Now that it is summer in south Texas the Vallejo Black primer I been using has started to clog my airbrush within a few minutes of spraying it on the model. I added flow improver and slow-dri to it but it seems to have no effect. Yet the Vallejo Red and White primer does not have this problem I am able spray those without any additives. Yesterday the black prime so clogged my airbrush I had to completely disassemble it and clean it with a brush before it would spray correctly.
Anyone know of a good black primer to use in hot weather? I ended up using Model Master flat black enamel paint as my primer, which sprayed just fine. I just may have to stick with enamel paints until the weather starts to cool in the fall.
My favorite primers are the ones from Alclad. They spray on very smooth, and clean up fairly easily. My goto is the grey micofiller and primer, but the black is also very nice.
Mark, for what its worth I have tried several brands of primers on some of my recent builds and this is my opinion on them.
Vallejo - Nice finish, self leveling, clean up in tap water, fast drying, sctraches easily and cant be easily sanded. would recommend a respirator.
Stynylrez by Badger - Smooth finish, self leveling, shoot at higher pressure, clean up in tap water, fast drying, easily sanded when cured, very low odour. NOTE: Dont leave in airbrush cup for any length of time as it is very hard to remove once dry, in other words you can ruin a good AB.
Mr Paint Primer - Very smooth finish, self leveling, shoot at lower pressure, clean up with lacquer thinners, easily sanaded when cured, very strong organic odour - respirator required or paint booth extraction or both.
My personal preference is Stynlrez due to its finish, sandability, clean up and low odour and general ease of use. I have heard cases of the product going bad in the bottle, but I have had mine for almost 2 years and havent had any issues, just give it a good shake before ever use.
Stynlrez black and gray are really good but the white is too thin and beads up. I have seen many posts on this. For white I prefer ramiya white primer in the glass jar thinned with mr levelling thinner. It is beautiful.
Thanks everyone, but it looks like I will wait until fall to try another brand of acrylic primer. Spayed Model Master enamel on my Sherman last night and there was no clogging at all. The paint layed down just wonderful. I think I am going to reduce my stash of Vallejo and use enamels more.
Same here. I get really good results with that combo.
This thread brings up something that bothers me. I have a problem with Acrylics drying too fast, clogging up airbrush, and not giving me the finish I desire because of roughness.
Friends say, “you need to add reducer/flow improver.” But many hobby shops that carry acrylic paint don’t seem to carry the reducer. Apparently reducer and thinner are not the same thing for acrylic paints.
Your issue is my issue. I use thinner, flow improver and a slow drier and it had no effect with the Vallejo Black Primer. That paint so clogged my sprayer I had to completely disassemble it and clean it with a brush to get it spraying right. Other Vallejo paints do not give me a problem like their black primer.
Model Master spays just fine for a long time even with the heat of San Antonio. I wish they would bottle a black primer instead of just a rattle can.
I have an Iwata eclipse with a 0.35 mm nozzle. I intially had some issues with the gloss black primer which clogged the nozzle so I went to Vallejo and read their FAQ.
I followed their instructions and here is how I spray the primer.
Start with a few drops of Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner.
Follow with a single drop of Vallejo Flow Improver.
Then pour in a few drops of primer straight from the bottle.
At about 15 psi I have no dramas and no clogging.
The same set-up works with the flat-black primer. Their light-ghost-grey primer is a bit thicker so I added some Airbrush Thinner.
To clean up I use thinner and finish with their cleaner.
I’ve been spraying for a few weeks now and haven’t needed to clean the nozzle/needle. All working beautifully. The only other paint I’ve sprayed has been their Metal Colour (Aluminium and Duraluminium) which is very thin straight out of the bottle.
May I ask which one(s)? Vallejo does not mix well with many things. It is possible something you are using to thin, improve flow, or slow dry is causing your problem.
Also, as others have mentioned above, there are better primers out there. IMO, Vallejo primer strong points are it applies great (except not for you for reasons we will figure out) and self-levels like a dream. Cons are it doesn’t adhere well and you can’t sand it. Deal killers for me.
I used Vallejo thinner, Vallejo flow improver and Vallejo medium retarder. I only have this problem with their black primer. Vallejo red and white primers work just fine. I can spay them all day with a little thinner and flow improver during San Antonio’s hot days.
I switched to using MM flat black enamel for my primer. It really sprays nice and my airbrush handles it just fine.
It seems to me that these companies that sell acrylic paints know the issue with drying times. You would think they could change their formulas to prevent the paint from drying a the tip of the airbrush so quickly.
For the record Vallejo, I threw all of your black primer in the trash can. I will not spent another dime on that primer.