition coat between bare wood and finish paint...as a fairing medium for a fine filling of deep grained woods...that's it...excess build up of primer will absorb moisture..in itself not very stable...primer does not have the charcteristics that we need for good adhesion. so keep it to a minimum...you should be able to see thru it when sanded to its correct film thickness....I ran the painting crew at Dion's Yacht Yard....for a few years....these are not new techniquesPaint's ain't :D what they used to be.

Environmental regulations have changed the world of paint.

Modern "coating systems" (what people used to call "paint") are designed such that the majority of the total coating thickness is primer.

They are designed so that the final topcoats [gloss] add little to the total coating thickness. What they provide is color, sheen and protection.