Primer colours

[Grandad]

Dear friends!

I am puzzled of all the information of a red brown primer on Luftwaffe a/c for metal surfaces. There are some photos with notes that the primer has been applied after the war, but still many profiles and photos say it's from the war.
To my knowledge the metal primer was a green or yellow tinge colour and the red brown primer was used for wood/fabric only.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Regards
Jan

[Primoz]

Minium (red oxide lead) is a traditional primer for metal surfaces. Perhaps they used something similar.

[Grandad]

Yes,

red primer is well known, and the allies used it.
Still, considering the war situation, is it really likely that the germans opened jars of a standard metal primer and covered spots of unprotected metal like I do on my car?
I find it unlikely they left parts of airframes unpainted (under surfaces) and at the same time tended minute damages.

What was the RLM instruction for protecting (in field) spots of damaged surface treatment (color)? I doubt there was any instruction, as any a/c having damaged surface protection were supposed to be sent to specific overhaul facilities acc.to Mr Merrick in his new book.

Isn't it more likely that most, and maybe all, red primer painting was done after the war?

Regards
Jan

[Micke D]

The famous colour photo of Fw 190 D-9, W.Nr. 500570 from JG 6, shows some spots of, what looks like at least like, red-brown primer on the spine in front of the fin and around the fuselage lifting hole.

Could it be painted cloth that covers up some kind of repairs?

[David Ransome]

Hi,

If it's any help - I had a section of He111 that had a yellow-green chromate finish to the metal followed by RLM02 primer, however where there were fabric seals or covers they had been coated in the red-brown primer UNDER the RLM02 and had obviously been sprayed in situ rather than prior to application. (And fabric had 'pinked' or serrated edges.)

In this case the red - brown had been applied during the war and definitely not after.

Regards

David

[Del Davis]

The Luftwaffe paint system as documented by Michael Ullmann was a one-coat resin based system designed to coat the aircraft with a single application without the need for a primer coat. I believe that the red-brown color that you refer to was intended for non-metallic surfaces made of wood or fabric.

[Grandad]

Thanks guys!

500570 has a strange colored area, but in b/w its impossible to know what kind of paint and which color.
Seems plausible with fabric patches painted red brown.

Regards
Jan Forsgren