Priming Resin busts/figures

[TERRYSOMME1916]

Having only come back into the hobby over the last 18 months after a 20 year gap, I have been confronted with all these new products and finding a primer that I am happy with is causing me a problem, I watched Youtube videos and tried Citidal and Halfords aerosols etc but these give a coarse texture that obscures details so I bought Vallejo grey primer and airbrushed it on which gave me the best results although the finish was not totally Matt.
I tend to paint using oils over Vallejo undercoats and so dont want to use an airbrush to paint figures and I would like to find a handier faster way to prime as using the airbrush is time consuming with cleaning etc and it is recommended that you need to let the Vallejo primer dry completely before applying undercoats which can take days.
Can anyone recommend an Aerosol primer that sprays on nicely and dries smooth and is ready to take undercoat colours quickly, 20 odd years ago I would have used a cellulose primer on the white metal figures but the brand is no longer available.
I could keep on using the airbrush but my 25 year old compressor packed in and because I only use it for priming I dont think its worth buying another compressor.

 

[Edward]

I'd recommend Tamiya Fine Surface Primer (I use white). Dries smoothly.

 

[Helm]

I would suggest you are possibly getting too close with the Halfords primer if it's obscuring details IE you're laying too heavy a coat on the figure. I usually am a good foot or more away from the figure and just use one or very rarely two passes over it
Steve

 

[montythefirst]

Mr Surfacer Aerosol primers range by Mr Hobby, I highly recommend these for quick and easy priming they dry to a lovely smooth finish you can get them from Model Display Products. Also to aid in spray priming a spray can trigger is really helpful this one you can get from Halfords. Hope this helps

 

[TERRYSOMME1916]

Hi Edward I have heard the Tamiya mentioned so I will check it out and Steve I still have some of the halfords so I will try it again in the way that you recommend, thanks for the help guys.
TERRY

 

[Edward]

Bear in mind the distance you spray from. Tamiya will dry with a slight texture if sprayed from too far away. At the same time, if you spray too near or too heavily, it will obscure the details. Use short bursts. And make sure you shake the can beforehand!

 

[JasonB]

I agree with the Tamiya fine white, very good primer.

 

[valiant]

Like Steve, Ive never had any problem with the Halfords stuff. Applied in very fine layers, works every time!

 

[TERRYSOMME1916]

Great advice guys, I used a Grey cellulose primer the other day on Young's Templar bust, sprayed the shield and head and it dried in a satin textured finish, well talk about controlling ones temper (it was hard to stop throwing it off the wall) however I changed to the airbrush and the Vallejo primer for the torso and it was working a treat when the compressor packed in halfway through priming, LOL so I will experiment with my next subject and try the Halfords but will get some Tamiya if I come across it.
TERRY

 

[frank h]

Hi
Standing the spray can in a pint glass of warm water helps atomise the paint for a finer finish
I do this with Halfords auto primer.

Frank

 

[chailey]

Army painter works for me, the black does have a tendency to dry with a bit of a satin finish, but the white is very good.

Steve

 

[Gellso]

Hot spot stove paint. Dries super matt and smooth.

 

[Chrisr]

I'd recommend Tamiya Fine Surface Primer (I use white). Dries smoothly.

I agree. It was recommended to me by Tony Dawe, and it works for me.

Chris

 

[clrsgt]

I like the Tamiya primers. I've used both the grey and white.

 

[Helm]

Here's a series of pics using car primer from a can Terry, as you can see there's no loss of detail. Admittedly it's not the most intricate of sculpts but it was all I had handy It goes from unprimed to grey then white primer
Steve

 

[theBaron]

I clean the resin first, to remove any grease, molding agents, etc, using warm water and a couple drops of SuperClean, an automotive de-greaser. Then I use Tamiya's fine surface primer (a light gray).

Prost!
Brad

 

[Range Rat]

Just throw my two pennys worth in, I use Hycote primer which I buy from motor vehicle accessory shops and it shrinks back not hiding any detail even if I may have slightly over sprayed, never cleaned a figure ever.

 

[Geoff Charman]

I use Halfords but only use short light blips from about 15-18 inches away, never fully press down the button and I usually go around the model at least twice giving light coats.

Geoff

 

[Geoff Charman]

Entered message twice ignore, Admin please delete this one

Thanks
Geoff

 

[TERRYSOMME1916]

Just to update you all I tried the Tamiya fine grey on my latest resin figure and I liked the finish and the convenience of just lifting the can, so I will use it again on my next project to see if I can convince myself that its a winner, however I will grab a can of the Hycote primer if I come across it as I like the sound of the shrinking back.
Word of warning although the Tamiya can is small it fires out a load of paint and as I said I got a fairly good coat of paint on the figure, and my shoes and everything in the shed lol.
TERRY