Problem with primers

[mystic badger]

I need your help because I can\'t figure how to use succesfully a primer on my minitatures. I\'m using the foundation white from modelcolor (vallejo) and everytime my minis lose details like eyes or fingers. Have you good tips for me ?
Thanks in advance.

(sorry, bad english)

 

[Medved]

ok, get a spray on primer, or water down your paint when you get to the face and do a few coats. spray on is really the best even if it is cheap spray paint. it means the paint will not chip off so much during painting. spray from a distance of 20-25 cm and start spraying in continuous bursts, waving the spray can side to side. make sure you dont start spraying straight on the mini but sightly to the side and finish spraying away from the mini. that way you dont blast away the detail on the mini. hope that helps.

 

[donga666]

Medved is correct.

You are always better off with lots of thin layers instead of a few thick ones. If You are painting it on, thin it down alot. If you are sprayin a few light \'dustings\' is best.

If you are spraying start by spraying the miniature lying down, so you are spraying from below. A couple of fine dustings each side should do it. THEN stand the miniature up and catch the miniature from above, same again a few light dustings. Another tip is to wait at least 30 mins before putting another coat on (depending on the spray you use).

The best I have used is Matt automotive primers (black & White, have used grey in the past). They are cheap, good quality and are designed to adhere to metal. Winner I get mine from Halfords (UK).

Andy

 

[Valander]

I use the Vallejo Foundation White when it\'s too cold/wet/windy to spray paint. I\'ve discovered a couple of things about it.

First, it\'s a good idea to thin it down just a little bit. When you do this, I strongly recommend using distilled water, since you really don\'t want to add crap like chlorine to it.

Second, a couple of thin coats is much better than one thick coat. This is most likely the culprit of your \"losing details\" problem.

Finally, the Vallejo primer is a little more fragile than spray primers. It\'s a really good idea to not handle your mini directly (of course, this applies to sprayed models, as well), since this can rub off the paint, as well as add oils from your fingers that can make it harder for the paint to adhere to.

I\'ve had good results following these basic tips, so give them a try; maybe they\'ll work for you, too!

 

[Medved]

just to say if you do end up priming with the vallejos and a brush make you shake the bejeesus out of them otherwise the pigments might start reacting with the later watered down layers (not fun!)

GW\'s white primer is sometimes a bit flaky and can end up making a rough texture to paint on. the black and shadow grey allways seem to produce an excellent surface to paint on (i think the paint layer shrinks as it dries) car sprays have this effect too.

 

[Valander]

Shaking the holy crap out of the paint applies pretty much to all Vallejos, but I agree it\'s absolutely vital with the primer.

In general, I do prefer spray primers, but when it\'s too cold/windy/wet (which is fairly often in this time of year in Seattle), I don\'t have a lot of choice.

 

[freakinacage]

Originally posted by donga666

The best I have used is Matt automotive primers (black & White, have used grey in the past). They are cheap, good quality and are designed to adhere to metal. Winner I get mine from Halfords (UK).

Andy

halfords? which one do you use? i\'ll have to give them a try - i have had real trouble with mine chipping off lately

 

[StarFyre]

primer...

Another thing I was told, ForgeWorld told me car primer is better for resin models. Not so much cause it\'s chalky or anything but it doesn\'t get absorbed into resin the way GW primer does.

So it also matters, not just how far away you prime from and how you move the spray can, but what type of primer you use on what type of model.

And I have a question on this; does anyone know any brands of WHITE car primer? I have a couple forgeworld models I want to prime white instead of grey (automotive primer I find at stores is grey).

Thanks.

Sanjay

 

[vincegamer]

I use a lot of brush on primer since I don\'t feel like prepping and priming everything in the summer.

One thing to remember is that primer is not paint, and by that I mean if you are using white primer the object is NOT to make the model white. If it\'s a grey metal model, the result after priming should be a slightly chalky lighter grey model, not a white one. If you put on enough layers of primer to make it white (or black or grey) then you have put on too much primer and you will obscure details. Also, while you want to prime all surfaces, if you miss a tiny spot here and there it\'s okay as long as it\'s not a top surface likely to be handled a lot.

 

[Equus]

@ Valander - Oh my gosh, don\'t I know it. I sometimes find it ironic that I didn\'t get into miniatures and resins until I moved to Seattle. Why oh why didn\'t I get into this all while I was living in Hawaii?!? Oh the humanity!

My only saving grace is my garage and moving the minis and primer back into the heated house between thin layers. Paint doesn\'t always atomize correctly, but I\'ve had some luck with being able to spray primer in less than ideal conditions. I try not to push it too much though.

@ Starfyre - I\'m not sure what you have available up there, but I\'ve been using Duplicolor white sandable primer for my resins. It adheres pretty well, isn\'t too grainy, and has a stupendously amazing (can you tell I like it) tip that doesn\'t aggravate my tendonitis too much. I usually can\'t find it as easily as I can find the gray version, but it works.

If you really want to go crazy, you can try to get Gunze\'s Mr Resin Primer. It\'s supposed to be fantastic at adhering to resins (seeing as that\'s what it\'s formulated for), but is prohibitively expensive and hard to get a hold of because of restrictions in getting it out of Japan. Another alternative is to primer gray (since the grays tend to be less grainy than white) and then airbrush a basecoat of white. Some people prefer the latter because the aforementioned grainy nature of a lot of white primer.

 

[StarFyre]

hmmmm

Nah, not that crazy..i found a place in california that has mr resin primer but it appears to be non-spray?

Forgeworld told me the use car primer for resin since it seals resin the way special resin primers do. GW primers though do not...

So might as well listen to them I looked up duplicolor and it appears to be an automotive primer, so that is what I will try and find

thanks

Update - site says Canadian Tire and Wallmart has it, will check wallmart since last time I checked canadian tire, they told me they only carry Grey.

Sanjay

 

[Equus]

more primer fun!

Mr Resin Primer does come in a spray can version too, I think. Most of the Gunze surfacing/primer line does, but with spray cans being hazardous materials, I think it\'s probably more trouble than it\'s worth. If you have an airbrush that can take nice good thick stuff, the bottle stuff can be a good primer alternative.

If you can\'t find white Duplicolor, you can also use Krylon, which is usually more readily available. I prefer the Duplicolor because I heard better things about the paint consistency vs. Krylon and the Duplicolor spray nozzles are great. They don\'t shoot out a cone, but a fan pattern, which you can adjust to be horizontal or vertical. Seems to give you more control. That and it requires less pressure than most spray nozzles.

Just be sure to try to find the sandable primer. I\'ve had very good luck with going back over and sanding the resin and primer for touch up before painting. It\'s still a little fragile, but it does bond pretty well. Haven\'t had too many problems accidentally scraping the primer off, but since my resins are for showcase rather than tabletop gaming, I don\'t end up handling them that much. A good sealing coat will probably take care of that problem in the end though.