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So after using black, white and grey, for me, I've found grey to be the best. However - there's one problem to using it that I'd like to know how other people get around - how do you know that it's gone on?!

When spraying grey primer on plastic models, the primer is usually pretty much exactly the same colour as the plastic, leaving it difficult to know how much I've covered, or if I've missed any.

I have Vallejo model air, and an airbrush - so I have the option of tinting the primer with a little paint - will this be ok? Would it affect the adhesiveness of the primer?

What grey primer are you using? I use Tamiya light grey and it's quite easy to tell how it is covering the model whether bare metal or the normal GW dark grey plastic.

I have a cheap car matt grey primer, and vallejo model air grey primer. Both the same colour as the dark plastic they use for models.

My other half insists I prime her models with Tamiya Light grey.

If you are using an air brush why don't you tint with the main colour you are going to use on the model?

Please note I do not use an airbrush myself.

Sonophos wrote:My other half insists I prime her models with Tamiya Light grey.

If you are using an air brush why don't you tint with the main colour you are going to use on the model?

Please note I do not use an airbrush myself.

In my original post I asked about that - primarily whether it would noticeably diminish the hold and protection a primer provides.

dwfait wrote:

Sonophos wrote:My other half insists I prime her models with Tamiya Light grey.

If you are using an air brush why don't you tint with the main colour you are going to use on the model?

Please note I do not use an airbrush myself.

In my original post I asked about that - primarily whether it would noticeably diminish the hold and protection a primer provides.

A drop of ink in the primer shouldnt change it's function as a primer, yet would probably alter its color fairly noticeably.

Then again, although it's obnoxious that the primer is hard to tell apart from the plastic in a coverage sense, most people prefer gray primer due to how it effects your painting over it (dark primer vs light primer for instance). If you change the color from grey, you may lose the advantage you get in using grey primer.

Tint the model you are priming first. Usually I put a really watered down black, that way I know when I have covered the model's surface with primer when I sprayed.

heartserenade wrote:Tint the model you are priming first. Usually I put a really watered down black, that way I know when I have covered the model's surface with primer when I sprayed.

If the wash is likely to not stick very well to bare plastic, won't the primer that's stuck on top of the wash come off too?

I've had layers of airbrushed on paint come away just by touching it before without primer underneath.

The texture always looks different on primer than bare plastic, maybe just look at them under better lighting?

dwfait wrote:

heartserenade wrote:Tint the model you are priming first. Usually I put a really watered down black, that way I know when I have covered the model's surface with primer when I sprayed.

If the wash is likely to not stick very well to bare plastic, won't the primer that's stuck on top of the wash come off too?

I've had layers of airbrushed on paint come away just by touching it before without primer underneath.

I said really-watered down, just like a wash. Com to think of it, it IS a wash.

And that's because your hand contains oils. Oil repels water, as in the case of airbrushed primer (which is water-soluble).

Vallejo makes various colors of polyeurethane primers that are airbrushable. The grey primer is very light in comparison to the dark gw plastic, which you can darken by simply mixing either a black or the darker Panzer grey primer to it.with the range available your sure to find a mix that works for you.

Whichever shade of gray you wind up with, the plastic lots vary in color too so you'll probably wind up with at least a model here or there that matches. With a practiced eye and good lights it isn't really hard to tell. The plastic is shiny and the primer once dried isn't. I still keep bottles of brush on primer to touch up the little spots underneath things though. Better than spraying on too much

heavybolter wrote:Vallejo makes various colors of polyeurethane primers that are airbrushable. The grey primer is very light in comparison to the dark gw plastic, which you can darken by simply mixing either a black or the darker Panzer grey primer to it.with the range available your sure to find a mix that works for you.

On the other hand it is almost the exact color of the Privateer Press Plastic kits - nightmare if you want to work with the new models. Just get a good lamp, the surface of the primer looks very different from the bare plastic - I found that the easiest way to tell, where I primed already.

Cheers,


IK-Painter

I use Krylon Grey Primer, and it's a tad darker. Otherwise, try to do it in a good light source so that you can see where you've just sprayed via the reflection from the still wet surface.

You don't need complete coats anyway with primer. Only just enough to help the paint hold on, ya know? Even just a dusting will do the trick in most cases.