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Hey dakka, I finished scratchbuilding my thunderhawk from plasticard yesterday and went to basecoat it with Vallejo's poly urethane airbrush primer which went on really smoothly. 24 hours later however the coat is chipping of really easily (which is a real bugger on a model this big). Anyone got any clue what to do about this? I don't wanna go through the trouble of painting this entire thing and watching the paint chip off.

Thanks for any help!

I've had the exact same problems with this product, and I'm currently trying to work out how to fix it - as I've read some amazing reviews online.

• I've been leaving 24 hours between two light coats, still chips.

• I've washed the plastic before spraying, still chips.

• I've dehydrated the plastic with alchohol before spraying, still chips.

• I've applied a 'wet' coat and left it 48 hours to cure, still chips.

If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

For the time being it's gonna have to be back to Chaos Black, unfortunately.

I've found the best way is to spray and finish the model, and be careful in between. Then once you're done, dull coat it with testors.

I've also had the same problems as you but I was mixing the primer with other paint so I thought that had something to do with it.

I use it without any noticeable problems but it is nowhere near as tough as the Army Painter rattle can stuff.

I have had great success with it, BUT have only used it on minis and no vehicles yet.

We talking the Vallejo model Air Grey Primer? I noticed some chipping on some metal models I did myself.

I'm using the black primer. Another night later and the paint is still chipping off

Just have to be patient. 24 hours is not enough with that primer I hate to say it. More like 48-72 depending on the temperature. Seriously though once its fully dry its pretty hard to get off. Way harder than krylon etc. if you try and simple green it off.

iv heard many people say this. its obvs not heavy duty enough.

its water based acrylic - i wouldnt expect much durability from it.

get a rattle can from walmart. shake it well and spray it short pulses. if you spray it right it should never fuzz on you or fill in detail.

krylon primer white/brown/grey will work. my new favorite is actually walmart brand color place black. dirt cheap and works amazingly well.

Never had a problem with vallejo polyurethane white or grey primers. I've brushed and airbrushed them. I tend to give at least 24 hours afterwards though. Not intentionally, just that's how I tend to paint.

Living Still wrote:Just have to be patient. 24 hours is not enough with that primer I hate to say it. More like 48-72 depending on the temperature. Seriously though once its fully dry its pretty hard to get off. Way harder than krylon etc. if you try and simple green it off.

This. I have the brush-on/airbrush polyurethane black myself, and it does tend to chip off fairly easily for a day or so after basing. However, when you come back to it afterwards, you can't get it off, even with the fingernail test. My advice would be to just touch up the chipped areas (it does this pretty well) and then ignore it for a few days until it finishes curing properly.

Or you could spray it - I don't have that option, I live next to the coast and the humidity is always way too high.

Thanks for the advice, I'm just going to let the thing rest for a day or two extra and hope the coat stays on after that. Got plenty of models to finish in the meantime anyway

I read the post and thought why try a hair dryer just after spraying with the primer, it might harden it quicker. Then let it dry for 24 hours