GHQ Models Forums

i am looking for a new brand (of spray-paint) to start using to prime my modern "stuff'
I live in the U.S. what is out there for US to use, (Brand) and where have you had luck getting the product, and how much ??

Thank You All,
Dave

Wal-Mart brand spray paint in white, black or gray. $0.99 per can and available everywhere. If you spray from a reasonable distance and do 1-2 thin coats you will lose none of the detail on your really nice GHQ model.

On the cheap end, many folks use whatever is on sale at Home Depot and that works fine for them. The downside is these paints can be thick and hide details. They seem to also dry slowly compared to thinner hobby paints.

On a higher price level, I get good results from Gunze's Mr. Surfacer White in a spray can. You can get it online at Squadron.com and Greatmodels.com among other places. Shake it very well and spray several thin coats, allowing it to dry between coats for a few minutes. The stuff stinks so do this outside.

Mr. Surfacer regular in the spray can is light gray and also good. I have had mixed results from Tamiya Primer. For me, the Tamiya runs easily and the nozzle clogs.

You can also buy Mr. Surfacer in jars and airbrush it but I find that too time consuming when the spray cans are available.

Why not use a spray paint that is the same as the base color of the vehicles you are painting. Saves a whole step... and quite a bit of time.

Will

Basically, if you use a white primer (my favorite method), the base coat will look highlighted without any drybrushing. All you need to do is wash. The mini will not look too dark as most minis of a single color tend to do.

If you use Black primer, the same is true except that there is some shading and you have to highlight - not my favorite method.

Troy

I don't get it, isn't primer different then paint? Why use paint as a primer instead of primer?

I was thinking along the same lines as 1ComOpsCtr when I cam across his comment.

As for priming, I've been using primer from Howard Hues, very thick stuff and have been thinning it.

Happy "T" day

WHM

I've been told that primer is supposed to be a special "paint" that adheres better to surfaces and to other paints. Supposedly, painting without a primer coat provides less "stick to it- ivity". Don't know much more than that.

I don't spray paint (I always over did it), but use brushes. I use Humbrol matt 1 as my primer; it's a light/medium grey, & works well for me.

Mikee

WHM:

Yes, primer has a slightly different chemistry than paint. But the simple fact of the matter is that for the most part it makes no difference with minis, primarily because they call get a coat of clear anyway. So you can use specialty primers, spray paints, bottled paints and even gesso as your primer layer.

Heck I know a number of people who don't prime at all - they just go right on to the bare metal with their base coat.

But for spray I go with Wal-Mart cheap spray paint.

Extra Crispy wrote: Yes, primer has a slightly different chemistry than paint. But the simple fact of the matter is that for the most part it makes no difference with minis, primarily because they call get a coat of clear anyway. So you can use specialty primers, spray paints, bottled paints and even gesso as your primer layer.

I respectfully disagree. If you plan on touching your minis, (and who doesn't!) almost all paints I have tried will flake or rub off without a coat of primer underneath (even if dullcoated). I have minis that I have painted 15 years ago with primer and they are still looking good. If you use a thicker varnish, you could skip the primer step but varnishs are hard to dull and usually yellow over time.

Troy

Does anyone still bake their completed models in the over?

I use ARMOURY White or Black depending on the model being painted.

Tends to be white if it is a DnD mini or something of the sort. Black if it is amour or something along those lines.

I agree totally that a primer is needed if you are going to use the minis for gaming purposes.

Using a specific color. I have never actually ever did that but it reminds me of a friend of mine who purchased some stuff from a painter in South Africa off of eBay.

Apparently this guy got a surplus of RED primer from somewhere so everything had a tint of red in it. No matter what color was painted over it. I do relize that you'd be using a color specific to a camo of the vehicle so I am sure it doesn't matter completly as long as it isn't red.

Sean

I have used both Rustoleum and Krylon automotive spray primer interchangably in both gray and black and it works great. It is available in white as well at either Home Depot or Lowes for around $4-6 bucks a can. Unless you live in a city with a lot of thugs in which case you may have to go to the burbs to find spray paint...