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Hey guys!

Anyone got a white primer or white base solution they recommend? I've tried the army painter white primer and it felt super caked compared to the black primers i've used.

It made me really sad to see how thick it goes on, many i talk to say similar concerns with white primers.

Anyone got a tip for this?

I have very picky with my primers and have tried quite a few in my time. I also usually prefer to work with white. I haven't really tried primers outside of a hobby store as the few times I did I wasn't impressed at all. This makes me skeptical of players that speak of their virtue as them being fine with a thicker, or at very least inconsistent, primer coat. I could be wrong though.

I have only used Army Primer twice once with white and another time with some sort of army green. The white was horrible. It came out very grainy and in consistently, but that could have been due to it being very old and me not being very good at priming at that time. Still, I won't use Army Painter white and only use other colors in a pinch as it is too easy to go too heavy with it.

My favorite white primer is P3 which works pretty well for both plastic and metal. It has a different shaped nozzle to seems to help disperse the primer better. Although, it also seems to spray everywhere too using it up a little faster unless you do big batches. It can still have a slightly grainy texture sometimes, but a quick brushing usually takes care of that.

Perhaps a better white primer is Tamiya Color for plastics. As the names says I believe it only works for plastics (which may or may not be a problem). It provides an incredibly smooth, almost rubbery feeling coat. In fact, I find it too smooth as the primer doesn't have a very bite for painting sticking at least via brush. I don't think this would be as much of an issue with an airbrush used to paint, but of course, the you probably would use an airbrush primer. It is also fairly expensive when you take into consideration the smaller can size.

Citadel White Primer is pretty good, but really expensive. I heard it wasn't actually a primer but instead a kind of spray paint. I can't remember if I used it on metal, but I seem to remember it worked well on plastic. It was just too expensive for me to consider it as my general purpose primer.

Armory Primer (the ones with the Dork Tower toons on them) is one I haven't ever used white only gray and only for terrain as it works well enough for that, and I can get it cheaper than any other primer. I definitely wouldn't trust it for miniatures.

I am going to assume you are primer within appropriate temperatures, humidity and/or wind conditions. Something you can also try, but be very careful, is warming the primer with lukewarm water. Don't get it too warm or try this when it gets low on paint though or you might expand the gas inside forcing bottom to blow out. I haven't had this happen yet, but have had bulges.

I am don't think I am anywhere close to an expert on the subject. I still think I could do a better job with my priming.

I do have an airbrush, is there a primer paint i could use in it to prime my models white?

 Saturmorn Carvilli wrote:
I have very picky with my primers and have tried quite a few in my time. I also usually prefer to work with white. I haven't really tried primers outside of a hobby store as the few times I did I wasn't impressed at all. This makes me skeptical of players that speak of their virtue as them being fine with a thicker, or at very least inconsistent, primer coat. I could be wrong though.

I have only used Army Primer twice once with white and another time with some sort of army green. The white was horrible. It came out very grainy and in consistently, but that could have been due to it being very old and me not being very good at priming at that time. Still, I won't use Army Painter white and only use other colors in a pinch as it is too easy to go too heavy with it.

My favorite white primer is P3 which works pretty well for both plastic and metal. It has a different shaped nozzle to seems to help disperse the primer better. Although, it also seems to spray everywhere too using it up a little faster unless you do big batches. It can still have a slightly grainy texture sometimes, but a quick brushing usually takes care of that.

Perhaps a better white primer is Tamiya Color for plastics. As the names says I believe it only works for plastics (which may or may not be a problem). It provides an incredibly smooth, almost rubbery feeling coat. In fact, I find it too smooth as the primer doesn't have a very bite for painting sticking at least via brush. I don't think this would be as much of an issue with an airbrush used to paint, but of course, the you probably would use an airbrush primer. It is also fairly expensive when you take into consideration the smaller can size.

Citadel White Primer is pretty good, but really expensive. I heard it wasn't actually a primer but instead a kind of spray paint. I can't remember if I used it on metal, but I seem to remember it worked well on plastic. It was just too expensive for me to consider it as my general purpose primer.

Armory Primer (the ones with the Dork Tower toons on them) is one I haven't ever used white only gray and only for terrain as it works well enough for that, and I can get it cheaper than any other primer. I definitely wouldn't trust it for miniatures.

I am going to assume you are primer within appropriate temperatures, humidity and/or wind conditions. Something you can also try, but be very careful, is warming the primer with lukewarm water. Don't get it too warm or try this when it gets low on paint though or you might expand the gas inside forcing bottom to blow out. I haven't had this happen yet, but have had bulges.

I am don't think I am anywhere close to an expert on the subject. I still think I could do a better job with my priming.

Vallejo produces primers that are airbrush-usable. Just remember to shake them really well before you pour.

The polyurethane vallejo is also paint-on usable, and my prefered choice, though I have mixed results with it, likely a result of different drying times and knocking about on my paint desk. If you have a good mask and/or vents, I beleive allseeingskink swears by mr.surfacer from tayama, but its got a bit of a frightening fumes warning, so haven't tried it myself

White aerosols are problematic... period. Some are less so than others, but there's an inherent size issue with practical white pigments. For any given brand, I can pretty much guarantee that their black spray will go on thinner and smoother than their white, whether it be a 'true' primer, a spray enamel, etc. It's related to the reason that any white acrylic paint that goes on smooth likely has terrible opacity.

For best results, warm the can up before you spray by soaking it in hot (tap-hot, that is, not boiling - if you can't hold your hand in it, it's likely too hot) water, shaking intermittently. Having the entire contents (paint, solvent, and propellant) thoroughly (but not overly) warmed will give you the thinnest, smoothest coats you're liable to get with a given rattlecan.

If that's not good enough for you, it's time to look at alternative products. A number of inexpensive and readily available (hardware, home improvement, or automotive store) primers come in shades of grey that are light enough to give a similar effect to white, as an undercoat, while behaving more like black sprays. If pure white is needed, they aren't very hard to cover with sprayed or brushed white, which can be applied more thinly than it would be as a full priming coat.

Other options include Tamiya's aerosol primers, which have a stellar reputation, but are comparatively expensive/difficult to find in North America. White gesso is pretty easy to find at art/craft stores, shrinks as it dries (preserving detail), and takes paint well. Mr. Surfacer (part of the 'Mr. Hobby' line by Gunze Sangyo) is quality stuff, although it presents three potential pitfalls: 1) It's Japanese, so potentially hard to find/expensive to import; 2) It's best applied with an airbrush, if used as a primer; and 3) It comes in various grits/grades - some are meant to be fine fillers, others sandable filler-primers. Only the finest grades are suitable for regular priming tasks.