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So, I tried my hand at priming some models with an airbrush recently...and it really didn't turn out so pretty.

Here's what I was using:

Iwata Neo airbrush

Sparmax Airstream compressor

Vallejo White primer

I shook the white primer well before using, and put it into the airbrush without thinning it first. When it sprayed, it seeemd to go on way too thin, almost as if Ihas "washed" the model in white, settling more in the recesses and not covering evenly or well at all on the raised surfaces. It was very very liquid.

I feel like I must have been doing something wrong. Any ideas?

My first guess would be that it still was separated and needed way more shaking OR the bottle of paint is defective.

I know Vallejo tends to separate but never that hard, not for me atleast.

Could be the paint; the Vallejo Air stuff tends to separate easily.

Or... was it the "Surface" primer? Cuz that stuff is usually excellent.

Also what pressure were you spraying?

EDIT: wow ninja'd, ...what granander said lol.

If you were spraying resin, make sure it has had all the release agent washed off. If you are spraying PVC... I find that automotive primer is the best for priming that - even with airbrush primer that covers well on plastic or resin I find it can bead or run.

But more likely you need to shake the paint more.

My primer did this the other day, after having worked perfectly for a while.

Hold the brush further from the model to give it some drying time in the air, and give it two coats - came out perfect.

I am assuming I probably didn't shake it up well enough as grenander said, or I hadn't shaken it previously and threw out the levels in the pot. Could have been temperature/humidity too.

I find that the Vallejo white primer needs much more primer to cover than Vallejo black (or several of the other colors, too). I either need to give it multiple coats, or put it on more thickly than I'd like.

On the other hand, the black primer, you don't need much at all to achieve opacity. There are some colors, like Red, though, that you can give 5 coats to and STILL not look opaque on a large, flat surface (but one more coat of regular paint will fix it).

 Gunzhard wrote:
Could be the paint; the Vallejo Air stuff tends to separate easily.

Or... was it the "Surface" primer? Cuz that stuff is usually excellent.

Also what pressure were you spraying?

EDIT: wow ninja'd, ...what granander said lol.

Here's the primer I used: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0063TQ7HW

I hope this was a matter of shaking it even more. I Don't really like the GW white primer and this would also be more convenient when I want to prime indoors.

Wash your models (plastic or resin) in warm soapy water, rinse and dry before priming.

I've only ever seem this with models I didn't wash release agent from or had my grubby fingers all over after assembling them.

themadlbb wrote:

Here's the primer I used: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0063TQ7HW

I hope this was a matter of shaking it even more. I Don't really like the GW white primer and this would also be more convenient when I want to prime indoors.

I've gone through about 3 bottles of the giant size of that primer, and God knows how many of the medium size, so it isn't the primer in general. However, as I said, the white doesn't go on as nicely -- meaning, it doesn't cover in one thin coat. If you try to force it (ie, spray until it's opaque white), it will pool, simply because there's too much primer on the model. Thin coat, let it dry, thin coat again. Sometimes, a third thin coat, and presto.

GW and P3 primer isn't really much different -- the black goes on really easily, in 1 thin coat; the whites take a little more coaxing, or you have to have a heavy trigger finger, and then you fill in all your details.

OTOH, if you are painting a light color (say yellow, or red), the white is much, much easier to cover, and it's worthwhile to spend a little more time on another coat or two of primer.

I too use all the vallejo surface primers. White is the hardest to work with. I shake it like crazy then spray a light misting coat at 20-25psi. I let that dry for like 5 minutes and then do it again. After that i do it again. Very thin coats with it. I hold the airbrush about 6-8 inches away.

I have noticed that i do not need a full even color coat unless i am working with a transparent color on top of the primer. Either way just do thin thin coats.

I do this after i clean the model with soap and water.

If you're having trouble with separation of your paints, instead of shaking, look at picking up one of these. Works.great, and it's cheap!
http://www.amazon.com/Badger-Air-Brush-Co-121-Paint/dp/B000BROV02/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1426267762&sr=8-5&keywords=badger+airbrush

And yes, shaking is free, but for those who have 11 bucks around, it's pretty nice to have.

If it's going on like liquid or a wash you could be spraying too close to the mini, also.

Lower your air pressure, reduce your finger pressure on the trigger, and hold the mini further away. Should get rid of your dramas

 House Griffith wrote:
If you're having trouble with separation of your paints, instead of shaking, look at picking up one of these. Works.great, and it's cheap!
http://www.amazon.com/Badger-Air-Brush-Co-121-Paint/dp/B000BROV02/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1426267762&sr=8-5&keywords=badger+airbrush

And yes, shaking is free, but for those who have 11 bucks around, it's pretty nice to have.

I grabbed a milk frother for $2,50 off ebay from china, works well too. Just snipped the majority of the bottom off so it could fit in the bottles. Also use an old electric knife as a ghetto shaker, like some people use a reciprocating saw.

Ya know, I actually find priming with Vallejo primer one of the trickier things to get right. It clogs and doesn't flow nicely, sometimes it likes to pool sometimes it goes on rough, it seems highly weather dependant to me. If you're just starting out with your airbrush, try just priming with a spray can and practising with regular paint to get a feel for it first. Then go back to the primer and try again with it.