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Hey guys,

Just a really quick question I'd like to pop out - what are the advantages and disadvantages to basecoating with an airbrush? Some of the things I've heard are that airbrushing allows for a thinner, more-controlled coat. But on the same note, I've heard that basecoating with an airbrush doesn't prime as well as using a dedicated black spray primer, for example.

Well, basecoating and priming are two different things. Primer prepares the model to receive additional layers of paint. The basecoat is just the first extra layer of paint, usually the main color for the model.

You can use an airbrush to prime but you should use an actual primer like Vallejo's. Just spraying a regular color won't make it into a primer because it's been sprayed. It will be easily scratched off, particularly on metal models. After priming you can base coat in any color you like. It's one of the advantages of an airbrush; you are not limited by what comes in a spray can.

The advantage of priming with an airbrush is that you can do it indoors if you are using non-toxic acrylics and a clean air source (like a compressor) independent of the weather. You can also work much more closely on the model and ensure good coverage. This is sometimes hard to do with a big spray can.

Arschbombe wrote:Well, basecoating and priming are two different things. Primer prepares the model to receive additional layers of paint. The basecoat is just the first extra layer of paint, usually the main color for the model.

You can use an airbrush to prime but you should use an actual primer like Vallejo's. Just spraying a regular color won't make it into a primer because it's been sprayed. It will be easily scratched off, particularly on metal models. After priming you can base coat in any color you like. It's one of the advantages of an airbrush; you are not limited by what comes in a spray can.

The advantage of priming with an airbrush is that you can do it indoors if you are using non-toxic acrylics and a clean air source (like a compressor) independent of the weather. You can also work much more closely on the model and ensure good coverage. This is sometimes hard to do with a big spray can.

Blah!

I was multi-tasking typing up this post. I meant to type it as priming with an airbrush. The main reason behind doing this is as you said - the ability to do it indoors.

I don't prime when using my airbrush. I just skip right to the basecoat. The advantage is that you get a smoother, controlled coat, and can do nice shading effects. here is a model with very minimal brushwork done to it's body after airbrushing:



The shading on the green would take a long time to do by hand. I just basecoat it, then hit it with satin varnish. You can paint over the satin varnish just fine, and when I'm done, I hit it with a second layer of varnish. End result is a very nice looking, very smooth looking model.

Isn't painting without priming a bad idea? I figured that the paint wouldn't bond well to the model and thus be scratched off easily.

It's not that bad with plastic. Many of the newer acrylics are formulated to adhere to plastics well. Metal and normal resin models should be primed. Finecast is supposed to take paint better than normal resin, but I haven't really painted enough finecast to compare.

Enigwolf wrote:Isn't painting without priming a bad idea? I figured that the paint wouldn't bond well to the model and thus be scratched off easily.

Whats why I varnish after basecoating. It adheres just fine, and the varnish layer protects the undercoat layer. My models don't scratch too easily.

I often mix varnish into the first coat, actually, and spray on a mix of varnish and paint as the first layer of paint.

I use a lot of varnish :(

I haven't found any smooth primer that actually adhere's to metal. Basically it's the strength of the base layer of paint as it's basically holding onto itself, holding on the model.

I use Vallejo acrylic-polyurethane primer. For one the range allows me to pick a suitable base color. It maintains the sharpness of the models details after priming. etc.

There have also been occasions where I've primed something with just paint. In fact I've used apple barrel black before. Once the model is painted, and sealed I haven't had any problems with it scratching off.

The reason you struggle to find a primer that adheres to metal really well is because the metal surface isnt prepped for paint work, like a car panel would be. Its a tiny model though so sanding every surface is a bit out of the question.
Wash the model in degreaser and wipe it clean (or blast it clean with compressed air)
Then use an automotive grade primer on the bare metal before getting to paintwork.
The kinda of primers that are suitable for metals are typically the ones that also will melt plastic mini's.
Halfords do a standard grey primer that is like this.
However, in the car painting industry, bare metal gets sprayed with 'etch primer' then regular primer (or high build primer if theres scratches to fill and sand out).

This etch primer layer is what we skip on out models and it can make a big difference.