Spray Primer
John Hwang
Rec.Models.Scale
I just ran out of Citadel Black primer, and am looking into alternatives, along
with another fellow who's been having trouble getting a smooth coat.
With Krylon, he's getting a rough surface, no matter how he sprays it, tho
"mists" seem to give the best result. Is he doing something wrong?
So I got a can of Rustoleum "fast drying" automotive primer, as a trial, and it
was fine for a metal mini, but I got a rough finish on a plastic mini.
Comments anyone?
--- John Hwang "JohnHw...@cs.com.no.com"
\-|-/
| A.K.D. F.E.M.C.
| Horned Blood Cross Terror LED Speed Jagd Destiny
Richard Lobinske
>"mists" seem to give the best result. Is he doing something wrong?
Light mists work best, these primers tend to be very flat finishes, if you are
used to a fairly smoother primer, this may cause some confusion. I have not
had an overy rough surface before with the Krylon primer.
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Nothing before coffee
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Erik Setzer
wrote:
>Question on this, has also come up on Rec.Arts.Anime.Models and
>Rec.Models.Scale
>
>I just ran out of Citadel Black primer, and am looking into alternatives, along
>with another fellow who's been having trouble getting a smooth coat.
>
>With Krylon, he's getting a rough surface, no matter how he sprays it, tho
>"mists" seem to give the best result. Is he doing something wrong?
>
>So I got a can of Rustoleum "fast drying" automotive primer, as a trial, and it
>was fine for a metal mini, but I got a rough finish on a plastic mini.
>
>Comments anyone?
I don't like Krylon paint, but their Crystal Clear gloss finish is
pretty good if you spray it light. Watch out for moisture in the air,
or cold temperatures. Seems to mess with Krylon, or any paint,
really. Buuuuuut..... Krylon has a new Ultra-Flat Camoflage spray
paint line out that works well on metal and plastics.
The Rustoleum works for me, but I have to admit I haven't tried it yet
on plastics (except vehicles; it worked fine on them).
Testors will work great on anything. Floquil seemed to have gone down
in quality when I last bought it (but Floquil had just been acquired
by someone else, IIRC).
Any of these should be sprayed in a dry room, moderate temperatures,
and applied in light coats (which means you'll need to spray 2-3
times). Hold the can about 10-12 inches from the model you're
spraying. Do all this, and you should be fine. If it still messes
up, chances are the paint you bought is bad.
Warning: Don't always judge paints on one can. There *are* times
when you'll get a bad can of paint. I've had this happen sometimes
with paint bought at hobby stores. Just like the bottles of dried-out
GW paints you find sometimes.
-Erik
Myrmidon
johnhw...@cs.com.no.com, John Hwang shouted out the following words
of wit...
> Question on this, has also come up on Rec.Arts.Anime.Models and
> Rec.Models.Scale
>
> I just ran out of Citadel Black primer, and am looking into alternatives, along
> with another fellow who's been having trouble getting a smooth coat.
>
> With Krylon, he's getting a rough surface, no matter how he sprays it, tho
> "mists" seem to give the best result. Is he doing something wrong?
>
plastic stuff - with a degreaser (like 'Dawn' dish soap or 'Clorox
Household Cleaner') to get mold release and oils from your fingers off
the plastics. These sorts of films on the plastic can cause the 'orange
peel' effect to some degree.
Second - temperature does indeed make a difference in how smooth a
primer will dry on a mini - heat tends to speed up rates of reactions in
chemical processes which means a warm mini will tend to dry faster and
smoother as the acetone (which tends to cause the orange peel or rough
surface) is removed from the surface of the mini faster. When primering
while it's cold - I tend to heat the plastic with a hair dryer, while
letting the paint can soak in a bath of warm water. Shake the can, warm
the plastic to be painted, take it all out into the garage (or wherever)
to be painted, and bring it all right back in to let the paint dry where
it's warm. Tell him to try warming his plastics before painting to see
if that improves the smoothness of the coat.
Third - always test on a piece of plastic sprue BEFORE going on to
the good plastic models. I live by this rule and have yet to be
'fooled' by a can of paint that caused something to 'orange peel' after
doing ok on the test sprue if it was from the same plastics as I was
about to paint.
Four - always do light 'misting' coats on a mini. The thinner
(generally acetone IIRC) will take a lot longer to dry on the surface of
the mini when done in heavy coats which means it has a lot more of a
chance to melt the surface on a plastic mini.
I use all of these methods as it were to primer my minis due to
the fact that different batches of the same model plastic may have a
slightly different chemical make up, just as the amount of thinner
(which is what causes the orange peeling - or the thinner reacting with
mold release, etc.) varies from one can of primer to the next.
Tell your friend to warm his primer, and to warm some clean
plastic sprue and do a couple of light misting coats on it to see if
resolves his 'rough texture' surface problem. Also suggest he try that
with more than one kind of primer to see if he can find one with a lower
thinner content.
> So I got a can of Rustoleum "fast drying" automotive primer, as a trial, and it
> was fine for a metal mini, but I got a rough finish on a plastic mini.
>
Automotive primer tends to have a higher concentration of thinner
from what I have seen, so it isn't a surprise that the metal mini faired
ok, but the plastic one not so well. I use "Premium Decor"
interior/exterior Decorative enamel (It's by Krylon I think..) It's
the sort of stuff people use to paint household items like small
shelves, etc. I get it at the local 'True Value' Hardware store, but
I'd bet you can find it or and equivalent just about anywhere in the
States. I use the PDS-6 Flat Black. I use the flat colors as they tend
to have less thinner than the gloss colors and better meet my primering
needs.
Hope that helps,
Myrmidon
--
"Conan, what is best in life?"
"To paint your miniatures, to see them driven before you on the table,
and to hear the lamentation of the cheese-mongers!"
- Del Webb
RGMW FAQ: http://www.rgmw.org
Or...
Tahrik Mili
undercoating. It usually gave good results if you sprayed it from the right
distance, but if you misjudged the distance you ended up with either an
overcoated model or a model with an ugly grainy finish. Its qualities such
as color and adhesiveness etc. are OK, but it's not very forgiving..
Regards,
Mil
John Hwang
>johnhw...@cs.com.no.com, John Hwang shouted out the following words
>of wit...
>> Question on this, has also come up on Rec.Arts.Anime.Models and
>> Rec.Models.Scale
>>
>> I just ran out of Citadel Black primer, and am looking into alternatives,
>>along with another fellow who's been having trouble getting a smooth coat.
>>
>> With Krylon, he's getting a rough surface, no matter how he sprays it, tho
>> "mists" seem to give the best result. Is he doing something wrong?
>>
> First off he needs to make sure he's washing his minis - esp. the
>plastic stuff - with a degreaser (like 'Dawn' dish soap or 'Clorox
>Household Cleaner') to get mold release and oils from your fingers off
>the plastics. These sorts of films on the plastic can cause the 'orange
>peel' effect to some degree.
He knows about the washing.
> Second - temperature does indeed make a difference in how smooth a
>primer will dry on a mini - heat tends to speed up rates of reactions in
>chemical processes which means a warm mini will tend to dry faster and
>smoother as the acetone (which tends to cause the orange peel or rough
>surface) is removed from the surface of the mini faster. When primering
>while it's cold - I tend to heat the plastic with a hair dryer, while
>letting the paint can soak in a bath of warm water. Shake the can, warm
>the plastic to be painted, take it all out into the garage (or wherever)
>to be painted, and bring it all right back in to let the paint dry where
>it's warm. Tell him to try warming his plastics before painting to see
>if that improves the smoothness of the coat.
He lives in the desert. I think it's actually "hot" where he lives.
> Third - always test on a piece of plastic sprue BEFORE going on to
>the good plastic models. I live by this rule and have yet to be
>'fooled' by a can of paint that caused something to 'orange peel' after
>doing ok on the test sprue if it was from the same plastics as I was
>about to paint.
Yes, yes. :)
> Four - always do light 'misting' coats on a mini. The thinner
>(generally acetone IIRC) will take a lot longer to dry on the surface of
>the mini when done in heavy coats which means it has a lot more of a
>chance to melt the surface on a plastic mini.
Hmm...
> I use all of these methods as it were to primer my minis due to
>the fact that different batches of the same model plastic may have a
>slightly different chemical make up, just as the amount of thinner
>(which is what causes the orange peeling - or the thinner reacting with
>mold release, etc.) varies from one can of primer to the next.
Hmm...
> Tell your friend to warm his primer, and to warm some clean
>plastic sprue and do a couple of light misting coats on it to see if
>resolves his 'rough texture' surface problem. Also suggest he try that
>with more than one kind of primer to see if he can find one with a lower
>thinner content.
I've recommended GW primer, as that's been just fine for my plastics.
>> So I got a can of Rustoleum "fast drying" automotive primer, as a trial,
>>and it was fine for a metal mini, but I got a rough finish on a plastic
mini.
>
> Automotive primer tends to have a higher concentration of thinner
>from what I have seen, so it isn't a surprise that the metal mini faired
>ok, but the plastic one not so well.
Ah-ha!
>I use "Premium Decor"
>interior/exterior Decorative enamel (It's by Krylon I think..) It's
>the sort of stuff people use to paint household items like small
>shelves, etc. I get it at the local 'True Value' Hardware store, but
>I'd bet you can find it or and equivalent just about anywhere in the
>States. I use the PDS-6 Flat Black. I use the flat colors as they tend
>to have less thinner than the gloss colors and better meet my primering
>needs.
>
>Hope that helps,
It does, thanks!
smithdoerr
"John Hwang" <johnhw...@cs.com.no.com> wrote in message
news:20020413134218...@mb-fa.news.cs.com...
> Myrmidon Im...@home.com wrote:
> >johnhw...@cs.com.no.com, John Hwang shouted out the following words
> >of wit...
> >> Question on this, has also come up on Rec.Arts.Anime.Models and
> >> Rec.Models.Scale
> >>
> >> I just ran out of Citadel Black primer, and am looking into
alternatives,
> >>along with another fellow who's been having trouble getting a smooth
coat.
> >>
> >> With Krylon, he's getting a rough surface, no matter how he sprays it,
tho
> >> "mists" seem to give the best result. Is he doing something wrong?
<snip>
> > Second - temperature does indeed make a difference in how smooth a
> >primer will dry on a mini - heat tends to speed up rates of reactions in
> >chemical processes which means a warm mini will tend to dry faster and
> >smoother as the acetone (which tends to cause the orange peel or rough
> >surface) is removed from the surface of the mini faster. When primering
> >while it's cold - I tend to heat the plastic with a hair dryer, while
> >letting the paint can soak in a bath of warm water. Shake the can, warm
> >the plastic to be painted, take it all out into the garage (or wherever)
> >to be painted, and bring it all right back in to let the paint dry where
> >it's warm. Tell him to try warming his plastics before painting to see
> >if that improves the smoothness of the coat.
>
> He lives in the desert. I think it's actually "hot" where he lives.
What desert does he live in? I used to live in the Sonora Desert and
occasionally had problems due to low humidity (temperature didn't seem to
matter). The primer would dry before hitting the mini resulting in a rough,
chalky texture, especially if there was any kind of breeze. Making very
quick passes with the primer at about 6" worked best.
--
-smithdoerr