Undercoating with White Gesso question.

[count_zero99uk]

Hi,

Ive undercoated most of my minis in the past with black gesso to great effect. However I needed to do some white undercoating, and due to health issues cant use spray, so i got some white gesso.

Ive just covered my minis in it and it looks very streaky, I never had this effect with the black.

Has anyone had a similar experience and/or can give some advice.

Thanks

Brian.

[Chev Chelios]

Looks a little thick as well. I would use something like Reaper brush on primer.

[Ciaran]

A friend swears by Gesso. He thins it a bit, and tacks the model down to a paint pot so he doesn't touch the surface until the base coat is down.

I would experiment a little bit with thinning it.

[sinistercats]

Some folks rave about Gesso- every time I've tried it I'm underwhelmed. But it's designed to just goop on and have it tighten down so cutting it doesn't seem to help.

The Reaper or Vallejo brush on primers seem to be a good solution. The new airbrushable ones are the bomb. If you have access to an airbrush it doesn't have the propellants of spray cans, etc. (Not sure what the specific health issue is of course...)

Personally I often just "prime" with a shot of Dullcote and get to work. Seems to work just fine.

[count_zero99uk]

Those pics are just after its gone on, its not shrunk down as yet. I think its just that its different.

Ive not looked for a "propper" brush on primer, this may become something i have to do if these dont dry well.

I have chest problems so no spray cans . And i dont think i could afford an airbrush.

[Jens]

I know that many historic painters use casein colours as undercoat - I usually use the spray since it's faster, but if I have to coat smaller parts or something I use casein colour too (or alcohol based colours such as the Tamiya XF Line, but they are smelly and likely not really good for anyones health). I dunno about brands in your region, but it goes under plaka colour around here (since the best known casein colour has been named that way). The tamiya and casein colours stick really well and the give sufficient roughness for the acryl colour layers to stick well.

Edit: One last word regarding casein colours - if you apply very watery layers of acryl colours the first layer might get partially soaked in. But if you apply a thin film of casein colour as base coat you should harly notice it. After the first thin acryl layer you won't notice it either way.

Edited July 28, 2011 by Jens

[count_zero99uk]

Thankfuly after it dried it didnt look too bad, ive washed them with badab black and then drybrushed them and now they look like...

Next i need to try and get flesh painted, not had to really do it on 20mm and def not on 10, if i do its just a rough drybrush of orange/brown and buff.

Ah well.

Thanks for the words.

[osoi]

The white gesso does go on a little streaky compared to black but It still provides the base you need to paint over it. It paints over fine and you dont see the streaks once you have laid down your base colours, I use both it and the black gesso a lot

[nilus]

So the big question

Do you guys thin your Gesso or not. I am debating trying it since Chicago has been a sauna for weeks and spray on primer is just not gonna work.

[osoi]

I thin my gesso slightly (well the black anyway) the white i just brush straight on. I have found its actually more important to have a damp brush than thinned gesso as it makes it easier to apply.

I use a brand of Gesso called Matisse (its made in Australia) and it is of a thicker consistency than some others that you can get, you almost want it a little thinner than pva glue and dont get scared if your model looks a bit 'gloopy' when you put it on, it does shrink back to form.

[count_zero99uk]

I love gesso been using black on my 10s and 20s since i nearly killed myself with spray. And seeing how the white turned out im still happy with it.

Give it a try its cheap enough much cheaper than spray.

[dsmiles]

Not to sound ignorant, but what's Gesso? (I currently use a Rustoleum gray spray-on primer, having given up on white and black primers entirely.)

[nilus]

Don't feel bad, I didn't know what it was till this thread started.

Its a paint on primer that is used primarily or priming canvas, but I guess people say it works really well with Mini.

Its advantages are, from what I hear, that its cheap, most version are non-toxic, you can generally apply it liberally and it works well in all weather.

I am going to go to Hobby Lobby today and get some and give it a try.

For those who use it, how hard is it to strip off. Will a Simple Green bath do the trick?

[Ciaran]

For those who use it, how hard is it to strip off. Will a Simple Green bath do the trick?

My understanding is that it will rub off until it has a first coat of paint. I'd imagine Simple Green should be able to strip it off pretty well.

[NewbieFromHell]

i'll go with osoi, damp brush really helps with the white, the black seems easier to "get away" with...

I normally use a tank brush when applying gesso it works really well, also i find it best to leave it overnight before painting, i've had issues with it not "setting" correctly and then lifting really easily when you put the base coat on

[goblyn13]

Gesso is great for some stuff, the main problem I've have is sharp pointy edge that get handled or rubbed a lot tend to have the gesso wear because when you apply it its more like a rubber coat that its apllied over the mini (its super easy to strip too) If you handle your minis with care of make sure you use something for a sealant after your done painting the model its easy to use and isn't as gnarly as most of the spray and brush-on primers.