paint-on-primer suggestions

[jonfreeman]

Upfront - I don't have an airbrush.  hand tremors would prohibit any form of even coverage using one of those.  Just bear that in mind regarding replies ...

 

I normally do priming with a rattlecan (black, gray, or white).  I got a couple of super light weight minis in the queue, though, and I feel the rattlecan might not work for the scenario.

 

Does anyone have suggestions on which paint-on primers to go with?  (I don't have a singular main army to paint, so it'd have to be black/gray/white for flexibility)

 

THANKS!

[Inarah]

Have you tried a re-usable adhesive, such as Blu-Tack to hold the figure down while you spray it? 

 

Otherwise, Reaper makes a fine brush-on product. #9108. 

[jonfreeman]

43 minutes ago, Inarah said:

Have you tried a re-usable adhesive, such as Blu-Tack to hold the figure down while you spray it? 

 

Otherwise, Reaper makes a fine brush-on product. #9108. 

 

the kicker is that some of these are from the Runewars Miniatures game = so it's the issue of getting the primer on some of the overlapping parts.  So a piece that just has a head and a cape isn't exactly easy to poster tack for the rattlecan usage.  Hence - brush-on primers.

 

Thanks for pointing me in the direction!  :D

[strawhat]

I use the Reaper liners on my Imperial Assault (which I think should be the same type of plastic), and it does quite well.  I thin it sometimes, but not always.

 

I should really thin it more often as it seems to cut the necessary time to coat them in half versus straight painting it on.

 

I have the best coverage and durability with the original three (blue, grey, and brown).  Red and green or "OK," but green seems less durable than red.  I have not used sepia, but others have commented that it does not seem quite as durable as the others.  That's all non-scientific, though.

[Doug Sundseth]

To answer your specific question, for brush-on primers, I like Badger's Stynylrez (which also works great in an airbrush) or Reaper's Brush-on Primers (9108, 9214, or 9299). 

 

That said:

• IME airbrush is just as easy to use as a rattlecan. If you have a tremor severe enough that you're worried about paint coming out of the cup, a bottom feed airbrush or airbrush with a cap over the gravity feed cup should handle the issue.
• I've used poster tack to hold minis down to a painting stick of some sort for priming. Those free paint stirrers work pretty well. With that, you can move the miniature around as you prime it, so coverage is generally easy enough. (Pretty much as @Inarah noted.)
• When I need more control, I'll put a plastic grocery bag over my hand and use a spray primer on the miniature being held in that hand. The overspray just hits the bag, not my skin (and the bag is reusable), so no problems.
• Really solid coverage isn't especially necessary with primer. It's going to be covered in paint anyway, so light and uneven coverage will still hold the next layer well.

Note that for any spray priming, you want to start the spray off the figure(s), sweep across, and end off the figure again. 

[Glitterwolf]

In use Vallejo 200ml, surface primer.

 

[Corsair]

Also, in rattlecan primers , two that get good results from almost everyone are Army Painter and Tamiya Plastic compatible primers. I am especially fond of the Tamiya light gray, as I can get it at Hobby Lobby for 40% off with the coupon.

[Gadgetman!]

I usually thin Brown Liner by adding 1drop of water to 2 drops of liner.

 

Other than that, I usually use Vallejo primers. (get 60ml or larger bottles. It's cheaper in the long run. 200ml is nice... ) 

But I also have the Stynyl...whatever...   samples from the latest RCons. They seem to work fine, also. 

(bright idea; give a product a name no one can remember how it's spelled.. )

 

Vallejo has white/grey/black versions, so zenithal priming is pretty easy.   

 

Army Painter have a lot of different coloured primers, so they can often also work as a basecoat. 

 

How bad is the shake?   

 

[Doug Sundseth]

34 minutes ago, Gadgetman! said:

... (bright idea; give a product a name no one can remember how it's spelled.. )

 

 

Styrene, Vinyl, Resin.

 

Stynylrez.

 

But I wouldn't remember it either if I hadn't heard it from the Badger guy directly.

[cmorse]

7 hours ago, Doug Sundseth said:

To answer your specific question, for brush-on primers, I like Badger's Stynylrez (which also works great in an airbrush) or Reaper's Brush-on Primers (9108, 9214, or 9299). 

 

That said:

• IME airbrush is just as easy to use as a rattlecan. If you have a tremor severe enough that you're worried about paint coming out of the cup, a bottom feed airbrush or airbrush with a cap over the gravity feed cup should handle the issue.
• I've used poster tack to hold minis down to a painting stick of some sort for priming. Those free paint stirrers work pretty well. With that, you can move the miniature around as you prime it, so coverage is generally easy enough. (Pretty much as @Inarah noted.)
• When I need more control, I'll put a plastic grocery bag over my hand and use a spray primer on the miniature being held in that hand. The overspray just hits the bag, not my skin (and the bag is reusable), so no problems.
• Really solid coverage isn't especially necessary with primer. It's going to be covered in paint anyway, so light and uneven coverage will still hold the next layer well.

Note that for any spray priming, you want to start the spray off the figure(s), sweep across, and end off the figure again. 

 

Stynylrez is also my recommendation for both brush on and airbrush.

 

On the topic of airbrushes. Single action external mix airbrush are pretty much like using a rattle can. They are also dirt cheap if you already have a regular air compressor sitting in you garage, you be using a rattle can outside anyway. If you don't already have an air compressor I think they are a less interesting option.

[golldan]

When the weather prevents me from using my go-to spray primer- Tamiya Fine Lt Grey Surface Primer, I use Vallejo Surface Primer Grey. Both are solid products.

[ced1106]

13 hours ago, jonfreeman said:

Runewars Miniatures game

 

Yeah, I don't paint display, either. :D

 

I barely use black, white, and gray. Instead, I use color primers from bottles, as brush-on, even if it's for an airbrush. (Okay, for black, I use it for base rims.)

 

At least for the Runewars base set, you're going to want these colors: flesh tone, brown (as an undercoat for the skeletons) and colored primers matching the armor of the miniatures. IIRC, Some of the miniatures have a colored metal, and the only colored metallic primers I've found are gold and silver. Paint the colored armor in colored metallics. Follow with Army Primer washes. 

 

I'm currently painting some Hand of Glory, Tiny Furniture, and Galladoria Games miniatures. (Hand of Glory KS live, Tiny Furniture in nine days.) Some areas on these miniatures are colored primer and a wash, with no other paints. 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by ced1106

[Highlander]

On 3/7/2020 at 9:24 AM, Doug Sundseth said:

To answer your specific question, for brush-on primers, I like Badger's Stynylrez (which also works great in an airbrush) or Reaper's Brush-on Primers (9108, 9214, or 9299). 

 

That said:

• IME airbrush is just as easy to use as a rattlecan. If you have a tremor severe enough that you're worried about paint coming out of the cup, a bottom feed airbrush or airbrush with a cap over the gravity feed cup should handle the issue.
• I've used poster tack to hold minis down to a painting stick of some sort for priming. Those free paint stirrers work pretty well. With that, you can move the miniature around as you prime it, so coverage is generally easy enough. (Pretty much as @Inarah noted.)
• When I need more control, I'll put a plastic grocery bag over my hand and use a spray primer on the miniature being held in that hand. The overspray just hits the bag, not my skin (and the bag is reusable), so no problems.
• Really solid coverage isn't especially necessary with primer. It's going to be covered in paint anyway, so light and uneven coverage will still hold the next layer well.

Note that for any spray priming, you want to start the spray off the figure(s), sweep across, and end off the figure again. 

 

What he said.

 

Plus -- five really, really light coats are much better than one or two medium or heavy coats.

[WhiteWulfe]

I use Mission Models primer myself, and alternate between tan, grey, and black depending on what I'm painting.  Brushing it on hasn't been an issue, but I thin it slightly with their thinner, usually around 2 drops of thinner for every 10 drops of primer.  I've also had success in the past with Reaper's Liner series, at least on Bones miniatures, and even some mid-2000's Games Workshop plastic models.

 

If you are contemplating an airbrush for the future, there are also the options of pistol-grip airbrushes like the Iwata TRN1 or Grex Tritium TG, which are at least an alternative that your hands may not have as many issues with.  

[jonfreeman]

On 3/7/2020 at 2:27 PM, Gadgetman! said:

How bad is the shake?   

 

 

shake's pretty bad.  I have to zone out with noise-cancel headphones and rest my holding hand on the table to control the tremor down to where I can paint.  (won't win any competitions, but I do a passable job for tabletop standard).

 

the deal with airbrushing is really both the cost vs potential benefits ...

- the core reason I see everyone loving airbrushes is faster/smoother coverage while doing regular paints and blending

- with my tremor how it is, I wouldn't be able to airbrush an even blend while working with the actual base paints.

- ... so that kinda leaves the only advantageous use for airbrushes being speed during priming, which isn't that significant in comparison to rattle-cans (I use army painter mostly, happy with those)

- and there's the cost associated with it

 

for me, it really is just an edgecase where airbrushing isn't that valid for me.  ^^;