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I am just wondering if anyone uses grey primer at all?
I am going to buy some (from halfords) as it's not too dark and not too light.
I will probably test it on some space wolves first as they are a grey/blue colour so I reckon the grey primer would work well with them.
I've been having to work over black recently as I am doing a commission and the models were sprayed black... I cant ing stand the stuff any more!
So I would like something in between.

Thanks,

Tom.

It does the job for tanks and aeroplanes. I still prefer white for miniatures though because pale/bright colours still struggle over the grey.

It depends on where you're heading.

If it is going to be a darker color, I definitely prefer gray as it makes the details easier to see.

If you're going light, white is probably still the best place to start.

I must admit, I usually go gray myself, either way!

Yeah, I really want it as a replacement for black to be honest with you! Black is just not a great undercoat colour in my opinion, unless the models you are painting are mainly black!

I shall give it a go then!

thanks,

Tom

I use grey depending on the model color scheme I am painting. For me grey works really well when I am painting Ultramarines. I find the blues blend too much into the black when I use Black primer. It makes me cake on too much paint because I can't tell if the blue is looking right. With the grey the colors are sharper and easier for you to tell how the shading is coming along. I find the same for when I am painting Imperial Guard.

Grey also works well with vehicles too.

However the black primer is still good for when painting things like Orks and Chaos SM. If you paint Imperial Fists I strongly recommend white primer.

Don't see the point. Rather than being a happy medium between black and white it just seems to be the worst of both worlds. It makes colours dull and patchy like black, And you still have to paint in the black shadows like if you were using white.

Just use white undercoat, white is best. I've heard people say 'it makes minis bright and shiny style' but that's BS, you can paint black areas where you need them. Black covers white in 1 coat so you can have all the grimdark you want. The difference is; yellow also covers white in one coat and looks amazing.

Compare that to black undercoat: where painting white needs 3 or 4 coats, and yellow needs 8 and looks like cloudy urine...It should be obvious what the best undercoat is.

I use grey primer for my Omega marines (Halved black/white scheme)

Its just easier to work white up from grey and one wash will darken the grey shadows to where I like it.

Honestly, youll never know what works well for you unless you try different things. Just grab a few spare models, prime them differently and find the one that works with your style the best. Given that this is a hobby, just have fun.

FreekyE wrote: Given that this is a hobby, just have fun.

I fully intend to!

I've painted every color under the sun over grey. The only one that I will NEVER try again is yellow. Otherwise grey > white > black.

I usually use black then paint chaos black and then give it a fine layer of white with spray.
This also leaves areas that need shading later, darker as less white spray reaches them.

Yeah, I have heard of this method, I shall give both a try

I used to use black primer, but I switched to grey for my Warmachine stuff. Previously, I got sort of lazy, thinking "Oh well, if I miss some spots on the underneath parts, they won't show because they're black and people will just assume it's a shadow." That worked swell for Orks, but for Khador, which are mostly bright red, I figured I needed to be a bit more diligent. It's working great so far.

I use grey for either grey tanks or for stuff I want to paint really well as colours go really well over it.

SmackCakes wrote:It makes colours dull and patchy like black

Which colours? Single coats of really thin white? I'm looking at some models I'm in the middle of working on and can't see any dull/patchy bits even though I primed them grey.

SmackCakes wrote:It should be obvious what the best undercoat is.

Yes, the best one for the job. You seem to be implying that white is the best for everything, then qualifying this by saying you can't paint light colours over grey as if it were black. This is incorrect and misleading for anyone seeking guidance. I'm using grey primer for my hive fleet leviathan tyranids and its perfect. My colours are neither dull nor patchy, without suffering from being too bright from having a white prime. Which, by the way, is not BS - its quite obviously true. What colour would you prime a model covered in metal armour? White? Have fun going over all that white primer with black so you can get an actual metal effect. How about one that has dark clothing? I can't think of a single thing I would prime white rather than grey or black.

If you want a dark model prime it black. If you want more leeway prime it grey. If you've primed it black and want to paint white, don't just paint the white straight over the black. Do a coat of grey or light brown first. Then it will take one coat of white to look white.

Wickedcarrot ---> Grey is a fine prime for in-between black and white. Should do what you want it to do with no problems whatsoever

i prefer grey by far.
Wilkinsons sells a huge can for around £5. great value