Well, I just ran through my umpteenth rattle-can of Tamiya primer at fifteen bucks a pop and, being short of cash, thought I’d ask around about who uses what sort of primers. I’d certainly like to hear that a nice big can of Krylon (2-3 times the volume at half the price?) works just as well as Tamiya’s boutique-priced merchandise.
Still–what’s your favorite primer? What works for you most and least?
Using Tamiya Primer here in bottle. But I find Tamiya a bit gritty when applied. So I order Mr. Surfacer 1200. I heard this product gives a smooth surface. Best for gloss finish paint.
I used the Tamiya primer and it only magnified the grittiness once painted with gloss paint finish.
I’ve used Krylon primer. The first time, I got it on too heavy and some of the detail on the model started to dissolve. Since then, I’ve decanted it and sprayed it with my airbrush with no problems. So if you use it, do light coats. Usually, I use flat Floquil or don’t bother to prime at all.
Don
Duplicolor sandable automotive primer, right out of the can. It comes in several color choices, so if you’re painting a white model, you can undercoat in grey and not have to cover black primer with 15 coats!
Yep, that’s the one I use as well. Unless I want to do bare metal, then I use Mr Surcafer 1000 or 1200.
Gray primer from Wal-Mart, brand-name is “Color-Place”… 10 oz. rattle-can, 1.29 a pop… I started spray-painting models from rattle-cans way before there were any “Hobby Brands” ('Cept Testor’s and Practa) around my AO, so I don’t know if it works like Tamiya or not… There’s no way I’d pay that high of a price to find out either… I don’t know what works “least” for me, since Krylon, Color-place, Rustoleum, and store-brands all work about the same. Biggest differences I’ve noticed are flash-time (some are faster than others) and overall viscosity… Krylon probably wins there for color-coats, but you can use Color-Place instead of Krylon for half the price…
Save your money and buy paint in places other than hobby shops… If you can get past the goofy “chick-names” of craft paints, you’ll find that they come in the same colors as your FS colors and you’ll get 4 times as much paint for a quarter of the price… Just take your color chips with you, or compare the model paints and craft paints in the store, side-by-side…
The only primer I use is Floquil Grey Primer. Goes down very smooth & works equally well on plastic, resin & metal. Has to be applied with an AB however.
Regards, Rick
[#ditto] I agree with Rick. When I use primer, which is rarely, it’s Floquil’s.
Thanks for the advice, guys. Today I got a nice big rattlecan of Krylon grey primer, which I hope will work in place of the uber-'spensive Tamiya. Please feel free to continue sharing your ideas here, though. 
I always use Tamiya’s Sky Grey acrylic, applied with an airbrush.
Left to harden overnight it makes a very durable primer.
Karl
For years I used good old Humbrol number 64, light grey. But since I found Mr Surfacer, I’ve never looked back. Straight from the can works well for me. Although Alclad grey primer is OK too, their black is not good for Alclad metallic paints. For that, I use gloss black Krylon decanted into the AB.
I use Testors Flat Light Aircraft Gray.
I use Krylon from Michael’s craft shop. I’ve used the primer for “regular” paint & I’ve used Krylon gloss black as a primer for Alclad 2. I’ve never tried straight from the can. Decanting & spraying from my Paasche H does the trick for me. I always use some scrap plastic to test before shooting the model.
Lets also remember that a “primer” is thicker and seals scratches better than just using a paint that is gray. There is a difference. [;)]
Ditto, Mike… If you’re using paint for primer, it’s just an undercoat, it’s not a primer… Although you can use primer for paint, the other way 'round doesn’t work… If you need a primer to make the paint stick to the surface to painted (what it’s designed for) and use paint instead, you’re just wasting time & money…
I use Wal-Mart’s automotive primer, the name on the cans has changed, but it’s about a buck a can. I use light gray, dark gray and also a brownish color. I use it on my metal figures and on plastic models. I don’t like paying the modeling companies’ prices for their small cans, when the automotive primer works just as well (for me).
I used to use Rust-oleum’s primer, before switching to whatever I could find at Wal-Mart, for the same reason-it was cheaper than Tamiya, etc, but worked as well, and had multiple applications, ie, not just for hobby work, but for home improvement-type chores. But it’s still around something like $3.99 a can or more.
I found both Rust-oleum and Wal-Mart’s primers to be fine-grained, and providing very good tooth for the finished coats.
Hope that helps!
Brad