Priming questions

[Gongsun]

So in the next day or two, my Sonnia and Lilith box sets should be arriving along with some Vallejo paints, a rulebook, and some other goodies. In anticipation of this I stopped at A.C.Moore today to pick up a couple other things I figured I'd need, one of which was a primer. I was looking for Krylon, but all they had was Rustoleum Painter's Touch, which I thought I recalled reading was ok online, so I picked up the Grey. I just wanted to check if anyone else has used it successfully or if I wasted 5 bucks.

Also, I just happened to see some stuff about acrylic gesso online, and that stuff looks seriously cool. Anyone ever use that?

[KirigakurenoHaku]

I've not yet used any sort of primer for my minis. (Rather, I had decided to seal the paint with some white glue, sort of like how laquer is used. We'll see if that lasts.) I have used gesso as a primer on canvas, though. On canvas, gesso is wonderful, though I don't know how well it will hold to the pewter.

From my inexperienced standpoint, I'd say to experiment until you find something tht works well, and anything that doesn't, it can be repainted.

[Warboss Walton]

I'm a strong supporter of Krylon primers; I've never had any problems with them getting "gritty" like Armoury or GW, and they cover really nicely. I'm not familiar with the primer that you picked up, but I would make sure that whatever paints you're using will go on top of it. Maybe just spray a piece of cardboard, let it dry, and then brush on a little design.

If you find yourself at Walmart or Kmart, pick up some of the Red Krylon. This stuff is amazing, and I prime almost everything of mine in it.

Good luck!

[Norken]

Anything that is mass market and labeled as a sandable primer is most likely going to work fine, and most likely will work ten times better than the more expensive "miniatures" primers.

I've used paint on Gesso, and it works well enough, despite the fact that the label clearly states that it should only be used on a porous surface like canvas or wood. It is nice for when you just don't want to spray for whatever reason, but you are going to have to do a couple applications to get everything covered. I tend not to mis-treat my miniatures, so I can't say how well/badly it deals with chipping, but I'll say none of them have chipped yet. (edit: although I would suggest looking into a paint on primer in a bottle.)

Edited August 14, 2010 by Norken

[MT_Nogn]

I use Dupli-Color primer available at most auto parts stores. It goes on pretty thin but really gets into the recesses of detail with out compromising any of it.

[nilus]

Like others have said. A cheap sandable primer from a hardware store works just as well if not better then the "Minature" primers you can get.

The biggest thing with priming honestly is doing preperation. Be sure to clean and wash your models first. The mold release on models sometimes cause that gritty/flaky paint issue with primers.

Also weather is a big factor in priming. Temperature between 50 and 75 degrees with low humidity is ideal. You can prime when its not perfect but you risk the primer not applying evenly or drying correctly. Which can lead to loss of detail and/or flaky primer.

[Gobsmacked]

+1 on the Dupli-Color Sandable Primer. I picked up one of those plastic pistol grip/trigger things as well for a couple of bucks. Makes it a little easier to get a nice sweeping motion going. I've used Gesso before too. It's great for when the weather is just not very spray friendly - especially winter. It looks extremely globby when you first apply it, but it shrinks as it dries and brings back the detail nicely. It seems to come off a lot easier than sprays as well, so I'd only use it on models you were going to paint right away before you play with them. Once it is painted and sealed though, it's fine.

Cheers!