spartan Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 I have been using the GW skull primer for my minis, (some of which I hope to post soon for feedback etc). I was wondering though whether there were any cheaper and just as effective alternatives. I'm not sure of the difference between the GW can @ $14 or the $1 can of white spray paint I can get from the local auto parts store! Does anyone have some advice? Thanks spartan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironworker Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 I used a Krylon flat white primer on this mini. Reaper Barbarian Girl I was pretty pleased with the way it looked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodnik Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 I use Krylon white on about everything I do...I have some Krylon black as well. I think Whiz uses a Krylon Gray. I have some Tamiya, but it's very expensive--so I save it for special occassions. The Krylon is much cheaper than the GW, and I can't tell any quality difference---except the Krylon may be a little better in terms of coverage... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laralu510 Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 The only problem with the Krylon is getting the cap off. I tried for 5 minutes one night to open the primer...in the end I had to give up and wait till the morning when I could get someone to help me. But now I just leave the cap of, so its ok. But seriously, the Krylon can u get is Huge! It probably has twice the amount as the small iddy biddy can of Testors spray enamel I used till I heard about Krylon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neyuttad Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 I know what you mean, the cap with screwdriver opening is a pain. Now they have a new squeezer one. I use krylon white all purpose primer, not the sandable one. I also use tamiya fine white primer for display piece Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Rider Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 When buying primer (non-gw,testors, etc...) make sure you do not get the auto body primer. It usually contains a filler that is designed to fill in scratches. This is great when you want to fix your car but when the detail on minis is the equivelant(sp?) of a scratch you tend do lose a lot of details that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 I use Kylon for terrain pieces only. Not bad for terrain or gaming standard miniatures. For quality miniatures, I use either Floquil White of Tamiya Fine White Primer. Both are more expensive than Krylon, but amazingly fine and smooth. I have never had a problem with Floquil, but I've heard a couple people have. Based on that, I'd recommend Tamiya for quality minis. Very smooth and very durable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintrix Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 Avoid Armory primer. The odds of getting a bad can that coats your miniature in sandpaper seems to be about 1 in 2. I've seen it sold as low as $4 a can, but it's not worth it. (I'm also a fan of Floquil for showcase models with superfine detail, but it is ridiculously expensive per ounce. On most minis the relief of detail is deep enough that Krylon works nicely. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laralu510 Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 I know what you mean, the cap with screwdriver opening is a pain.Now they have a new squeezer one. But it WAS the sqeeze cap that I had trouble oppening. ::goes to stand in the corner and starts doing pushups:: In any case, when I go home i want to check my primer to make sure I didn't get the Auto body primer! That would be...welll... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerridwyn1st Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 When buying primer (non-gw,testors, etc...) make sure you do not get the auto body primer. It usually contains a filler that is designed to fill in scratches. This is great when you want to fix your car but when the detail on minis is the equivelant(sp?) of a scratch you tend do lose a lot of details that way. Actually, I LOVE sandable autobody primer. Think about it - it flows into depressions. A scratch on a car finish is much more shallow than details on a mini. So the body primer gets into the nooks and cranies nicely, but still leaves details, as long as you don't go overboard with the stuff. I use Duplicolor Black, probably wouldn't use any other black primer. I've used Krylon white primer. Not bad stuff, but not great either. Kinda grainy. I'll use it on cheap stuff, or if I'm trying to match someone else's paint job. All-time fave is Tamiya. Sure, it's expensive, but a little dab 'll do ya, so that small can goes a LOONNGG way. I use Testor's gray for greenskins. I've never tried the $1 a can stuff from the auto place, but I've used the stuff from Walmart. I used the white and black paint. Chips badly, so don't use it. I didn't use the gray primer very long, and most of those minis have subsiquently been stripped and re-done, so I've no idea how the stuff holds up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neyuttad Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 You can actually be stringy with Tamiya. Because it doesn't cover details when properly prepared (good day, good weather, warm the can), you can spray it up close 2 inches away with quick bursts. 2 bursts is usually enough to cover one side of the mini. You can then do a white wash with a brush-on primer. Also, Tamiya has a very sleek surface. The first coat of paint will not cover well especially when the paint is thinned. I found out that washing it with vallejo foundation white(primer) will make it much easier to paint the undercoat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 I've never had a problem with paint sticking to Tamiya. I generally apply to thin coats of primer. That cover the mini well and I don't need brush on primer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beowulf54 Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 Avoid Armory primer. The odds of getting a bad can that coats your miniature in sandpaper seems to be about 1 in 2. I've seen it sold as low as $4 a can, but it's not worth it. I wonder if that part of my problem with my minis looking grainy rough. Armory gray is the only spray primer I have ever used. Before I just used black paint for primer but didn't like black under everything. Is there a citadel gray primer. That would be the only other product available to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erion Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 Avoid Armory primer. The odds of getting a bad can that coats your miniature in sandpaper seems to be about 1 in 2. I've seen it sold as low as $4 a can, but it's not worth it. I wonder if that part of my problem with my minis looking grainy rough. Armory gray is the only spray primer I have ever used. Before I just used black paint for primer but didn't like black under everything. Is there a citadel gray primer. That would be the only other product available to me. I think that Paintrix just got part of a bad batch. I've been using armory primer almost exclusively (that is to say, except when I was in dire need) for more than a year and have had no issues with it. I always get smooth even coats and no granularity. I have had more issues with citadel primers being bad than with armory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 I wonder if that part of my problem with my minis looking grainy rough. Armory gray is the only spray primer I have ever used. Before I just used black paint for primer but didn't like black under everything. Is there a citadel gray primer. That would be the only other product available to me. When I first got into the hobby, like 13 years ago or something, I used Armory. At the time, I thought it was pretty good. Either I got a lot pickier, or they got worse over time. Probably a little of both. At some point, it seemed every can I got was grainy so I gave up. GW isn't much better. Even though I don't recommend Krylon, it's better than either Armory or GW. Anyone can get Krylon. I've heard some people get great result with auto primer. Go to you local auto parts store and check it out. Cars are supposed to have smooth surfaces, so many of the primers are very smooth. Generally, avoid sandable. Sandable primers are thicker, which means they will cover detail, and are meant to be sanded smooth. However, any auto primer meant to be painted directly over should be smooth. However, cars don't have fine detail like miniatures and abrasions in the surface are better if filled by primer, so make sure the primer isn't too thick to cover detail and you apply it in thin coats. I recommend Floquil or Tamiya for showcase quality miniatures. This primers are smooth as silk and very fine so they don't fill details. Floquil can generally be found at old school model train shops. Check the phone book. Ever decent sized town has one. Tamiya can be found at most hobby stores that carry model car/planes and those Japanese Gundum/Robotech like models that people paint. Either one can be order online. They more expensive than Krylon and come in smaller bottles, but I think the quality is worth it. Probably comparable in price per ounce to GW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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