Gesso as primer, how to strip it?

[midas-kensai]

Hello,

Gesso seems to be a popular primer among the more advanced painters, wanting to try it out myself, 'was wondering if and how it can be stripped if unwanted things occur.
So how do you strip it? Do the same stripping agents that work for acrylics work for gesso, e.g. good 'ol alcohol?

 

[AWOL]

The bottle I got has been very easy to strip with alcohol, far easier than GW acrylics for instance. That might not universally be the case, depending on brand, but it should be easy to get rid of. I've removed some once just with warm water and soap, but that was "fresh" gesso, just dried.

 

[RuneBrush]

Agreed, I expect most of the traditional way's of removing paint of a mini should work to remove gesso from a mini.

 

[Einion]

Gesso seems to be a popular primer among the more advanced painters...

Who exactly? I can't recall it being used by more than one or two people and I wouldn't recommend it for priming minis - there are numerous better options.

Do the same stripping agents that work for acrylics work for gesso, e.g. good 'ol alcohol?

Should do, so: alcohol, acetone, paint stripper, oven cleaner (roughly in order of how efficiently they'll do the job). Ammonia might work too if you have any.

Einion

 

[midas-kensai]

Thx to you all.

...I wouldn't recommend it for priming minis - there are numerous better options.
Einion

What would you recomend? Hopefully not spray primer from a can, as I don't really favor it.

 

[airhead]

Thx to you all.



What would you recomend? Hopefully not spray primer from a can, as I don't really favor it.

That is exactly what I'd recommend. Touch up automotive spray primer will give you a better bond and comes in several colors so you might be able to base coat and prime in one step. (and costs way less than the spray paint from GW).

Gesso is a great primer for canvas.

 

[Einion]

Unfortunately spray primer from a can would be my no. 1 recommendation :laugh: Surface is fine enough for pros* and any good one is tough, bonds well and is relatively inexpensive... so they're a bit of a no-brainer most of the time IMB.

Since you want an alternative something else worth considering are the acrylic-polyurethane primers from Vallejo (available in more than just white), but I have to mention I've seen comments more than once that they're not as resistant to wear as auto primer, so either they don't bond as well or they're not as hard/tough, or a bit of both.

*As long as it's handled properly.

Einion

 

[Jbickley00]

i'm now mostly a gesso guy, and i thought i was pretty unique. gesso comes of just fine with simple green, and in some ways is easier to remove than spray primer. i'm a veteran of krylon, and still use the stuff for some things. The trick with spray primer is light coats and moving the can. i'm not a fan of the vallejo primer, but i compare it to gesso not spray primer. even if you use a can, having some form of brush on primer is useful for touch up work.

 

[Einion]

Most 'gesso' will scratch off smoother materials - like resin and white metal - by scraping with a fingernail, even if you give it a full week to cure. I get better performance from my auto primer... at best it's difficult to scrape from the surface with a sharp knife blade! That's my standard for primer bonding

Acrylic primers of this type also have added filler (e.g. marble dust) which is designed to make them rough on a microscopic level.

Einion