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Hi,

I have a Citadel Corax White Spray XL that I uses as undercoat to my minatures. The problem is that it is often creating a uneven surface, its not the color that is uneven but the surface itself.

Im painting indoors in my garage where it might be a bit cold from time to time but not minus. I do always shake the buttle well and I place 2 thin layers.

Any suggestions how I could get a more even surface?

I have notice that Vallejo Model Color White do also have a tendency to get uneven on the surface and this is always used indoor where its about 22 degrees Celsius.

Perhaps it's generally harder to get white color even?

Realize that the Citadel sprays are NOT primers, they are a spray paint. Primers are specially formulated to stick to a surface and provide a surface for successive layers of paint. While some paints can do a passable job as a primer, the best one still isn't as good as a regular primer. You'll always get better results painting over a primer.

If you are using a primer, it's important to cover the entire model with a THIN coat. It doesn't have to be thick. I spray a primer about 12" away from the model, sweep back and forth, in short bursts. Every brand also has subtly different directions. Read and heed!

Have you watched this video by Duncan on Citadel Sprays?

Do you have any pictures? I'm thinking you might just be spraying too much. Do a really, really light coat, and then paint a layer of white over it. The spray should be an undercoat/base coat. You still have to paint a couple layers over it.

Thanks,

Im am not following, in the vide he sais that undercoat is the initiale to paint a minature and that it is a primer that lets the paint grip on the the minature. And from what I understand the Citadel Spray Corax White is replace of the Citadel Skull White? But according to you this is not a primer, instead I need to buy a real primer and then use the undercoat on this primer? So the the real initiale step is really to paint with a special primer?

I dont have any minatures right now with just the Citadel Spray Corax White on but the surface is semthing like this :

The honest answer, is that GW sprays are overpriced crap. If you don't have an airbrush, Krylon is my favorite primer in both black and white.

 Todosi wrote:
The honest answer, is that GW sprays are overpriced crap. If you don't have an airbrush, Krylon is my favorite primer in both black and white.

Yep, never had a problem with Krylon or Army Painter primers. No offense meant to anyone, but I can't imagine why people pay such a premium for GW's hobby supplies. Even their standard paint pots!

Rust-oleum user here. Their black primer is much more even on my minis than the GW paint is, and its about $3 a can

I've had good success with Kryon undercoats for white / black, and excellent results from Duplicolor auto primer (~$10 bux a can).

If the finish comes out pebbly, you can scrape (x-acto), or grind it back down with sanding sticks and/or a needle file in the problem areas.

Spector wrote:
Thanks,

Im am not following, in the vide he sais that undercoat is the initiale to paint a minature and that it is a primer that lets the paint grip on the the minature. And from what I understand the Citadel Spray Corax White is replace of the Citadel Skull White? But according to you this is not a primer, instead I need to buy a real primer and then use the undercoat on this primer? So the the real initiale step is really to paint with a special primer?

I dont have any minatures right now with just the Citadel Spray Corax White on but the surface is semthing like this :

As others have said, the GW spray is overpriced garbage. Kryon or duplicolor auto primer are just about the best for priming models. I personally like Privateer Press P3, but I've been told it's just re-branded Duplicolor. GW can't even call it a primer because it's just spray paint. Duncan was using the old spray which actually was a primer, but the new stuff is just spray paint.

Looking at your pictures, I'd say you are spraying when it's too humid or too hot. That's what causes the bumps. The spray is absorbing a bunch of moisture as it goes through the air and lands on the model. The can should have directions on what temperature range and humidity you should spray at. The thickness is because you are spraying too close to the model. You want 12"-16" between the nozzle of the can and the model you are spraying. One thin layer that barely covers the model is much, much better then several thick layers that obscure details.

I never had any problem with GW's Skull White as a primer though I haven't used Corax White. GW sprays used to be my go to primer before I got an airbrush, these days I use Tamiya rattle can primer when I'm feeling lazy and want a rattle can solution or Gunze's non-rattle can when I want to airbrush it.

Whether or not something is called primer is largely immaterial. The question is how well it bonds to the plastic and how well paints stick to it, if both of those things are achieved then it can function as a primer regardless of whether it's called primer or not. Indeed many things that are called primer may not function as well as primers as things that aren't. It just comes down to what solvents are used in the paint to determine how well it bites and what surface energy it has when it dries.

Using GW primer I would typically get graininess if I sprayed on a day that was excessively hot, droplets drying in the air caused the graininess, to overcome it I'd try and spray from a shorter distance and at cooler times of day (morning for example) though if humidity is a problem you might try and spray at less humid times of day.