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I have up to recently, always used Army Painter sprays and matt varnish, however I have had to throw away both a Daemonic Yellow and White spray can as the nozzles became irreparably blocked and today, I went to varnish a completed Blood Bowl team only to find out that my matte varnish has run out of propellant, despite only being half empty. Needless to say, I am a bit miffed, considering that Army Painter stuff isn't exactly bargain bucket cheap either. So the question is, GW sprays aside, what alternatives do others use? I have heard talk of Halfords' own brand spray car primers but are they any good? Obviously, for the matte varnish, I will switch to Testor's Dullcote assuming you can get it here in the UK.

From all that I hear from across the sea, those are perfect alternatives.

Here in the US, we've got Krylon and a bunch of other good ones. But in the UK, all I ever hear about is Testors and Halfords. Just take some time to figure out how to use the new spray cans properly so you don't fudge up your details (Distance and passing speed, ya know?)

Rock on, good luck

I use:

Armory brand primer - it goes on in thin layers and covers well.
(this stuff: http://www.amazon.com/The-Armory-Spray-Primer-Grey/dp/B001N1HEQ8)

Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover - this stuff covers slightly more thick than the armory, so it takes a bit more skill to use on minis (fine for vehicles and terrain) - I would say its about as thick as the army painter primers.

I have also used some other high end primers (allclad airbush primers, tamayia surface primers) and while they are good, I find the ARMORY and rustoleum take care of just about everything I need.

Vallejo are always good. Easy to get in the UK too.

Dullcote isn't exactly cheap, either. If bang for your buck (er, pound) is a concern, check out gloss varnish options, while you're at it. If I want heavy duty protection, I always gloss before breaking out the Dullcote, just to save on money (same final finish, same number of coats, less of the "good stuff" used to get there).

Being US-based, I've never used Halford's primers, but I've also heard rave reviews from enough people, including a good number of those whose opinions I trust, to say it's probably a safe bet.

Yeah antenicitis workshop is the only UK retailer I know that carries testors dullcote on account of it being a bit gamey in the formula dept. It's also bloomin expensive as the cans are tiny!

I tend to use W&N Galleria varnishes these days as I can shoot it through an airbrush with no problem. A GW or A.N.Others spray gun might be a cheap alternative to an AB or you can brush it on.

I use board 2 pieces spray primers and they work just as well as the games workshop stuff for half the cost

I sent an email of complaint to Army Painter and got the standard support response saying they have never heard of blocked cans and therefore it must be my fault.

Went to prime 2 skinks just now - blocked white spray can. Fed up of it now - Army Painter stuff is poor quality as far as I am concerned; I'll stick to Halfords spray primer from now on.

you can clean up the nozzles of your spray paints with 70%+ alcohol btw

It's not the nozzles that are blocked; its the feeder line from the can to the nozzle apparently. I swapped the nozzles around with ones that I knew were fine and still had same issues.