Questions about primers...

I like the idea of using a primer as a base coat. A primer is a bit softer than top-side paint, right?, and goes on thicker, so it's a bit easier to smooth out the canoe surface and cover some imperfections. But the primer is gray or white. I'm thinking that having a softer layer between the filled canvas & top-side paint might allow a scratch to penetrate deeper than it might if the primer hadn't used.

Thoughts?

Also, has anyone tried mixing some top-side paint with the primer so that hiding it's whitish color would be easier when painting?

 

Tinting primer a bit by adding a little topside paint is fairly common. If nothing else, it gives you an indication of how deep any scratches might penetrate - just in the paint, into the primer, or all the way down into the filler. As to the slight additional coating thickness added to the finish by primer, I doubt it really makes much durability difference. Rocks are rather hard and unyielding. When brought together with a canoe, no matter what it is made of, the rock generally wins.