35 replies to this topic

[Mengu]

Black vs white?

In the past I've primed a lot of black. Now I don't like it any more. Here is what I do:

I prime white. Then I take my black paint, water it down a little (1:1), and put it in all the cracks and crevices, as well as shadows. This allows a few benefits. when painting the place where say the cloak meets the armor, I can leave a very thin line of black, which gives a subtle blacklining effect. Secondly it does an auto shade for the shadows. Third, it "hides" blaces I can't reach easily with a brush making them black as the shadows (whereas if you miss a white spot in the shadows, it glares really bad). And Last but not least, I don't have to "fight" a black primer when trying to put thin coats of layers (which is what I like to do), regardless of whether I'm using bright, dull, pastel, or dark colors.

Of course for metallics you should put down a coat of black, before painting regardless of whether you are highlighting, or drybrushing. A variation I've seen is for gold, some people put a dark red undercoat. I have yet to try this.

On a final note, getting the primer evenly and smoothly on the mini is extremely important. If it looks like you have bumps, rough areas, or globs, you really shouldn't think it'll be okay when you paint it. It won't. Strip the primer, and start over. Saves you a lot of headache in the long run.

[lstormhammer]

Yes, Crip! I have done that.

a little O.D. for a base (especially thinned out a little) then drybrush copper over it. It makes great statues (or detail for Undead)

Listen to Crip, and do it now!

--And I've got the bat!

--lstormhammer

[Greentuft]

As of now, I've been using " Premium Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer."  Granted I don't plan on my miniatures getting rusted, but it drys fast and has never clumbed or filled in any of the details.  And, I tend to use white as I think it's easier to see the details of the figures with the lighter color.

[TKD]

OK, let's start more shop-talk:

Primers, my personal fav: Krylon White Spray Primer. It goes on thin, it drys amazingly quick, and from white, I can paint any color.

I use Rustoleum. Nice Primer, comes in Grey or White, and costs $2.27 at AC Moore.

Actually, I am tending to spray everything white. I went into "Grey Primer mode" for a while, but I am finding I am getting better results faster by white primering. Even my orcs, painted in Reaper Troll Flesh and a lot of blacks and greys (Anita metallic black, Appel Barrel black, and Anita Charcoal), were easier to do primered white than primered grey.

[lstormhammer]

OK, let's start more shop-talk:

Primers, my personal fav: Krylon White Spray Primer. It goes on thin, it drys amazingly quick, and from white, I can paint any color.

My only problem is the propellant in spray cans destroys styrofoam in spectacular fashion.

Citidel's tiny pot of 'Smelly Primer' (that's the name on it) takes too long, anyone got any brilliant ideas for large-coverage primers?

--the fumes are getting to me.

--lstormhammer

[Thrudd]

Another tip on styrofoam- Go to your local chain hobby place. NOT where you would get your mini-fix, I am talkin Michael's or Hobby Lobby, or whatever is in your locale...


Head over to the fake FLOWER section.  Yes, you heard me.  FLOWERS.  Look around in this section, and you will find Styrofoam safe spray paints. Really.  The daisy-sniffin, tree-huggers figgured out how to paint the fake flower stuff that is typically mounted in FOAM, without the foam dissolving into a goo.  

Point of note: the stuff does not cover well on much else, but it will do the same job as the pva trick, and dry a bit quicker.

[lstormhammer]

Actually, I've tried both the base black undercoat and the watered down shadowing with black paint, and both still look bad IMHO.

I'll spray white, and take out my Dork Glasses! (actually a magnifying visor) and my smallest brushes and go in there and paint the colors I need to in those crevises and the like.

If I'm painting something like a Pegasus (er, a Nightmare, they're cooler), then I'll start with a black base. But with the rare exception of 'painting a tank', it's white, then color from there.

--the fumes are getting to me.

--lstormhammer

[CripDyke]

I do white primer, sometimes with thinned black over it, sometimes not. I know that there are a lot of opinions on it & frankly the finished product depends on many things, including the brand of paint you're using, the number of times you're willing to go over the miniature with extra layers, etc. So depending on what paints are available in your local store & who taught you to paint, the best primer for you could be very different. I've also got good results with a light grey...

But, y'know, that's not even why i decided to chime in. I noticed someone talking about red under gold. I've used it & it does look better, but especially fabulous is olive drab as a base coat under copper! It leaves a realistic patina in the crevices & good copper color on the raised & flat surfaces. Do it! Do it now!

[lstormhammer]

Citidel's 8 bucks a can!?!?!

Fergit that!

I use Krylon White Spray Primer. It goes on very thin, so I can get maximum detail.

And it's only 4 bucks or so. Sometimes the Ace Hardware by my house has it on sale for even cheaper.

--3.14 cents worth.

--lstormhammer

[Boric G]

I must confess that I started off with Ral Partha's Grey primer (before their demise) and got hooked. †:p †:p †Neither the White nor the Black primers available have been entirely satisfactory (although Citadel's aren't bad, if you can pay the price).

White always seems too thin, or too overpowering for some color schemes. †Black has its place, but can also be hard to cover up, or can be overpowering itself. I've tried the Armory Grey, and have been utterly appalled by the results.

I'm almost out of my stash of RP Grey--one or two more figs at most. Anyone have any other ideas or suggestions for grey?

[Ranger Man]

The Rustoleum Premium Gray and Dark Gray are both excellent primers. The Dark Gray is good for the hard to paint places as well as tending to provide shading for color that go on a little thin.

[Aryanun]

I've used black with some success.

I've used brush-on white with limited success.

The spray-on white just looked like Christmas Tree flocking.  :(

I've mostly used a brush on, red-brown-rust colored primer by Polly S. I've had really good results from it. In fact I'm currently painting the Neferu (#2485) and started with Reaper Chestnut Brown on the skin. It works well in keeping the skin tone while my whites and blues that I've used (so far) are still bright.

I just can't seem to get the shading/washing thing down.

Also, if you look at the mini, underneath the skirt is a royal pain. Since it's under shadow I'm trying to use darker greys in that area, but.. *grumbles*

I think I need to move to another mini for now.  

[Froggy the Great]

I tend to  prime white, then wash black over the darker areas.  Dunno if that makes me devient or not.

[ladystorm]

We're using a brush on model railroad paint for primer.  It's "POLLY Scale" by Testor.  We use an "undercoat lt. grey" as a base coat.

Of course we use some spray primer in black and white as well.

I like the brush on.  It covers well, cleans up easy, and dries quick.  When we spray primer, we miss spots, the brush on is great for the touch up.

No clue on styrofoam with this product, it hasn't come up yet.

Neat tip on stirrers for the paint jars: McDonald's coffee stirrers.  Cheap, disposable, long handles, with a paddle to take out paint for blending/mixing.  We grab them by the handful when we hit McDs.

cbs

[lstormhammer]

In the FLOWER section?

Wow. Finally something to check out in that area....

Thanks for the tip.

-sniffin' glue.

--lstormhammer