Base coat options

I have stated before than Minwax Polycryllic is a suitable base coat. It can be "stripped" with denatured alcohol on a scrub pad: meaning there is no sanding dust (anyways Polycryllic does not sand very easily). The product is slightly fuel tolerant by itself, and is not instantly dissolved by glow fuel. With a fuel proof coating over it I have had decent performance, although I feel the product is heavy, especially compared to dope.

Roddie prodded me about using Killz primer, I thought I had some but I don't. Instead I have Zinser Bullseye water-based primer. I applied it to some wooden skewers for testing, about an hour later (topcoat cure time) I took one skewer and placed it into a plastic bag with a paper towel and a splash of Sig Champion 25% fuel. After 1 hour the results are promising as the coating was not immediately stripped. The coating was significantly softened, and tore in places with rubbing.

Zinser Bullseye is supposed to be easy sanding (I have a sample made up for that too) and seems more lightweight than Minwax Polycryllic. While sanding means dust (and working where I can make dust, which is outside) a better looking finish that is lightweight is better.

So far my favorite method of sealing, priming, and grain filling is using thinned dope with cornstarch as the results are excellent and fuel proof. However I cannot use this method in the house as it has a very strong solvent odor.

Phil