I am detailing an unpainted EMD F3 Erie locomotive and it comes with detached photo-etched grating that needs to be painted the same color as the cab. I am going to primer the plastic but wondered whether it is necessary/advisable to also primer those grates before air brushing the weathered black?
[:^)]
Some folks will say it depends on whether you are using acrylics or enamels, and what brand as well. Tamiya’s acrylics have excellent adhesion, even without primer for example.
I came back to scale modeling after years of painting gaming miniatures and vehicles for games like Warhammer 40k. As such, I painted a ton of mixed media. Pewter, resin, and various grades of plastic, as well as epoxy putties used to sculpt or improve detail.
Short answer, I prime EVERYTHING I paint! Even a light coat of duplicolor sandable automotive primer gives your airbrushed paints (and any hand brushed details) a good surface to ‘bite’ into. It sprays very fine (designed for auto body work), comes in multiple colors, and is sandable!
Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!
Chris
Chris - thanks for the advice. I am using Floquil enamel for this project and will prime everything with gray primer. I have been using the cheap Walmart primer but think I will try the Duplicolor. Think I saw it at Lowes?
I have never seen it at Lowes, it is an automotive primer. I know they have it at Shucks.
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/DPL0/DAP1687.oap?pt=N0472&ppt=C0171
I have used cheap generic primer before (Lowes brand), but find it to spray a bit thick and have splatters or large clumps every so often. It is a bit too grainy for me.
Best of luck to you!
Chris
Krylon makes a good primer and Krylon paints are available at many hardware and building supply places, as well as Michaels craft stores. Krylon primer is what I use on PE stuff.
Just my [2cnts] worth, but i never prime anything. I use lots of PE as well as resin AM and i piaint with both Enamels and Acrylics and have never had a problem.
Chris - just to let you know. I tried the Duplicolor and compared it to the Walmart ColorPlace primer, that I was using on a different project. WOW!!! [Y]
For the work and price of good models these days, it does not compare. I will use up the old but buy nothing else from now on. It is even much better than Krylon which I also use and like for some things.
[2cnts]
Hehe! Sometimes people think I’m exagerating about how much of a differentce in quality and adhesion there is using the Duplicolor. The only other pimer I have ever really liked was from Games Workshop, and as it is a ‘labeled brand’, they sell it for $15.00 a can! I liked the stuff, shoots really fine, holds to metal well (though not as well as Duplicolor), but when the prices hit $10.00 about 4-5 years ago I started looking for an alternative.
I went through a TON of different brands and types before I hit on the automotive stuff. I’ll never go back!
Glad you had good results too!
Chris