Hey, anyone know what primer was used on US AFVs in WWII?
Got alot of US stuf to get finished and need info.
I have read conflicting reports, I.E. Red Oxide primer or Zinc Chromate Yellow or Zinc Chromate Green…
Need to know for “chipped paint” effect.
Tom
Before you figure out what the primer was, maybe research how much of the trendy “paint chip effect” actually occured on US made vehicles. I would posit that most of what appears in b/w photos isn’t paint chipping (which was very rare due to the toughness of the olive drab paints) but actually dust being removed from edges due to crew hands, feet and uniforms’ rubbing against those surfaces.
My opinion: don’t do it. It’s a fad for the dunkelgelb guys.
BTW, it was mostly oxide red but some parts were in grey primer.
Tom, I agree with Roy. These vehicles were most likely in pretty good shape prior to the Normandy landings which meant that at the most they spent 11 months in a combat zone. In an Army that stresses taking care of it’s weapons and equipment, I’m sure that during a lull in combat the soldiers were busy with their gear, especially in Patton’s 3d Army. I would venture that if there were some paint chipped off during combat, you may see some surface rust. IMHO
Roy & T Ellis,
I totally agree with you guys.
I served with an armored unit in Germany in the mid 80’s.
Even with CARC paint you still had minor wear, and this is what I am going to show (VERY RESERVED).
This is why the primer color is SOOOO important to me.
Don’t worry, no crusty rusty shermans here!
Tom
that being said, I have a paint report from WW2. Sherman components were primered in different colors dependent on the manufacturer – so it’s hard to nail down.
But would it not be unusual to use zinc chromate primers on vehicles/components made of ferrous metals? I’ve always understood them to be formulated for aircraft alloys.
Not that I am an expert - I might shortly learn something new! ;o)
Right on and[#ditto]
Rounds Complete!!
Hi 
from what I have read on WWII USA vehicles, at least the tanks,–no primer— oh kill me now— A one component paint and primer in one application-- I will try to look up my reference to back this up. individual out sourced components were most likely primed—
this question comes up over and over-- for both American vehicles and Soviet— IMHO only the German vehicles were primed-- they must have thought they would last forever.
tread
Tread: I used to go along and pass that same info: that US armored vehicles weren’t primered. I was mistaken. Someone sent me a contemporaneous article written about the wartime painting industry and it contains clear info about how various components were dipped or sprayed or whatever and how it varied depending on factories and what not. I’m now, of the firm belief that most US stuff was primered.
Thanks Roy,
I would love to read more about that. Could you pass it along? Thanks alot
tread
P.S. the ‘dipping’ part is what I am interested in. all ‘modern’ cars and stuff are ‘dipped’ . it is an electrostatic coat called the ‘E’ coat, but I was not aware they used it in WWII .
Sorry to respond so late.
Been working on this;/forums/1212995/ShowPost.aspx
Wow, seams like an emotional subject (the weathering part anyhoo).
I want to thank Roy, Mick, Redleg12 and Treadwell for all the great info.
This subject is kind of a mistery, isn’t it???
Guess I still don’t have anything concrete…
Tom
Tom: I re-read the articles which were from a paint industry journal in 1944, 1945. They only mention red oxide primer – my bad.