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.

I have a can of red Army painter paint.

Long story short, I primed a couple of figures with this paint and it was quite a shock to see them... "Primed".


The color came out in a dusted, grainy texture, that has pretty much dusted and grained the figures. Is there any alternative with this "Paint" that I can do with? I put a little black on them, and it gave the model the texture of painted sand.

1. What happened to the paint?

2. What can I do with this paint, seeing as it is pretty much dust in a can?

3. Is this a normal issue with Army painter paint?

Thanks for your time on this issue.

1) Maybe it's a bad can, maybe you didn't shake it enough, maybe the environment you sprayed in was wrong so the paint clumped up

2) Try shaking the life out of the can and spraying something else. If it happens again, it could be a bad can

3) Not to my knowledge, but I've only used their Skeleton Bone spray. It did not do that

Let me ask you, where did you spray? Was it hot/humid? Where was the can stored? Is that place cold? These things can cause the primer to get "fuzzy" and it can cause things like you described to happen

 Grot 6 wrote:
1. What happened to the paint?

Usually graininess is the paint drying too fast, if it starts drying in the air and forming droplets before it hits the model, and then doesn't have sufficient time to self-level on the model's surface before it dries, you'll end up with graininess. You can also get orange peel, which can be if you apply too much paint and again it doesn't self level properly and you get a rough texture, but rather than a sand-like finish it's more of a wavy orange peely finish.

2. What can I do with this paint, seeing as it is pretty much dust in a can?

What was the weather like? Adverse weather can cause it, if it's a very rough grain sometimes it can be because the weather is too hot.

It can also be spraying distance, try spraying from closer range in shorter bursts, this gives the paint less time to dry in the air. Avoid starting or stopping spraying while pointed directly at the model as the initial burst and final burst of some cans can be a bit spluttery. Start spraying to one side of the model, quickly move the can to pass over the model, once you're no longer pointing at the model, stop spraying.

Also make sure you shook it plenty good so the paint and solvent is properly mixed.

You can also try warming up the can before you spray, I'm trying to remember if being too cold can cause graininess specifically, maybe, I can't remember, lol. The can's pressure is temperature dependent, a cold can will have lower pressure so worse atomisation of the paint. You can use a bucket of warm water to warm the can. If I'm just spraying a small amount I'll just roll the can between my hands to warm it up against my body heat, but a bucket of warm water may work better

3. Is this a normal issue with Army painter paint?

I've only used army painter varnishes, I did notice they were more susceptible to graining up, but I don't know what the colours themselves are like.

Sometimes when paints are designed to dry very quickly they are more susceptible to graining. Paints which self level better typically take longer to cure, but are less likely to grain (though they can often orange peel).

If To Hot (90+F @ 40%+ Humidity) then paint will be grainy..same will hap[pen at 100+ F @ 10% humidity

Best to spray @ 75F ~30-50% humidity

Aye, it was pretty hot today. I really appreciate the answers. Hope the next batch does better, I'll try it in the night, or in the morning, to see how it works.

Thanks again, all.

Yup, hot weather+too large distance. Had the exact same thing yesterday. Some I had to wipe with very fine sanding sponge, others automatically fixed when I applied more primer at a closer distance.

I'd be a bit more careful with army painter sprays.
I've had it with quite a few now and it's in a mix of weathers.

I find you have to hold the can a fair bit closer than you do with GW or halfords sprays.

I've had it in the last week where I held a can of bone spray too far away and it dusted.



Grab a tester model and try holding it closer, you should find it won't dust when it's held close enough.

What Jackal said. I had a similar issue as well with my Army Painter sprays and found spraying them closer worked much better. About 15 - 20cm away.

Of course try a test model first, check weather, shake well and all that as well.

I adjust my spray distance and time between passes according to the weather. If it's hot, spray closer with less time between passes, colder weather spray from further and more time between passes and make sure the can is warmed up so you get good atomisation.

If it's too hot, much above 80-85, then you might struggle to get it to work at all.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Usually graininess is the paint drying too fast, if it starts drying in the air and forming droplets before it hits the model, and then doesn't have sufficient time to self-level on the model's surface before it dries, you'll end up with graininess. You can also get orange peel, which can be if you apply too much paint and again it doesn't self level properly and you get a rough texture, but rather than a sand-like finish it's more of a wavy orange peely finish.

Adverse weather can cause it, if it's a very rough grain sometimes it can be because the weather is too hot.

It can also be spraying distance, try spraying from closer range in shorter bursts, this gives the paint less time to dry in the air. Avoid starting or stopping spraying while pointed directly at the model as the initial burst and final burst of some cans can be a bit spluttery. Start spraying to one side of the model, quickly move the can to pass over the model, once you're no longer pointing at the model, stop spraying.

Also make sure you shook it plenty good so the paint and solvent is properly mixed.

You can also try warming up the can before you spray, I'm trying to remember if being too cold can cause graininess specifically, maybe, I can't remember, lol. The can's pressure is temperature dependent, a cold can will have lower pressure so worse atomisation of the paint. You can use a bucket of warm water to warm the can. If I'm just spraying a small amount I'll just roll the can between my hands to warm it up against my body heat, but a bucket of warm water may work better

All of this is good advice, and accurate to my experience as well. The dusting is definitely the paint drying too soon before contacting the model. Spraying closer is the answer here, or waiting for a less hot day. When spraying that close though, you probably should use faster passes over the models/sprues.

The spraying away from your model(s) is also a very good practice, because it avoids several problems like over coverage and the bad mix stuff.

As to Army Painter - the Primer isn't bad, but after the Matte Sealer ruined my spouse's first Warboss and a few of my Guardsmen. We stay away from it now.

I highly recommend Armoury Primer. It covers very well and I've had little problems with it other than developing an allergy to it after 20 years of using it.

We've found a very good basic primer at Lowe's that's not bad on our minis. I don't recall the brand name, but we've had no complaints thus far.

Duplicolor sandable primer. Only available at auto stores like Autozone. It's what we in the South use because otherwise we'd not be able to spray prime 9+ months of the year. It comes in different colors so call around to find out what store has what in stock.

Not strictly in auto stores. I get mine at Meijer (a big box store like Wal-Mart). A retailer list can be found HERE.

AP primers should go on super-smooth. In my opinion, they are too smooth, though that can be a good thing, if you use a colored primer and then your first step after priming is to wash. As others have said, you hold the spray can much closer to the model than other primers -- there's a video on AP's website that demonstrates.

I'd suggest having a test model, or even a sprue, that you try first, before priming your real models if you're not sure if the environment plays is acceptable. Personally, my experience is that hot, humid days are killers for rattle can priming. It won't take long before you figure out what works and what doesn't.

If the conditions outside are not ideal for rattle cans, there's not much you can do. Instead of trying to fit a round peg into a square hole, I'd recommend either going with a brush-on solution, like black acrylic gesso, or getting a cheap airbrush to prime with. Both will actually come out cheaper than rattle cans anyhow -- gesso, right away, airbrush, by the time you paint your first 40k-sized army.

If the weather outside is crap, I get a decent sized fan, rest it in the window, get a decent sized box and cut a hole for the fan to make a shroud and spray in to that to exhaust it outside.

I say a decent sized fan because spray cans create an epic cloud of paint, far more than airbrushing, so airbrush stations are often insufficient to remove the cloud of fumes before it spreads in to your house.

I use a 35W fan and that seems to be sufficient if I have it running at full speed. It's also one of those fans with a shroud that helps direct airflow away.

When it comes to wargaming figures, I find spray on primers are typically the toughest. Even though I have an airbrush I often prime with rattle cans. When I am going to prime with an airbrush, I use a lacquer based primer. Lacquers have good bite when it comes to plastic models.

I just spray in the house.
Find a room that isn't used much, open the window if possible, spray and vacate the room.

 =Angel= wrote:
I just spray in the house.
Find a room that isn't used much, open the window if possible, spray and vacate the room.

I highly recommend not doing that I guess if you don't mind a layer of paint dust on everything in that room and can isolate the room from the rest of the house enough not to let fumes get everywhere else.

I spray through the ventilation fan and then take the model to a disused room to dry out properly while it's still outgassing (because generally when the weather is crap outside I don't want to be running the exhaust fan for longer than I have to so that the weather doesn't become crap inside )

Every time someone complains about Army Painter, it's always user error. Did you read the can? Did you spray it very close to the model, rather than 12 inches or more away? My bet is you didn't.

AP is a solid brand and one of the most reliable in terms humidity and solvent mixing issues. Their can and propellant pressure is terrible though and the fast drying formula means you need to spray it pretty closely and not too heavily so as to drown detail.

Had a story of some dude claiming AP melted his miniatures. Came back a few days later, and of course of course, it was his own mistake that caused the problem.

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. That's the very least ANYONE should do. That's some Darwin's Law level stuff there.

Where you priming in the middle of the day/ when it was really hot?

If so that is EXACTLY what you did wrong or well, what the miss hap was, i apologize you probably just did not know if this is the case.

Never prime when its really hot outside, what happens in the paint is drying before it hits the model, so you get a dusty look. Try priming in the morning or evening before the heat really gets to you, or in a garage.