Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hello all,

I'm sure this is a question that has been asked before. Likely even been asked a lot. But I'll ask anyways just so I know the answers I hopefully get are the most up-to-date answers. Anyways...

I find myself having to buy yet ANOTHER can of primer soon. Since getting back into the hobby in October of last year, I have gone through almost two cans of black primer (almost done the second).

Now here's the thing: primer meant specifically for miniatures isn't cheap. As a Canadian, GW primer is $20 a can. Because of that I haven't even bothered to buy one from them. The first can I bought is Formula P3 for $15 (before taxes) and I think it ended up leaking at the top because I went through that primer way too fast otherwise. The second can I bought was Matt Black from Army Painter for $14 (again, before taxes). It seems to get the job done but I bought it back in April (so not too long ago) and I'm almost out already. And I'm fairly certain this one didn't leak.

Anyways, the point is that I find myself buying primer on a fairly regular basis and I can't say that any of the miniature specific primer I have bought are incredible, considering their price points. Sure they get the job done, but they aren't miracle workers. I've heard a lot about Krylon Primer however.

I'm skeptical though. I mean it's MUCH cheaper (average seems to be between $5 and $7 at a Canadian Walmart) and seems easily available in just about any town. Is it really that good? And if it is, what type is the one to get for miniatures? I have just about every type of 40k mini. I.e finecast, resin, etc. I just want to make sure I get the right one that works best for me. And I'm sure this thread will help out a lot of other people as well!

I would say NAY. I would say the same regarding Army Painter primer. I just bought a can of it at the FLGS trying to be cheap, and I should have sprung for the GW can instead.

However, my preference is to order Tamiya primer, and in the US you can also find it at Hobbytown stores. It's so much smoother than the Army Painter brand, it's insane! I actually tried all 3 (Krylon, Army Painter, and Tamiya) under the exact same weather conditions a few weeks ago, and the Tamiya vastly outperformed the other two.

Airbrush primer also works really well, but obviously only if you're airbrushing, and even though I have an airbrush I find myself using the Tamiya can just for ease and speed. I highly recommend it!

I use rustoleum (black, grey, and white) from Walmart and it works quite well. The specific line is "American Accents" and it says "also bonds to plastic!" on the label. I think the actual brand of primer is less important than technique and environment of application. Try to prime in low humidity, use just a light coat. Also, put the can in warm water for a few minutes before you spray.

Yeah I like rustoleum as well - I've not tried Tamiya primer but I will definitely give it a go.

For plastic, I usually use Vallejo ab primer

I've used a brand here in the Philippines called RJ London and Bosny. They're about $2-3 a pop and are not meant for miniatures. They've served me well.

I have used krylon before (hunter green on my unforgiven, its just the right shade that I dont even have to base coat the green just accents then wash) as long as it is not too humid it seems to work fine, just make sure you get one that is a primer and binds to plastics.

I went to using rustoleum black primer and its my favorite so far.

 RiTides wrote:
I would say NAY. I would say the same regarding Army Painter primer. I just bought a can of it at the FLGS trying to be cheap, and I should have sprung for the GW can instead.

However, my preference is to order Tamiya primer, and in the US you can also find it at Hobbytown stores. It's so much smoother than the Army Painter brand, it's insane! I actually tried all 3 (Krylon, Army Painter, and Tamiya) under the exact same weather conditions a few weeks ago, and the Tamiya vastly outperformed the other two.

This.

Tamiya Surface Primer is probably the best aerosol primer you can buy and I constantly sing its praises here on Dakka. It is in my normal 'primer rotation' along with Vallejo Surface Primer and Alclad II Primer/Microfiller (both out of my airbrush), depending on what I need to prime.

I say Yay. I have used Krylon Primer in the past and in my experience it works as well as Army Painter/GW Citadel paint. The only downside is they don't have the matching shades like the Citadel paints. However, if all you're doing is spraying white/black/gray on your models, it works well enough. Plus it's super cheap!

Lately I've been using Krylon's "Camo" sprays, and they work a little better than their cheaper stuff, while still being more affordable than Army Painter/Citadel.

I bought the ultra flat black primer from krypton. I'm going to test it before use. But I hope it adheres correctly to all the mediums (resin, plastic, finecast)

Ultra Flat black primer from Krylon is my go to and has been for years. As a matter of fact, Krylon used to supply GW with spray paints.

When I was in the U.S., Krylon was always my go-to. Their Ultra Flat black was my primer of choice and I did my entire Raptor Legion army in their Camo Green (it worked well with some of GW's colors at the time). I tried a couple Rustoleum's to get the right shade of blue for my Crimson Fists, but found that GW's Ultramarine blue/Macragge blue were better for it after I ran a blue wash over it.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to ever buy name-brand primers, other than to intentionally waste money.

Hey Paul Good to see another Canadian!

I would seriously suggest that you consider a cheap airbrush. It's a one-time investment of about $100, and a small, $10 or $20 bottle of primer will last you *forever*. I mean, hundreds upon hundreds of models. Plus, it really does REALLY speed up basecoating certain models, like Space Marines, where 70% of the surface is 1 color.

I personally agree with the sentiment that Krylon and Army Painter are inferior to primers like P3 and Tamiya (and Mr. Hobby!).

HOWEVER -- I'm pretty picky. I spend a lot of time on my models both before and after they're primed. If I'm going to blow 5-30 hours on a miniature, I want the best work surface possible.

So, I'd suggest that if you're curious, buy a cheap can of Krylon, grab a crappy model you don't care about, and see what you think after.

I think it's not a bad solution if you're painting up "tabletop standard" models that just need to be good enough. I think it's a disservice to yourself, if you're giving your model your best effort.

Thank you everyone. I appreciate all the suggestions!

It seems the best way to go is airbrush. I certainly cannot afford a really high quality one at the moment, but surely can I can a cheaper one just for priming in the coming months.

I might give the Krylon primer a try though simply because they're so cheap and I got some sacrificial space marines that can bite the bullet.

If I get desperate, I'll pick up Tamiya. Sounds like it will be the next best behind the airbrush and I know a hobby shop downtown that carries the brand.

Ive based several armies with Krylon Ultra Flat Black.

It works just as well as anything else.

A few tips: it doesnt like the cold, and keep the nozzles clean!

I used Krylon for years (black, white and grey) and never had any issues, even when spraying at -20C in winter (keep the can warm in the house, run out to garage, spray quickly and then get everything back inside...).

I've since switched to airbrush primers (Vallejo) for most of my priming but still pull out the Krylon for terrain.

 PaulTheFirewoodSalesman wrote:
Thank you everyone. I appreciate all the suggestions!

It seems the best way to go is airbrush. I certainly cannot afford a really high quality one at the moment, but surely can I can a cheaper one just for priming in the coming months.

A cheap ~100 USD airbrush plus compressor set will do the job. No need to get an expensive airbrush before you have really good airbrush control.

I use the Krylon Camouflage (aka ultraflat) and it works great. It really is ultraflat and goes on even. Comes in numerous colors and is decently priced.

I use Dupli-Color Sandable Primer.

I do not understand the need to "sand" primer on miniatures.

That is typically done on Automobile primers to get rid of surface imperfections which can show up on larger surfaces, and to deal with things like grit in the primer. Making certain the surface is rough enough for spray coatings to stick is also important.

But on miniatures, you have few of these problems.

That said... Using Krylon or Rustoleum for primer is a no-no.

Use a better primer, Tamiya, for instance.

MB

The sandable primer works fine, and is what Aly McVey (of Studio McVey) used when she was painting for Privateer Press. Don't knock it until you try it.

That said... Using Krylon or Rustoleum for primer is a no-no.

Why? I've literally never heard anyone give a quantifiable reason to use name-brand primers. Considering the sheer number of quality painters I've met who have never had any issues with using cheap primer, as long as you spray in fair weather and don't slather the paint on so thick it wipes out details then you shouldn't have any issues. Do you have a concrete reason for saying this?

BeAfraid wrote:
I do not understand the need to "sand" primer on miniatures.

You have obviously never built a model submarine.

Needing to sand after a primer coat is a little common is 'regular' scale modeling compared to miniature war gaming.

I've used Kryon without issue for over 20,000 points worth of models.

And one of my armies is Skaven.

Anyone claiming Krylon is a no no, has clearly never used it. I agree that Tamiya is outstanding primer, but Krylon is cheaper and much easier to find.

Krylon can be fine. As you see, lots of people sing its praises. However, personally I find it pretty hit and miss. I think it is thicker than a good model primer, and it is possible to screw up much more easily using it.

GW/army painter undercoats are not actually primers, but undercoats, and are expensive. I don't think they are outstanding, but work well enough.

Tamiya is the best of that range.

However, as noted above, if you get airbrush and a big ass bottle of primer, and are seriously into the hobby, that will work out cheaper int he long run, and hey, you now have an airbrush.

I've also switched recently to airbrushing my primers from tamiya, and am happier with those than anything from a rattle can.

I've primed hundreds, perhaps thousands of models with Krylon now and no issue.

I'm in Canada too and use their camoflage line. Black for most all things and khaki/green/brown as needed.

Absolutely no need to shell out for expensive paint/primer, the $6 can works perfect.

 Joyous_Oblivion wrote:
I've primed hundreds, perhaps thousands of models with Krylon now and no issue.

I'm in Canada too and use their camoflage line. Black for most all things and khaki/green/brown as needed.

Absolutely no need to shell out for expensive paint/primer, the $6 can works perfect.

Good to know. I'll give it a shot next time I'm at Walmart.

Im not sure if Im not in a grand mistake here, but instead of primer I just used grey acrylic car paint spray. I picked it up like a cheap alternative to Tamiya grey primer.
However I dont think that just priming with random car spray paint really do anything so for my next kit I consider buying real primer.

I say yay. It's the only primer I use it works great the stuff I use is the ultra flat camo black by krylon. Haven't had any issues yet good luck.