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Hi there!

Just wondering about priming some Forge World models I have bought:

I have washed them twice, with soap, and gently brushed them with a toothbrush afterwards.

But I have noticed that FW themselves recommend Car Primer, any advice on that?
Currently I have in my possession some Citadel primer, but that's not enough or what?

Thanks!

Sand/wet sand as much as possible. The Resin casting is fairly smooth so just applying primer may not stick. By sanding it a little you give the primer an 'Anchor' profile for the primer to adhere to. The surface may look smooth to the naked eye, but by wet sanding you've incorporated alot of grooves into the surface for the primer to attach itself to the model. Give it time to cure and dry properly and go to town.

/r Jim

I can agree with this.

most of the time my fw stuff primers fine, but I can say its best if you really let it fully cure for a while (not just touch dry) especially if you use airbrush primers.

Cure as in, let it rest after getting sprayed?

 Eax wrote:
Cure as in, let it rest after getting sprayed?

yes, let if fully dry - it takes time for the chemical bonds to properly form between the primer and the material.

Most people suggest waiting a full 24 hours for primer to dry...of course, most people don't follow that (me included).

I have found the best results on priming resin with some of the better primers from a hardware store.

Thanks a ton!

Will see about getting me some car primer, if possible

If, after you've washed it & let it dry, you find areas that are really shiny & feel a bit slimy then the resin hasn't cured properly & getting anything to stick to it (including primer) is a real pig.
In the past I have either scrubbed the part with a wire brush (which worked but was before I knew what the real problem was) or phoned Forge World & got them to send replacement parts - I've never had a problem with them doing this as their post-sales customer services is pretty good!

The reason why FW recommends "car primer" is due to the etching nature of automotive primers. Self-etching primer is composed of an acid and zinc. The acid, usually phosphoric acid, forces the zinc down into the top couple of molecules of the surface. Etching primers are great on metal and fiberglass surfaces, and 2 part resins I would say are in the same chemical family as fiberglass, hence the connection.

Sometimes etching primer can be a bit thick, make sure to get a type that is NOT labeled filler, filling, or any other variation of the word. Keep your coats thin, and you should be good.

A.

Another alternative that I've had success with, is giving it a light spray of a matte spray. I used Testor's Dullcoat with good results.

I've painted a lot of FW stuff, and I've only ever used Citadel Primer, it's worked fine for me so far.

I didn´t prime a lot of FW stuff but the regular Primers all did well enough.

 Eax wrote:
Hi there!

Just wondering about priming some Forge World models I have bought:

I have washed them twice, with soap, and gently brushed them with a toothbrush afterwards.

But I have noticed that FW themselves recommend Car Primer, any advice on that?
Currently I have in my possession some Citadel primer, but that's not enough or what?

Thanks!

Mehh not a problem. I just pre wash mine let it dry and hit them with some Vallejo Black Surface primer let it dry. Then Base coat with Vallejo paints etc.

I quite like Halfords Grey Primer, it sticks to anything and goes on really thin. I've used it on my FW models for years

Telemachus wrote:
I quite like Halfords Grey Primer, it sticks to anything and goes on really thin. I've used it on my FW models for years

+1

I've been happily using Halford sprays for a while. Grey primer, White Primer, Matt Black, Cammo Khaki being some of my fav's.

I use Halford's too.

I had some terrible experiences not cleaning or correctly priming FW models. Just sprayed on the army painter crap and then it cracked and peeled in a few months. It was my first resin kit.

Had to give the model a very thorough bath in simple green and scrub it aggressively to get all the mold release agent off.

Now I use automotive primer...for everything heh.

Telemachus wrote:
I quite like Halfords Grey Primer, it sticks to anything and goes on really thin. I've used it on my FW models for years

There's a reason that FW recommend their stuff, too.

It just works.

'course, we can't get Halfords here, but other etching car paint primers are available and do the job.