Hello guys,
I want to know how you guys lay down your primer coat?
I was thinking that I could just spay all the parts while they are on the sprue tree’s. When it comes time to cut them I would do any touch up at that time. Tamiya nerver has any flash so I think that this may save time…
How about you?
dss902
I do it the old fashioned way. I remove every piece off the sprue. Then clean it up, removing moulding lines, ejector pin marks and anything else that needs to be removed. Then I prime each piece with lacquer primer in a spray can, either in gray or white. Once the primer is dry then I paint the piece whatever color it’s going to be painted.
The primer I use is a ‘sandable lacquer primer’ made by Plasti-kote. Can be found in many auto parts stores. If you try it make sure it’s ‘sandable’ lacquer primer. It will say it on the label. There is a non-sandable kind which I have never tried. I have built a dozen auto kits using this primer without much problem. Now I’m doing the same on my armor kits I’m now doing.
Glenn
Primer? What’s that? [:D]
I never prime anything I airbrush.
Mike
53ryder,
Ya that is what I do as well.
MikeV, I prime most everything I am going to paint with a brush or shoot. I like how the colours turn out and also find that after I prime I get a good feel on what I need to sand to remove any blemishes before I paint
I just started to use primer with my models. Can’t remember the brand, but like 53ryder, it’s a spraycan sandable laquer primer from an auto parts store. Just did my first application today on a motorcycle and it looks great. It says on the can that it fills small scratches, and I was worried it would hide small details / engraved lines. Not so! Works great and I’m happy with the result.
I can see a good point there. It just seems that with a primer coat along with a color on aircraft models the paint can become too thick and hide panel line details, etc. Maybe not.
Mike
I just use cheap-o tyre store auto primer. Works great. I find that the primer goes on in a quick drying thin coat and is almost fool proof.
MikeV try it on your next plane.
I wouldn’t prime until I’m ready to paint. Give a good cleaning after glueing, putty and sanding are done. Then wipe with a tack cloth. Gray automotive primer works great and comes in big cheap cans. Keep the coats light!
You guys don’t have problems with the laquer primer reacting with the enamel or acrylic top coats? Seems to me that when I used a laquer primer one time it caused my enamel topcoat to wrinkle. Maybe I didn’t let it dry long enough? I actually can’t remember how long I let it dry.
Dana
Dana-Never had problems with Dull-coat or Gloss-coat, but automotive primer can be nasty-let base dry and your first lacquer coats should be light. Lacquer can be tuff on your enamels and lungs!
I’m sorry…I said topcoats when I meant your first layers of paint coat. In my case, after priming, I sprayed my enamel paint on top and that wrinkled.
Dana
Dana-lacquers usually dry in a flash-lacquer and stryene is not a good mix-it might damage the plastic. But any enamel and laquer mix is risky. When in doubt let it dry, dry, dry! Have a dry martini while you wait!
Hi all,
I asked about priming a while back and somebody suggesting using a flat enamel as the base (or primer) coat. I decided that I didn’t want to deal with thinning enamels and cleaning them out of my airbrush, so I got a Testors spray can of light gray enamel paint. It made a great primer! It sands easily, and doesn’t craze the Model Master acrylics I put on top of it. I did, however, let the primer coat dry for nearly a week before starting to paint with the acrylics.
Regarding the original question of when to prime. I sprayed the primer coat after I had the fuselage (with the finished cockpit inside) and wings of my F-4J together. I had filled and sanded and filled some more. Then I primed. Then I sanded some more because the primer coat showed a few rough spots.
I hope that helps.
Regards,
-Drew
I prime ‘everything’ because until last March I was building cars and using lacquer paints on my bodies. Lacquer paint will attack unprotected styrene, so I started priming all my car kit parts with lacquer primer to protect the plastic. Now am trying armor, but still prime all parts. Habit I guess!
Someone has suggested that priming will ‘hide’ details. Well that’s true if you put too much primer on! I try to get a even coat on, but just enough to cover the paint. I have flooded an area sometimes and have had to strip the primer off then start over.
The primer should be put on first thing. Let dry for a day, just to be safe. Then place your paint coats over the primer. Enamels, acrylics or lacquer should then go on without any problem. Hope this helps!
Glenn
Yes…lacquer products can be rough on your lungs. If you are fortunate enough like myself I have a small model room with a hard-wired exhaust fan built into the wall. So when I prime parts on, I do it by the exhaust fan with the fan on! I even hold the part up towards the fan so anything that misses the part will sucked out thru the fan exhaust.
If you don’t have a fan then spray in a well ventilated room, or even go outside and spray your primer. Aim the spray away from anything important, like the family car…or the family!
Glenn
I have been using Astro rocket primer. It is lacquer primer designed to paint the cardboard tubes on model rockets. I switched to this because after trying several methods, I needed a primer that has build to it. It is can be air brushed, and is completely dry overnight. I don’t like using Duplicolor rattle cans on 1/48th scale aircraft because the nozzle on the ratle can lets too much material out. I carry out the procedure this way: bodywork, guide coat, block sand, check for high/low spots, prime panel again, guide coat, block sand. Go to other areas and repaeat procedure. “Finish Prime,” give light scuff when dry, double check everything, then paint. This is time consuming but ensures a high quality finish. Remember - any paint job is only as good as the surface that it covers. BT
I’ve started using Holts Dupli-colour primer. It’s an acrylic formula that doesn’t eat plastic (yet!), and is available in light grey, white, and red oxide. Humbrol enamels apply very well on it by brush and airbrush.
With the exception of small parts, I’d prime when the main parts are assembled (masking stuff as required), it means the primer can help cover seams and other assembly mishaps [B)]
Since most of my painting is for figures (Warhammer Fantasy) I use the Citadel Undercoat spray can stuff. It works great for figures.
Today since it was cold outside and I was planning on only doing a handful of figures I cracked open a bottle of Citadel’s Smelly Primer and painted it on by hand. Another reason I did this was because I wanted my son to try his hand at painting small stuff with the primer first. Figured it’d be difficult to mess up the basecoat. [:)]
After the kids went to bed, I primed some more using a brush. Later I compared my work with some stuff I had sprayed a long time ago. The spray can stuff goes on so much better. I couldn’t believe I even did so many by hand, but I had so many more figures to prime. So here I was at midnight, sticking horses to cardboard and spraying them outside. [:)]
Priming in gray is the best option. It shows all the faults. Priming is a must when going for natural metal finish, but not so for camo. The prime needs to be polished with fine grade 2000+.
I use #1 Humbrol grey primer - works for me.