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I searched this forum and others and I see that I am not the first person who has clogging issues with Vallejo primer (particularly black). It seems one of the consistent fixes is to increase air-pressure but I don't have that option as I have a tankless Tamiya compressor (max output 16psi, it seems). Should I thin the current primer? Get another brand of primer? Get a new compressor (is this pressure problem going to come up with other paints?), Thanks

What size airbrush are you using?

This from the FAQ on Vallejo's website..

7.4. What size nozzle should I use with your Surface Primer?

Our expert suggests a nozzle opening of 0.35 mm and with that no dilution is necessary


I use a .5 to spray Vallejo primer and have no real problems other than tip dry on longer sessions. I also spray around the 16psi mark.

I am using .3 mm

You could try thinning it down a bit. People say it doesn't need dilution but it clogs on me all the time if I don't dilute it.

Overall I'm one of those people who found Vallejo's primer more hassle than it was worth. These days I mostly prime with either rattle cans or Gunze's Mr Surfacer 1500 thinned with Gunze Self Levelling Thinner (which is a lacquer to take care to not inhale the fumes, ie. have good ventilation and a respirator).

I usually stick a couple of drops of thinner in with the primer, never had any problems with clogging.

Vallejo black PU primer clogged my airbrush once and I never used it after that. Also it peels off from the model and overall is the worst primer you can find. Go for Badger or Mr. Finishing Surfacer.

Walmart $.99 cent black spray paint is what I use. I used GW, Army Painter, Etc for years but its not worth it. For the cost its amazingly good. After I prime it I simply spray it with black or whatever other color I was going to use through my airbrush.

 Icelord wrote:
Walmart $.99 cent black spray paint is what I use. I used GW, Army Painter, Etc for years but its not worth it. For the cost its amazingly good. After I prime it I simply spray it with black or whatever other color I was going to use through my airbrush.

This!
Only thing that stops me doing this all the time is that spray cans are really demanding on weather conditions. Summer is way too hot, winter/spring is too humid and etc. etc.

 DalinCriid wrote:

 Icelord wrote:
Walmart $.99 cent black spray paint is what I use. I used GW, Army Painter, Etc for years but its not worth it. For the cost its amazingly good. After I prime it I simply spray it with black or whatever other color I was going to use through my airbrush.

This!
Only thing that stops me doing this all the time is that spray cans are really demanding on weather conditions. Summer is way too hot, winter/spring is too humid and etc. etc.

I have an attached garage which is always a nice temp so I am pretty lucky! Even if its really cold etc it works well for me.

I think airbrush primers suck. Slow, clogs sometimes. No thanks!

I used to swear by Vallejo primers. Used to...

I've never experienced the horrors that many others have reported with AV's PU primers, but I also tend to get busy/distracted/etc. and leave a primed model for a week or more before I touch it again. Insufficient cure time is, I can almost guarantee, the primary cause of most complaints about the stuff. There's a close second, though, and that's insufficient mixing. The stuff settles quickly and is slow to fully redistribute, but it rarely clumps, in my experience. That said, I definitely plan to try other, newer options that seem to behave much better, even if the AV PU is serviceable.

As for the spraying characteristics, I've had no issues shooting the stuff (have a big bottle of the grey, half used, and a dropper of the black, ~1/4 used) with a few different airbrushes. My .5mm is garbage, so I can't really comment on the spray pattern, but clogging was no issue, using either one neat at roughly 18-20PSI. My .35mm siphon did just fine with slight thinning, running similar pressures. With a tiny bit more thinning (I just throw in a seriously tiny bit of a bunch of stuff I have handy: water, Golden airbrush medium, Future/Klear equivalent, etc. - don't expect a recipe ), the .2mm SOTAR pushed it through well enough at <15PSI.

TLDR: Should you thin it? If it doesn't spray well now, give it a shot. Should you try another brand of primer? Of course, if you can afford it. It may or may not be better for you, but options are a good thing and technology is always improving. Do you need a new compressor? Unlikely. A more powerful (with or without tank) setup certainly couldn't hurt, but isn't likely a necessity to get good results. I'm no expert, but I've managed a wide range of tasks with a few different airbrushes and MANY different paints - none of them ever needed more than about 20PSI.

Definitively thin it.

Although it is not too bad straight out of the bottle, it has caused some problems for me in my .3 airbrush.
Primer, thinner medium, mix, never caused me trouble.

OJJ

I have a 0.7mm that I use for priming. With Vallejo primer though even with a 0,7 I'd occasionally get a gradual build up then suddenly a chunk will fly out and hit the model Every other paint goes through the 0.7mm like a dream, it's really good for just laying down quick heavy coats when you don't want to thin the hell out of the paint and build up layers gradually.

 Icelord wrote:

 DalinCriid wrote:

 Icelord wrote:
Walmart $.99 cent black spray paint is what I use. I used GW, Army Painter, Etc for years but its not worth it. For the cost its amazingly good. After I prime it I simply spray it with black or whatever other color I was going to use through my airbrush.

This!
Only thing that stops me doing this all the time is that spray cans are really demanding on weather conditions. Summer is way too hot, winter/spring is too humid and etc. etc.

I have an attached garage which is always a nice temp so I am pretty lucky! Even if its really cold etc it works well for me.

I think airbrush primers suck. Slow, clogs sometimes. No thanks!

Lacquer based primers are the only ones I like spraying though my airbrush. They don't clog and lay down really nicely.

I still use rattle cans for priming probably about 50% of the time because I'm usually too lazy to set up then clean out my airbrush I have a powerful fan in my airbrush booth, I just crank it up to full power with it exhausting out a window and use the rattle cans in my house. If you have a piddly little fan I do not recommend doing this because rattle cans create a significantly larger cloud of paint than an airbrush and thus need significantly more flow through the exhaust fan (and also rattle cans often have solvents you don't want to be breathing!)