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Let IT BEgin!!
Guys, post all the goood spray on primers you have used.
I have used Gw and army painter myself. I was thinking army painter has to be the best...then the other day i went to the hardware store and asked the guy " I need a primer for detail work". Even though the fact that he had no idea about matte finishes i thought, i'm sure he knows what he is talking about in regard to auto finishes. AND HOW!
The product he pointed me to was "white knight rust guard all purpose primer"
I sprayed the afore mentioned primer on a terrain piece as a test, it looked good.
Then i sprayed a mini...and in fact gave it a rather heavy spray. First thoughts after spraying were...welll feth i'm gonna have to strip that soon.
I let it dry and was rather surprised at the quality of the coat. It seems to have a large evaporative part to its coating.
IT seems to hug all the detail. I am rather enthused with this product, i gave it a very heavy spray which would have obscured detal badly when using army painter and came out a winner.

anyone else have spray on primer tips, especially those which arent the usual primer choices..

Could you perhaps elaborate on the product (retailer, perhaps online?) and a photo of your mini, i'm always careful with primers, its usually thicker than doing it by hand (even though that annoys the crap out of me).

I only used the GW prays (and still have them after I don't know how many years), nuff said when i say I'm not very fond of it.

However it is time again for a new life (for primers at least).

The funny thing is, the mini i sprayed would look good, even though i did a BAD job of spraying it.
THe product is White knight , rust guard, primer, all purpose primer.
I am sure it would be stocked in most hardware stores, i got mine from bunnings aust.
Thing is with this spray, it is a small particle size (compared to army painter) and even when i sprayed too close causing detail corruption, the evaporative nature of the spray solved almost any problem i had.
I would say be careful with your initial spray.
this is the can i have
http://www.whiteknightpaints.com.au/specialty-paints/metal/rust-guard/primer/all-purpose-primer/

IN regard to my spray i did a very hard coat on the top of my mini. I looked at the result and swore, by the time it had dried the detail hiding that i had so worried about had shrunk down do 90% of detail restriction.
Using this producti would be careful of moisture in the air, (that isn't a concrete observation , just a idea of what could send the spray awry.
i have a good shot of harlan versh and a good shot of kovnik joe (with the detail restriction in the face). Thing is the detail is good.

I have tried;
Rusolieum primers
Krylon primers
GW Primer
The Army Painter Colored primers
Armory Primer
Air Brush Primer.

I like;
* Armory primer - very light coat, but still good coverage - excellent detail. Use it for minis and vehicles.
* Krylon 2x Cover primer: can be a bit thick for minis (takes a different spray pattern) - but cheaper - excellent coverage. I use it mainly for terrain.
* The Army Painter - thick, excellent coverage. Can be used for minis, takes a similar spray patter to the krylon. I really like the fact that I get a primer and base coat in one step.

There are MANY threads on this if you want opinions on this topic (hmmm....we need a "Spray Primer" and "I want to airbrush" sticky in this forum....). We get a new one about every 6-12 days or so.

Thanks for sharing info on the white knight.

Halfords Matt Black Primer, runs at £7.99 around here but goes a good way for priming and has never let me down to date. I'm not the most careful about distance from a model when spraying but it goes on well and doesnt obscure details.

To get the best results with rattle cans (primer or not):

-Warm the can in warm water to allow the paint to flow better and thus glob details less. Place in a bucket/sink of warm water you can comfortably put your hand in, if it's too hot the can will explode.
-Shake the can very thoroughly. I'd say 3 to 5 minutes of shaking.
-If outside do NOT spray when there is any breeze or wind. If you do you run a high risk of having a sandpaper like finish.
-When you spray start before the model, not directly on the model and finish your pass when you are past the end of the model. This gives a even spray across the model. Also spray at the correct distance.
-Allow to dry (I wait an hour or two) between coats if you don't get full coverage. If you keep spraying back and forth you WILL glob the details.
-Avoid spraying in high humidity (or at least let dry in low humidity).

If color is not an issue then I like to use automotive primers myself. "Quality Automotive Products" gray spray primer is the best I've used so far, Tamiya fine spray primer being the second best. Just keep in mind the fumes can be VERY strong.

My friend has used Krylon Fusion spray paint and I'd say it's "good" for figures/vehicles but not the best out there. Haven't used the GW brand.

I had duplicolor sandable primer recommended to me and I've been pretty happy with the results so far.

I just recently tried Camouflage Krylon Fusion for plastics and it worked like a dream. Coats well with light passes, shrinks to detail and bonds to the plastic! Great stuff. It's also half the cost of the hobby primers and available in Walmart. It's available in three colors: Khaki, Dark OD Green, and Black.

Another vote for Halfords matt black. I've been using it for years now and never had a problem...

Mick

ZatGuy wrote:To get the best results with rattle cans (primer or not):

-Warm the can in warm water to allow the paint to flow better and thus glob details less. Place in a bucket/sink of warm water you can comfortably put your hand in, if it's too hot the can will explode.
-Shake the can very thoroughly. I'd say 3 to 5 minutes of shaking.
-If outside do NOT spray when there is any breeze or wind. If you do you run a high risk of having a sandpaper like finish.
-When you spray start before the model, not directly on the model and finish your pass when you are past the end of the model. This gives a even spray across the model. Also spray at the correct distance.
-Allow to dry (I wait an hour or two) between coats if you don't get full coverage. If you keep spraying back and forth you WILL glob the details.
-Avoid spraying in high humidity (or at least let dry in low humidity).

If color is not an issue then I like to use automotive primers myself. "Quality Automotive Products" gray spray primer is the best I've used so far, Tamiya fine spray primer being the second best. Just keep in mind the fumes can be VERY strong.

My friend has used Krylon Fusion spray paint and I'd say it's "good" for figures/vehicles but not the best out there. Haven't used the GW brand.

Thanks for the advice ZatGuy. I did not know that spraying in wind could have such a great effect on models, I will make sure to avoid that more in the future.

I generally prime with standard black createx airbrush paint... its a glossy finish, but its just a basecoat.

I then airbrush the shading layers on, then airbrush any power weapon effects, then seal it with satin varnish before actually painting it

Zuul wrote:I had duplicolor sandable primer recommended to me and I've been pretty happy with the results so far.

This is what I use and it has the best finish of a primer I have ever seen.

And I find spraying in a fume hood (so with air moving) gives a great finish, as it pulls any overspray away instead of it clogging any detail. Still get a smooth finish!

ph34r wrote:Thanks for the advice ZatGuy. I did not know that spraying in wind could have such a great effect on models, I will make sure to avoid that more in the future.

I quite often spray in the wind, the main thing is it screws up your "correct" spraying distance. With the wind blowing toward you it'll be like spraying from too far away (and you'll get a face full of paint) and with the wind blowing from behind it'll be like spraying too close. I just adjust my spraying distance based on the breeze and try and stand next to a wall or some such to reduce the breeze and I haven't had any issues. Obviously avoid really strong winds for obvious reasons though.

But that said I'm a bit of a haphazard sprayer, when I want to spray something I usually just spray it regardless of weather despite the fact I spray outdoors, the only thing that'll stop me is extreme heat because the paint tends to dry in the air before it hits the model, so on hot days I spray in the late evenings when things have cooled. I find the biggest problem is distance and coverage, depending on the weather the optimum spraying distance changes and also the amount of paint you want to lay down each coat changes. I usually start by spraying a model I don't really care about to get a feel for the conditions then just go for it.