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Hey all! After spending over $30 on 2 cans of GW primer, I was wondering if anyone has ever come across an alternative that doesn't muddy up the details, etc (wal-mart brand AIN"T high quality). Thanks!

Tamiya Grey primer.

The matter is...how many layer do you "spray" over your minis ?

The MUST is shake very ewll your can before use and use a light layer of paint. I use this tecnique:

Do onospray the primer directly to your mini, hold it in your preferred hand (wear a glove) and use the primer moving the can from left to right (or viceversa).
In this way you can paint in light layer you mini.

Krylon Ultra Black Primer. I have read others don't like it but I've also read others do. I myself like it and have had no complaints.

My FLGS guy suggest Army Painter brand but it is a bit pricey. You could try to scrounge up Armory Primer before they all disappear, I've used and like that too.

Lowe's brand flat black primer. 99c a can and goes on nice thin and smooth.

I even got honorable mention in single mini GD with a mini I had primed using it =)

krylon has served me well

I found that a lot of the 'cheap' type of stores in Australia like Crazy Clarks and those types sold spray paint for 2 or 3 dollars or something, rivalled GW spray easily. I thought they worked mint, but that was just for getting my armies going.

Can't remember the brand though sorry.

I personally use Armory. I tried all kinds of walmart brands and didn't like any of them due to the high build formula most household/automotive primer has. Armory also has mixed reviews as people say it leaves a rough surface. I have never had the problem but I also prime very lightly. Just a little dusting is all you need. I like to keep the eyelids on my minis

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I've tried Armory in the past and also experienced the rough finish, no matter what I did or how lightly I tried to get it on. I've been doing automotive painting since I was very young and I understand all too well the reasons behind most primers 'build-up' formulation (on a car, bike you want to build it up in layers so that you can sand it to a super smooth finish. While this is great for that application, when you are trying to get a thin coat on a mini, to use as a bonding agent between your paint and the plastic/metal, it has a tendancey to obscure the details). I've got some old plastics lieing around, so I'm going to see what I can find (spray wise) and do some testing. I'll take pics and post my results if you would be interested. Thanks again!

I just picked up a bottle of Krylon for plastics (Fusion or some such).

I'll let you know how it goes. I'm a bit worried cause its not a primer. I'll use a sacrificial AoBR tac marine for it