# Rosco Tough Prime vs Kilz etc...



## Colin (Mar 3, 2015)

I have not used Tough Prime, but have seen it recommended a lot on CB. The remaining question is, how does it compare with the readily available Kilz type primers in real application? 

I need to make our ubiquitous black masonite deck turn white for a show, and then back to black. I've sort of settled on Tough Prime for going back to black, but how about for white? Can anyone actually compare Tough Prime to products like Kilz latex in an extreme color-change situation like this? Tough Prime is more than three times the cost before shipping, so if using Kilz means I need an extra coat (even two--time and student labor is cheap) then I'm okay with that. I just don't want to end up with a poor bond causing headaches with subsequent layers. Does anyone have experience with both Tough Prime and Kilz latex on floors? Or has anyone gone to a light color and back to black with any other product that proved durable to daily "general use" traffic and tape, assuming re-painting 2-4 times per year?

I think I read somewhere on CB that people have had some trouble with Tough Prime pigment pulling up on clothes and such. Is it any worse or better than on unsealed layers of the Glidden black so many use?


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## SteveB (Mar 3, 2015)

My wife the scenic actually recommended AquaLoc for this application. 

She's used this on Masonite in a test in public and found it held up better then the others.

My $.02


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## Colin (Mar 3, 2015)

SteveB said:


> My wife the scenic actually recommended AquaLoc for this application.
> 
> She's used this on Masonite in a test in public and found it held up better then the others.
> 
> My $.02



Thanks, that looks promising. I see they make both white and a deep base, so maybe an option for both the white and the black.


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## BillConnerFASTC (Mar 4, 2015)

We've switched from recommending Tough Prime to Break-Through made by PPG in wrought iron (black) and satin. It resists pull up by tape better. Two clients who recoated the original Tough Prime coatings report it performs better.


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## bdkdesigns (Mar 4, 2015)

BillConnerASTC said:


> We've switched from recommending Tough Prime to Break-Through made by PPG in wrought iron (black) and satin. It resists pull up by tape better. Two clients who recoated the original Tough Prime coatings report it performs better.



I haven't used it myself, but we did an entire set (mind you, it was with Gloss Black) with Break-Through and it worked out well. The charge artist said it was hard to keep a wet edge with it because it dried pretty quickly, but that might not be an issue if you aren't trying to get an even gloss coverage. It seeped through some of the seems of the platforms and pooled on the stage deck below. It was actually pretty hard scraping that all off after the show was over to even out the deck back to a smooth surface.


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## Luke Holliger (Dec 7, 2015)

I just got off the phone with one of my reps and learned that apparently Roscoe has reformulated their Tough Prime paint. It sounds like theatres that are using it on Masonite decks are seeing issues with it not sticking to new surfaces and peeling off in sheets. Since my venue will be resurfacing our stage deck next month I am heavily researching this issue. I am going to look into the PPG paint that Bill suggested. With 170 panels of new Masonite, I want to make sure I get this one right. If anyone has had any success or failures, I would love to hear your thoughts.


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## gafftapegreenia (Dec 7, 2015)

BillConnerASTC said:


> We've switched from recommending Tough Prime to Break-Through made by PPG in wrought iron (black) and satin. It resists pull up by tape better. Two clients who recoated the original Tough Prime coatings report it performs better.



We use Break-Through in our shop. I'm personally quite pleased with its performance. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BillConnerFASTC (Dec 7, 2015)

Luke Holliger said:


> I just got off the phone with one of my reps and learned that apparently Roscoe has reformulated their Tough Prime paint. It sounds like theatres that are using it on Masonite decks are seeing issues with it not sticking to new surfaces and peeling off in sheets. Since my venue will be resurfacing our stage deck next month I am heavily researching this issue. I am going to look into the PPG paint that Bill suggested. With 170 panels of new Masonite, I want to make sure I get this one right. If anyone has had any success or failures, I would love to hear your thoughts.


Interesting because we had used Tough Prime successfully and you will probably find older posts here where I recommended it BUT, when we had the first problems, the very first thing we did was call Rosco and they swore they had not changed it.


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## Ben J (Jan 21, 2016)

We actually just went through a re-flooring at my school, and we went through more than a dozen different paint samples tying to find the best product to use on the new floor (Masonite). We did test both Tough Prime, which we had always used but with the old formula, and Break-Through during this process, but we ended up using a Behr Premium Plus Ultra as the base coating for the floor. We built up a few layers of that then switched back to Tough Prime. But when we later ripped up gaff tape, it ripped up the Tough Prime while leaving the Behr. At least we still have the black base, but we are continuously doing more testing and research to find something better


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