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Hello friendos.
I have a problem I hope someone can help me with.
Recently I bought a can of flat white krylon spray paint to use as a primer for my new tau army. So, I went to test it on some old lotr figures and it applied fine, but when it dried it started to crack. Upon wiping the mini with my finger, I saw that the paint was really chalky and scratched off easily. At this time I have shaken the bottle a good 15 min, but everytime I go to prime a mini, it does the same thing.
Im hoping that this is a defect product, but would any other variable affect the paint in this way?

Also, because my tau will be white, does anyone know of a better brand of spray. I really want my tanks to look as smooth as possible, and I dont have the money for an airbrush.

Thanks for your time!

Ive had that problem a time or two with cheap white before. One time it did work in my favor, as it absorbed she shade I was trying to use, giving me a very cool effect.

Your applying a layer that is to thick.....quick short bursts, keep it thin.
Ashton

Ill try putting less on, but I dont think that is the problem. My layers are pretty minimal as it is.
Thanks

Have had similar problem, was priming from too far away, the paint is dry before it hits the model and thus is just powder.

It could be temperature, I'm using Army Painter white at the moment, applying it in very thin layers, and the layer I put on at night (cold night) was powdery like you describe

Shake the can...more

Bum_Fluff wrote:Have had similar problem, was priming from too far away, the paint is dry before it hits the model and thus is just powder.

Yeah, that might be it. I dont really remember how far I was away from it.
Ill giv`er a shot

Million wrote:It could be temperature, I'm using Army Painter white at the moment, applying it in very thin layers, and the layer I put on at night (cold night) was powdery like you describe

Now thats interesting, because its friggen cold outside, and I was priming in my semi-insulated basement.
I didnt think the temperature in the room would be low enough to affect the paint.

Molotovsoda wrote:Shake the can...more

I will... thanks

Make sure its not too humid where ur spraying, shake the can for at least 20-30 minutes mind you, its been sitting on a store shelf god knows how long. spray in short bursts from about 2-3 feet away, don't use krylon, use something like army painter or another primer meant for minis, I personally find krylon to be a bit thick. Don't spray paint indoors uhhh....lemme think what else there is to be said about spray priming... the goal isn't to actually have the whole thing covered in white, you literally want a little bit of primer on it so that paint stays on and applies well. I think that about covers any advice you're going to get I mean when it comes down to it...its just spray paint...OH! also! hold it upside down and spray a little bit um annnnnd spray a piece of cardboard or some scrap stuff, in my experience this tends to get rid of that rough crappy effect might be cause built up paint in the intake tube?

haha, thats more like it

Thanks, I will definitely try all those things... or just throw out the krylon.

Cheers!

don't toss it, save it for when you gotta prime something like terrain or...whatever

Molotovsoda wrote:Make sure its not too humid where ur spraying, shake the can for at least 20-30 minutes mind you, its been sitting on a store shelf god knows how long. spray in short bursts from about 2-3 feet away, don't use krylon, use something like army painter or another primer meant for minis, I personally find krylon to be a bit thick. Don't spray paint indoors uhhh....lemme think what else there is to be said about spray priming... the goal isn't to actually have the whole thing covered in white, you literally want a little bit of primer on it so that paint stays on and applies well. I think that about covers any advice you're going to get I mean when it comes down to it...its just spray paint...OH! also! hold it upside down and spray a little bit um annnnnd spray a piece of cardboard or some scrap stuff, in my experience this tends to get rid of that rough crappy effect might be cause built up paint in the intake tube?

Humidity does not have as much to do with the results you'll get as technique does. I sprayed a bunch of stuff the other day on my porch, it was about 35 degrees out side and snowing, and the results were the same as when it is warm and sunny. If you are doing short, quick bursts, granted you may have to let the mini dry between coats, but short quick bursts will produce acceptable results. In addition 2 to 3 feet away is a bit far. I would work at about 1.5 ft. The whole shaking for "30 minute", over kill, if it was to be that much it would say it on the label. Lastly I have fine results with krylon, I use it all the time, that and some army painter primers, but that is more of a different application, but as it was said above, keep your coats thin, some of the model original color should be showing through, you do not want a solid white surface.

Ashton

Molotovsoda wrote: the goal isn't to actually have the whole thing covered in white, you literally want a little bit of primer on it so that paint stays on and applies well. I

Times like this I want a PICTURE of a properly primed mini. If I'm spray paint priming, and I can see some spekeled plastic from certain angles, is that good enough or do I need to hit it quickly once more.? I'll try and get a picture of this in about 12 hours.

Bounty wrote:

Molotovsoda wrote: the goal isn't to actually have the whole thing covered in white, you literally want a little bit of primer on it so that paint stays on and applies well. I

Times like this I want a PICTURE of a properly primed mini. If I'm spray paint priming, and I can see some spekeled plastic from certain angles, is that good enough or do I need to hit it quickly once more.? I'll try and get a picture of this in about 12 hours.

Id say that was perfect if you can still see speckled plastic in places

heres another spraypaint related question. I just picked up a bottle of enamel based white spraypaint. Now, Ive heard bad things about this stuff (it was more an accident then anything), but I painted one of my kroot, and the paint went on nicely. I then tested out some GW paints, and they seem to work just fine.
What I was wondering is if reaper paints will work with enamel based spraypaint, because Ive ordered some in specifically for my tau.
Thanks!

THe issue with enamel is that the binding agent is caustic to plastics. This means that a) it's easy to 'melt' fine details if you're not careful how you use it and b) it will 'burn' into the mini, making stripping that color off later virtually impossible. If you can safely get it on though you shouldn't have any issues after that.