Priming technique question

[rammius]

Hello,

can you tell me please if you prime everything ?

I mean, should I prime a2a missiles ? Their pylons ?

Landing gear wheels ?

What`s your take on this

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I always prime but ...

It also depends on whether you're using enamels or acrylic. If it's acrylic then you'll probably need a primer anyway. Obviously primer adds more paint to the process and you could lose detail but it would be wise to prime if those areas have brass and/or resin.

For a2a I also prime, but I use a primer closest to the finished colour, eg white or light grey. Doing that means you'll need less paint on the a2a for the finished colour.

Neil

[Fatboydim]

Hi rammius, I use acrylic paint. I find if I use a primer the top adheres better to it. I use a Tamiya fine grey rattle can.

[rammius]

Hello guys,

thanks for replying, I use only enamels -Revell and Gunze mainly.

I do 1/72 and I`am thinking that 2 layers (primer+paint) might hide some fine details .

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I do 1/72 and I`am thinking that 2 layers (primer+paint) might hide some fine details .

I often thought the same and if you're brush painting then yes more paint means less detail. If you're airbrushing then it's not a problem. If you're using spray cans, no problem either.

If you're in the UK then Halfords or Hycote plastic primer cans work very well and are relatively cheap. Fatboydim mentions Tamiya can, not tried it myself but they get good comments.

neil

[rammius]

I`am airbrushing the enamel.

I`am from Romania, I use Mr Surfacer 1000 and Tamiya Surface primer - the light grey one.

I was looking at Trumpeter`s Su-30 MKK in 1/72 and damn those rivets are small, I wouldn't want to cover those fine details under too many coats especially if I can use enamels fine without primer

Cheers from Bucharest

[MikeyJ]

Ive always primed everything. I find that it helps cover up small surface scratches, shows where further work is needed and reduces the amount of final colour needed. Always used a fine spray of humbrol 64 or white 34, and never had any problem with finish.

[Greenshirt]

If I need a scratch free surface, then I prime as it provides a filler. Tamiya and Mr Surfacer both are filling primers; both are very good when detail is very fine, like on Tamiya kits. Halfords is as well, but I find it fills a bit more...great if the model has deep panel lines.

Acrylics need a primer to provide "bite" between the plastic and the paint. Enamels generally don't strictly require a primer because the carrier tends to bite the plastic anyway.

The other benefit to priming is it adds a uniform color to the model prior to painting. Obviously this can be achieved using enamel or laquer based paints as well, and sometimes that may be desirable, as in a white enamel on missiles. I've also used rattle can enamels as a "primer" when it matched the base color closely.

Tim

[dhdove]

I use Tamiya fine grey primer and Halfords plastic primer for acrylics. Both are good but the Tamiya is excellent.........but expensive. I use white Halfords for areas to be painted white.

I have tried spraying all of the sprues straight out of the box before I start the kit and this has been an effective technique, but a bit overkill on a kit with lots of sprues. It also means that it causes problems gluing painted parts together.

I'm trying to find a brush primer for smaller areas, eg cockpits, ejection seats etc. I have tried Humbrol acrylic primer and TBH it's useless. It seems to have a grainy texture and even after having dried for twenty four hours when I brush on Tamiya acrylics it just lifts straight off!

Any suggestions?

TonyS

[S5 modeller]

I seem to exclusively use alclad primer.

The grey contains micro filler and goes on real easy, with a quick drying time, and leaves a really smooth even surface.

On the plus side it is pre thinned for airbrushing, and seems to cover well and goes quite a long way.

Matt