Metal Primer

[Craig B]

Is there a primer that works better than others? What is your favourite?

 

[mikec55]

Craig,

All I've ever used was Krylon white sandable primer from a spray can. It also comes in gray but white is better. Everyone carries it- Walmart, Kmart, hardware stores. Use it with a real light touch & it works great.

Mike

 

[MSzwarc]

I've used Krylon and Rustoleum white and grey. The whites seem to be a little finer in texture than the greys, but that is a purely subjective observation. I haven't tried Floquil or any other model-specific brand, but I have been happy with the results I gotten for what it's worth.

Mike

 

[frank h]

Hi Anders
The primer I currently use is Citadel "Skull white" (Great Name, eh!!)
Marketed by Games Workshop.
They also do "Chaos Black" (Another Great Name!!)
They work pretty well but I am always prepared to experiment.

Frank

 

[Guy]

An "Old Timer", long gone now, once told me that I should brush paint the primer on due to each figure having its "own Life" and this would give me an opportunity to get the feel and the flow of the figure, how the sculpter sculpted the figure and this would help me when blending and shading and hence, produce a better figure.

Oh well...............time to step outside and spray prime another figure

(maybe I should of listened to Henri)

 

[bobparker]

anyone have a preference over auto acrylic spray primer and cellulose based primer, i tend to find that the cellulose give a thinner coating, less detail loss.
Bob.

 

[Edson]

I use the Mr metal primer, from Gunze and works good for me, if not , then i use, testors primer acrilic.

Regards
Ed

 

[johnegert]

I think the most important thing here, all other factors being roughly equal, is a thorough cleaning of the figure before priming. I've been filling cracks with ACC and accelerant lately, and found out the hard way that primer wants to creep away from that stuff. Skin oil, bits of unmixed epoxy, potato chip residue, etc. must go. Denatured alcohol works best for me,using a designated filbert brush, being careful of the fumes to avoid any more brain damage, which I can ill afford. As for the brushing idea, Guy-- I think that harks back to the days when we expected that weird Imrey-Risley grey/green primer to cover imperfections and prevent the dreaded "lead bloom"which caused our Series 77 figures to look like those statues pulled up from under the sea after a thousand years..... How about primer color? And are people still undercoating their colors, for reasons I never understood?
john

 

[Anders Heintz]

Hey John!

Ive been using both light gray and white primers. I find that darker colors is easier to paint on a gray surface (duh! ) and require less coats to cover an area. But I find a white primer attractive for some reason. Hence I use both, depending on the subject and how bright I want the colors.

 

[bpnmd123]

I have inherited my recently deceased father-in-law's figure collection of about 60 painted and some unpainted 54mm figures. Half are white metal figures that were painted quite well and are fine. The other half are old Stadden and old Labayen lead figures done in the 70's that were beautifully painted and posed but now suffer from "lead rot". I fear my only course is to strip them and repaint them but I am unsure of how to treat them before priming them. I learned to paint from my father-in-law and know he used IR and Floquil lacquer-based primers, Winsor Newton oils and Campaign Colors enamels almost exclusively. I woud love to leave them on their current bases but would remove them if need be. I've heard white vinegar treatment on bare lead might help but any other ideas? He had some Lasset figures which were solid lead as well but no problems with them. They have some sort of gray primer on them when bought. I would hate to lose the figures as the are beautifully done and are some great Indian Army subjects which I favor as well. Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[Showlen]

Brite Touch sandable grey primer. I invested in a good airbrush+compressor and started using gunze 1000, which I love btw. However, it takes a lot of time and cleanup and is a hassle. I've gone through many primers, including Krylon, GW's, Floquil etc. Floquil is good I think, but wasn't working for me and is very hard to remove (which is often as I re-do many of my figs). GW's skull white produced mostly just a powder substance (tried two cans to ensure the initial one wasn't bad). GW's black primer, as far as I'm concerned, is just black spray paint.

So, I recently read a post where Anders Heintz suggested Brite Touch auto primer and I decided to give that a try, which I purchase from O'Reilly's for $3 a can. I've used it it mostly on 90mm and busts, and just recently on a 54mm. I love it. It doesn't drown out detail and goes on like a second skin. Warm the can in warm water for a few minutes, and build up using very light coats (shake the can as often as you can during the process) I highly recommend this, or at least highly recommend that you give it a try. I haven't tried other brands of auto primer, but I'm sure they're all mostly the same.

Hope this helps some...

-Ronnie

 

[gordy]

Here's a link

 

[bpnmd123]

Many thanks for your quick response Showlen. I really appreciate it. Likewise, thank you Gordy for the link. I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[Ethan]

I alternate using Tamiya FINE, light grey, spray surface primer and Vallejo, Acrylic Polyurethane, grey, brush on surface primer. Both work fantastic. I agree the most important thing is a clean surface!

 

[MENTAL DENTAL]

Grey cellulose car primer [Halfords in UK].Used for years

David