How to make a primer from bitumen mastic

Bitumen mastic is a material widely used for waterproofing roofs, foundations, and building ceilings. It can be divided into two main types, distinguished by the method of preparation - cold and hot. Cold mastic can be used immediately, and hot mastic must be warmed up and achieve the desired consistency.

Often, novice builders are interested in - what is the difference between bituminous mastic and primer, because they are made of almost the same materials?

Differences between mastic and primer

Mastic is most often used to seal external joints and cracks on roofing. Its disadvantage is that after surface treatment at least 20 hours must pass before it completely dries.

The primer used for thorough priming of the surfaces and subsequent gluing of the waterproofing layers dries in just 3 hours. In this case, the same ambient temperature is taken into account.

Another difference is that primer consumption is significantly less than mastic consumption and cost savings are visible to the naked eye.

DIY bitumen primer preparation

A proven method of preparation involves the use of bitumen and diesel fuel. For processing metal surfaces, you need to use a combination of materials 1: 3. If you have to process concrete coatings, you need to apply a dosage of bitumen and diesel fuel 1: 2.

The composition is prepared by boiling. As sources of fire, you can use a bonfire, blowtorch or kerosene lamp. After warming up, bitumen must be poured into diesel fuel with a thin stream, periodically stirring the solution.

It is important to remember that you need to pour the heated bitumen into diesel fuel and in no case vice versa.

The second method is also effective, but it involves prolonged time wasting. The prepared container must be filled with pure gasoline, put pieces of bitumen in it and leave them until completely dissolved.

In this case, it is worth considering that gasoline vapors will evaporate, and therefore the container with gasoline must be tightly closed. The preparation time of such a solution varies around 5-7 days.

It is important that the prepared primer becomes viscous over time, and therefore it is recommended to knead it immediately before use. When applying, it is worth controlling the temperature of the composition - it should not be lower than 80 degrees. If the solution began to harden, it must be warmed up and only after that continue work.