About Spray Primers

The Madhatter · Dec 18, 2004

I've been shopping around for a new white spray primer and I was wondering what brand some of you guys use. I have the citadel brand and it goes on a bit grainy and I fear to think of what it does to my nice brushes for my base colors. I've experimented in the past and found quite a few brands unsuitable for minis and at around $6-8 a pop my failures have cost me a bit of money. I've used Tamiya spray enamels and my only complaint is the nozzle flow. They must assume you are spraying a whole army at a time rather than one to two figs. Thank you for your time.

alsih2o · Dec 18, 2004

Have you tried Aqua-net?

The Madhatter · Dec 18, 2004

alsih2o said:
Have you tried Aqua-net?

The hair spray? Would you spray that on the bare metal then use brushed acrylic? I've never heard of that.

Azul · Dec 18, 2004

Ok, my curiosity is piqued here too. Using hair-spray for primer? I have been thinking of moving over to spray primer for a while now (I have a MAJOR backlog of unpainted metal and plastic) but but the grainy texture of spray primer has always bugged me. It has ruined several of my minis in past years, so I normally use brush-on primer.

I assume Aqua-net is clear, right? What does the loss of that white (or black) base coat do to the overall coloration of the mini? Wouldn't it look more bland?

alsih2o · Dec 18, 2004

We may be confusing soem terms here medium to medium, so I will try to clarify.

In my training, a primer is any basecoat that allows the surface to take paint better.

Aqua-Net, the cheap hairspray, can be used as a sealant, or fixative on lots of surfaces. That last coat that is clear to keep the rest protected.

It can also seal a base surface so that it takes paint better. Spray with Aqua-Net (lots of cheap hairsprays work, but Aqua-Net works great and is cheaper than almost any substance known to man) let it dry. Be sure to use a thin coat. When it has dried rub lightly with a cotton swab and it will take paint better. This works for a lot of suraces, and I believe lead would be one of them.

You will still use a "Base Coat" of color under all your painting, but this will better prepare the surafce to hold the paint.

Neato not-for RPG-related tip- Making a painting on almost any surface with cattle markers then spraying small areas with hairspray and smudging gives a great effect for landscapes and such.

The Madhatter · Dec 18, 2004

alsih2o said:
It can also seal a base surface so that it takes paint better. Spray with Aqua-Net (lots of cheap hairsprays work, but Aqua-Net works great and is cheaper than almost any substance known to man) let it dry. Be sure to use a thin coat. When it has dried rub lightly with a cotton swab and it will take paint better. This works for a lot of suraces, and I believe lead would be one of them. You will still use a "Base Coat" of color under all your painting, but this will better prepare the surafce to hold the paint.

I see. I will definitely try it out, but what does the Q-tip rubbing do?

alsih2o · Dec 19, 2004

The Madhatter said:
I see. I will definitely try it out, but what does the Q-tip rubbing do?

Roughs the surface just a wee tiny bit, for "grab"

The Madhatter · Dec 19, 2004

alsih2o said:
Roughs the surface just a wee tiny bit, for "grab"

Thank you! At first I thought it was some kind of good luck charm or witch craft.

kenobi65 · Dec 19, 2004

I agree, I don't much care for the "texture" of Citadel primer.

I used to love the old Ral Partha primer; Iron Wind has reintroduced the old RP paint line, but I'm not sure if they've recreated the primer yet.

Armory spray primer is pretty good, and is considerably cheaper than Citadel, though I find I do need two coats for good coverage. And, it comes with John Kovalic artwork on the label!

frankthedm · Dec 19, 2004

krylon and other auto primers work well enough for me. even ones from Family Dollar and BIG LOTS seem to work good.

I would be afraid aqua net would not last long enough

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The Madhatter

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alsih2o

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Azul

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alsih2o

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alsih2o

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kenobi65

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