Spray Primers

[PyrrhicVictory]

Ok....So today I was working on painting my army when I realized I was going to need more primer. Considering I needed it now, I got in the car and ran to a few places. The only black spray primer I could find was GW, and boy haven't they became proud of their stuff..$15 (USD) a can!! Now I like GW's hobby supplies, but they are starting to get to the point of being ridiculous. I have never really had much luck with Armory sprays, I always seem to get a powdery texture on anything I use, no matter the conditions.

Next time I make an order for minis, I want to go ahead and get some primer, any ideas?

[willb]

If you are in the United States, go to Orchard Supply Hardware, Lowes, or Home Depot. IIRC Orchard has extra large cans of spray primer for some colors.

[Strategos69]

I would make sure that the painting of other primers is not satin, as the effect can be disastrous, and difficult to remove. Here is a picture of how my bunker turned when I used the inadequate primer:



After several layers of ink it turned this way (the painture did not stick on it, but slide):



Finally, after being repainted, it turned like this (too many layers that could have been avoided with a good primer):


I like the result, but I had to invest a lot of time in it because I used a wrong primer (a cheap one, only 4 dollars).
Moral of the story: primers are really important. I have no idea about the other recommendation, but the kind of pinture used and how it reacts with acrylics is very important. Here you have another options, with free shipping worldwide if I recall properly.

http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.p ... rm&cur=usd

[willb]

I have used spray primers for years from Orchard Supply Hardware without any problems. They used to have flat primers in green, yellow, white, red oxide, gray, and black. Unfortunately they discontinued the green and yellow, though I have found another source for flat green that is actually better shade (great for a base color for armored vehicles). The ones from Home Depot and Lowes are a the Rustoleum brand and also good, but make sure to get the flat primer.

[will05]

Hi
I don't bother with spray. I use black gesso primer from an art shop and paint it on with a brush. only takes a minute and gets to all the nooks and crannies. It was the smell and the fact that I couldn't get full coverage with spray that made me give it up.

[broeders]

In Britain, you can't go wrong with Halfords matt primer (red, white or grey).

[philbagnall]

Hi
I don't bother with spray. I use black gesso primer from an art shop and paint it on with a brush. only takes a minute and gets to all the nooks and crannies. It was the smell and the fact that I couldn't get full coverage with spray that made me give it up.

I'm a recent convert to this too, after seeing it discussed on TMP. A very large tub of black gesso from Hobbycraft in the UK was about £7.50ish, and will last for a couple of years. Thats the same cost as a single can of spray primer from Halfords, less than GW prices, and will probably do more than 6 cans equivalent of priming with full coverage including the bits that spray cans don't reach. And it keys onto the figure very firmly, with good paint adherence. I've even started using it on 10mm figures which I feared might lose detail, but once it's dried theres no real obliteration of detail at all. And it's brush-on with no smell so can be used in a warm house rather than a cold garage

All the best
Phil

[Strategos69]

I have a question for those who use brushes for priming. Is the result regular in the whole surface? I started priming with brushes too and regular painture, but the result was not by far as good as with a spray can. Finally, how long does it take you? Priming by brush, if I recall properly, was very time consuming.

PS: you are right about the smell and the coldness of garages, that is the main reason I would consider switching to brushes.

[bobm]

If you use acrylic gesso it shrinks as it dries so no brush marks or similar irregularities. It does mean you have to leave it 24 hours before overpainting though.

[kevinj]

I use a Crafter's Acrylic black (also from Hobbycraft) as a primer, slightly watered to flow better. I did 96 figs yesterday in about half an hour. It's dry enough to continue after an hour or so.

[bobm]

I use a Crafter's Acrylic black (also from Hobbycraft) as a primer, slightly watered to flow better. I did 96 figs yesterday in about half an hour. It's dry enough to continue after an hour or so.

There's a fair difference between using gesso and diluted craft paint as your base though. Paint adheres far better to gesso and gesso covers and adheres far better to bare metal (especially shiney bare metal). You pays your money and takes your choice I suppose.

[kevinj]

Thanks for the tip, I'll try Gesso when I can pick some up.

[philbagnall]

I use a Crafter's Acrylic black (also from Hobbycraft) as a primer, slightly watered to flow better. I did 96 figs yesterday in about half an hour. It's dry enough to continue after an hour or so.

Kevin, I'd echo BobM's comments 100%. I started out using craft acrylic paint to prep my figures, suffered lots of paint chipping/flaking off with use. Gesso definitely adheres to the figures better. In Hobbycraft you'll find it in the artists paint shelf (not the hobby acrylics) near the tubes of acrylic paint and artists' varnish (another great find is Winsor & Newton acrylic matt varnish, which - as long as you shake it before using - is a very good brush-on flat matt varnish)

Phil

[kevinj]

Phil, thank you for that. As for varnish, I've recently switched to Ronseal Quick Drying Satin Finish with a Medium Oak Stain. I find it works really well after basically blocking the colours on the figures to get very high speed results.

[Jilu]

i use sprays that you will find in a DIY store, i just make sure it is mat.
Same thing for varnish except that i use Satin because i like the effect.

[berthier]

I use Miracal Flat Spray Enamel from Dollar General/Family Dollar. It is approximately $1 a can and is pretty thin so it will not matter if you have to add a second coat.