I have a question. I recently got some microscale liquid masking. Since microscale is a water based liquid then if I use an acrylic based primer. Will it wash off? Should I use an enamel based primer and if so which one do you guys recommend?
Thanks for all your help.
Long time ago the newsgroup rec.models.scale got me to try Krylon sandable primer. Have used it ever since. I believe it used to be lacquer based, but worked fine on plastic models. I think they have changed the chemistry but I still use it and like it. It is a rattle can primer. Still have not found a bottle stuff I really like that well.
It is really full bodied and excellent for filling sanding scratches, seams, and such. You have to be careful with small scale models with lots of surface detail.
Ditto what Don said. Another brand worth finding is Mar-Hyde Supreme. It’s an automotive product. Comes in gray and white. With either product, mostly I decant the stuff (spray into a jar) and airbrush it.
Personally, I don’t use rattlecans unless they’re decanted. Two reasons.
1 - Don’t really have anywhere to bomb away. Yes, I know, outside, but my bench time doesn’t start until 10PM at night, and even in the middle of summer, it’s already dark.
2 - I hate the lack of control.
Thus, I use bottled stuff. For straight out-of-the-airbrush awesomeness, I’m a big fan of good old Model Master enamel primer. Stuff goes on smooth and is pretty well bombproof once cured. I had a nasty incident with a Mosquito kit a few months back where Micro-Sol ate through the Future gloss coat and the Future-thinned Vallejo paint beneath. Did nothing to the primer. Neither did the wet-sanding required to strip and repaint.
I’ve also had great experiences with Gunze Mr. Surfacer 1200 cut with Mr. Leveling Thinner, and Alclad’s gray microfiller primer. But both honestly benefit from a gentle wet-sand with 1000 or finer grit paper.
Personally, I use Tamiya Fine Surface primer, or Mr Hobby primer, right out of the rattle can, and they both lay down nice and smooth, so long as they’re applied in several layers.
i prime with mr.hobby surfacer aka “gunze” 1200. it sprays nice out of the can. has a good nozzle imo.
Thanks for all the input. Now I need to talk the wife into letting me loose in the LHS. HAHA I will try them and see what works.
Great thread!
I’ve used MM Gray Primer out of the rattle can just because that’s what I started with. I tried a Rustoleum primer, thinking it would be similar to Don’s results, but it took that stuff a month to cure and I ended up putting fingerprints in it. I also tried Tamiya’s white primer, but really wasn’t impressed with it either.
I do want to try a bottled primer for airbrush use, but I’ve looked around and no one seems to carry it around here. Can anyone recommend an online source for Mr. Surfacer? I’ve been wanting to try that for ages.
I used to use Mr Surfacer 1000 as a primer but the fumes were deadly. I have switched to the new Vallejo acrylic primers and they are awesome. They come in many colors and shoot straight from the bottle. They have some sort of nifty polymer binding thingy so once they are on they are on.
Satch
MM makes a gray primer. enamel and acrylic. as for the gunze stuff. check out spruebrothers.com
I’m halfway thru my first jar of Alclad white primer/surfacer, and it’s a great product. Very fine pigment, sprays right out of the bottle at 20 psi (+/-) thru my AB with a medium tip, and has no drying “feathers”. I was really happy with Tamiya primer in the rattle cans, but with their supply problems, I’m thinking Alclad is an equal or better alternative. Mr Surfacer 1200 is also a candidate, except that their labeling is also in Japanese, so if Tamiya’s labels are the reason for the lack of supply, will the Mr’s line be next?
Another product I’m fooling with is Valspar’s new plastic primer in a standard homeowner size spray can. It’s non-pigmented, so it sprays and dries clear, and has a “funny” chemical smell that I can’t identify. So far what I know is that it applies very thin and flat over milk jug plastic, doesn’t affect an undercoat of Future, and doesn’t cause “crazing” or lift when overcoated with Alclad. The cans have a spray valve that doesn’t lend itself to decanting, or at least not in my experience. I would welcome some feedback on this, 'cause the product seems very promising if I can get it into the AB to do some more trials.
Thanx!
mike
Yes, one day when Krylon was not available I saw the Rustoleum primer and tried it. It is not that good- long time drying, and have had some incompatibility issues with some paint. I won’t use it again. Hope they get the Krylon back on shelf soon.
I always had good success with Floquil primer in their ‘Railroad Colors’ line of paint but I am not sure if it is still on the market as it has been years since I looked for it.
I have pretty much switched over to the Floquil gray enamel primer. I use it under Vallejo, Mr. Color, Tamiya, and MM acrylic with no problems orany of the dreaded" paint peeloff on my masking tape"…[^o)] thing
Its still available and I just got some from the Testors site last week Seems like the part # was 100009
However I have the memory of a goldfish so best look to make sure.
I wonder if Floquil gray is more or less the same as Model Master enamel primer? Because I’m a big fan of the latter. Use it on pretty much anything, unless there’s going to be lacquer going down on top of it.
Not sure I like that…I mean, part of priming is being able to ensure you get total coverage and don’t miss any spots…and also to flag any finish defects—and this stuff is clear? Sorta defeats the purpose…
I had some of both and thought the MM enamel always stayed a little more “tacky”