Rustoleum gray automotive primer for plastics??

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**Largeblastmarker**

Just a quick question: is rustoleum gray automotive primer any good for plastic minis? i've heard it was and is readily available in my area. i'd like to hear from anyone who has used it before. Thx!

**sparkywtf**

I haven't used rustoleum yet, but I have a couple cans to try out this week (after I finish my marathon of model building).

But I have used duplicolor grey auto primer and I love it.

Just make sure it is self etching and not sandable. Sandable will fill in details. Self etching just means it sticks better.

**Largeblastmarker**

oh ok! tell me how it goes.

**StormKing**

Well I am not sure about rustoleum but I have been using Krylon paint and primer in 1 the black version it works great actually.

Make sure it's the FLAT version because I used a gloss version accidentally and it messed up the models so make sure you get a flat or matte paint.

**Dax415**

Most auto motive primers are useless for minis as they designed to go on thick. As mentioned before stay away from sandable primers or you'll screw up the mini. If you are painting metal figures there is a primer by either rustoleum or krylon that is for clean metal. I have used that and it goes on great, no loss of detail at all. The primer for plastic can be found for Krylon and Rustoleum.

Rustoleum.com

http://www.krylon.com/products/indooroutdoor-plastic-primer/

**sparkywtf**

The duplicolor primer goes on thinner and better than anything else I have used. No loss of the detail, nice and light.

**oadie**

Haven't tried the Rustoleum auto primer, but Krylon's Indoor/Outdoor gray primer works a treat. I don't bother using an actual primer on plastics, though, as I find the adhesion and tooth of plain old (matte/flat!) enamel spray paint to be sufficient (I'm a big proponent of Walmart's ColorPlace sprays). For the odd metal model, though, the Krylon has treated me rather well.

Personally, I wouldn't let a single one of the plastic-specific/Fusion products touch my minis. Not only does it make stripping down to bare plastic impossible, should you care to somewhere down the line, but I found everything from the viscosity to the nozzle's spray pattern to be utter crap, when I tried some on unrelated projects. The models aren't made of polypropylene or PET, they're made of styrene - you really don't need anything overly fancy to get paint to stick.

**The Apathetic Fish**

Sorry if this looks like spam but I think the video is relevant.

I read not many people like it here it seems but it's the best thing I've ever tried as primer on metal, plastic and finecast. I have lots of tutorials where I use it. Automotive primer is designed to go on thin contrary to what other people have posted here I understand. I could be wrong, but I had bad experiences with the normal Krylon primers although they are good too. I say try it out in one miniature, Its cheap and you wont regret it. Of course make sure not to overspray and don't tamper with it because at first it may seem a little thick but it dries very nice, and it's sandable too, so if you find moldlines or anything wrong on the model you can sand it down even after priming. I recomend it 100%

I switched to Vallejo air primer becaus it covers really thin but I'm going to leave it because it doesn't seem to hold paint by brush too well, I have to apply multiple coats on basecoats every time. I'm going to use the rustoleum again.

In this tutorial I use the primer for example. I hope this helps

**sparkywtf**

Largeblastmarker wrote:
oh ok! tell me how it goes.

I don't know if I used the automotive version, but I did shoot some resin pieces and some plastic with rustoleum gray self etching primer. I didn't do my normal sparying in a fume hood, instead just doing it outside (was in a hurry).

It seems to go on thick when you spray it, but it drys just fine, no clogging of details (and I used a thicker spray than normal I think). Also the can was awesome, can pretty much spray from any direction. It is also a lot lighter than the duplicolor gray, which can be good too.

**Largeblastmarker**

Thx allan and sparky! Allan your vids are the reason i ask about this in the 1st place

**Desubot**

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Rust-Oleum-Gray-primer/_/N-259g?itemIdentifier=550103_0_0_

if your talking about that one

it works great and is the primer i use for my tau army

**Largeblastmarker**

This item cannot be shipped to any US State, US Territory or US Military address. lol

**Desubot**

huh just noticed that lol

they sell em in store though

**tomcat31**

Hmmm. Two issues here.
be careful using automotive primers on minis. They are designed to be either high build or etch.
Issue 1. High build primers will drown detail. They are designed to fill small defects in the substrate ( in this case the mini)
Issue 2. Etch primers contain phosphoric acid, which is a corrosion inhibitor. This can attack plastics if applied incorrectly.
I should point out I am a fully qualified and Imi accredited automotive paint sprayer. So I do know what I'm talking about.
Also most automotive paints contain iso cyanates, which are incredibly toxic.
There are automotive plastic primers available that are not so toxic and thin enough to use on minis, such as lechler macrofan. However these are fairly expensive and require equipment beyond the means of the average hobbyist.