Yes a question!!
Going to use enamels for brush painting, first time
Do you need a primer??
Going to use enamels for brush painting, first time
Do you need a primer??
Primer for enamels?
- Thread starter BattleshipBob
- Start date
G
Not necessarily 
I’ve painted tons of models with enamels without ever having heard of primer.
I’ve painted tons of models with enamels without ever having heard of primer.
Appreciated Jakko, will practice first with thinning ratios
Same as Jakko.... At least in my youf...... Never once had the paint come off and of never heard of the primer either.....
Personally I prime everything. It shows up flaws and bad joints so you can sort them out before the top coat goes on. It’s not essential, but it’s useful.
Stynylrez primer every time. As Tim says it shows up any flaws which may need work before the top coat. Also if you have filler, pe, resin etc it unifies the surface.
Jim
Jim
G
That’s what I was reminiscing about too
Humbrol straight from the tin to the model.
Do you need a dedicated primer ??
If it helps any, my go to primer is usually Halfords plastic primer or tamiya's own primer
Indeed..... And even more I still have nightmares about how badly I did..... My Sherman in particular..:fearful::fearful::unamused::unamused:
During lockdown I made my first model since the late 1970s and that's exactly what I did. I didn't realise there was now an alternativeThat’s what I was reminiscing about too
Not for paint adhesion but what about seams and build flaws?
If you don’t use water based acrylics the main reason for primer is to highlight build flaws, then it might be to create a uniform canvas and, finally perhaps for preshading.
Identifying and dealing with seams and build flaws being the most important reason overall.
You don’t need a dedicated primer Bob. Any primer will do it’s job as long as it’s properly dry before you add the top coat.
G
In the true sense a primer is self explanatory it gives a surface for subsequent coats of paint something to adhere to.
Any one who has painted say a door frame or the like with out a primer will fail to get a decent finish to the final coat .MDF is a perfect example, any edge needs to be completely sealed other wise it will continue to absorb the finish .
Why do some people not use it I'll never know. Maybe if you don't handle the item fair enought.
Why spend hrs doing subsequent coats of paint, washes , varnishes and not use a primer ?
Any one who has painted say a door frame or the like with out a primer will fail to get a decent finish to the final coat .MDF is a perfect example, any edge needs to be completely sealed other wise it will continue to absorb the finish .
Why do some people not use it I'll never know. Maybe if you don't handle the item fair enought.
Why spend hrs doing subsequent coats of paint, washes , varnishes and not use a primer ?
I've been brush painting with enamels for years and I hardly ever use a primer. The exceptions are where there are -
different colours of plastic, such as the original Matchbox kits or when you've done a conversion using parts from different kits
contrasts between the plastic and the final colour, such as dark green over white plastic or pale blue over black plastic
large areas of patching & filling
In those cases I use a primer, but I don't use a proper primer, just whatever kind of pale- to - medium matt grey is convenient
This evens out colours and textures, and shows any uneven-ness, scratches, and so on
I often give the primer coat a very light sanding
If I don't use a primer the first colour usually needs two coats to cover properly, so you could say that it acts as its own primer .... or is that an undercoat?
Red, yellow, and pale blue paints are translucent, so you should paint those over a base coat of white anyway
I've found out all this from my existing enamel paints; various makes, but all quite old, and quite dense and cover well
But I've heard that modern enamels have been reformulated and are not as good, so perhaps you should use a primer more often - can anyone else comment?
different colours of plastic, such as the original Matchbox kits or when you've done a conversion using parts from different kits
contrasts between the plastic and the final colour, such as dark green over white plastic or pale blue over black plastic
large areas of patching & filling
In those cases I use a primer, but I don't use a proper primer, just whatever kind of pale- to - medium matt grey is convenient
This evens out colours and textures, and shows any uneven-ness, scratches, and so on
I often give the primer coat a very light sanding
If I don't use a primer the first colour usually needs two coats to cover properly, so you could say that it acts as its own primer .... or is that an undercoat?
Red, yellow, and pale blue paints are translucent, so you should paint those over a base coat of white anyway
I've found out all this from my existing enamel paints; various makes, but all quite old, and quite dense and cover well
But I've heard that modern enamels have been reformulated and are not as good, so perhaps you should use a primer more often - can anyone else comment?
G
Hi Zuludog
I would say thai is an undercoat when you use a second coat .
Paint provides the colour hiding, sheen, scrub resistance and protection against the elements. Primers seal the substrate, help provide uniform coverage, provide adhesion (between the substrate or wall and the paint) and block stains. In other words, a primer prepares the wall you are about to paint.
This applies to walls etc but it's the same principal with any painting
Take a canvas, you would use a heavy coat of artists gesso.
It appears some people don't and happily carry on, others like me always use a primer, most likely because I spent many years in the building and joinery trade .
At the end of the day each to their own .
I would say thai is an undercoat when you use a second coat .
Paint provides the colour hiding, sheen, scrub resistance and protection against the elements. Primers seal the substrate, help provide uniform coverage, provide adhesion (between the substrate or wall and the paint) and block stains. In other words, a primer prepares the wall you are about to paint.
This applies to walls etc but it's the same principal with any painting
Take a canvas, you would use a heavy coat of artists gesso.
It appears some people don't and happily carry on, others like me always use a primer, most likely because I spent many years in the building and joinery trade .
At the end of the day each to their own .
Thank you all for the sound advice, primer it is lol
Bob
Bob
G
If the paint adheres well enough by itself, I don’t see a need for primer. All enamels I’ve ever used don’t need it on plastic, and neither do Tamiya and Mr. Hobby acrylics — you need to put in a fair amount of effort for any of these to rub off. Water-based acrylics typically adhere less well, and most model paint applied to resin or metal benefits from a primer too, though.
I’ve got hundreds of hard plastic wargames figures painted primarily with Tamiya acrylics, none of which I primed and all of which still have a perfectly fine coat of paint on them despite having been chucked together into a box for transport lots of times. Do that with metal figures, though, even with primer, and you’ll soon have bare spots showing through.
Nothing to do with the paint though is it Jakko. That’s due to the comparative weights of the figures. If you carry metal figures loose in a box the energy produced by the impacts would remove any paint you care to name.
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