Priming with airbrush?

[Ironheaded]

Look, I've gone with many many airbrushed primers over 10years.   Vallejo has become my favorite.

 

1.  It dries and cures into the recesses where other primers never did.   That shrinkage is awesome, expecially with the white Vallejo and grey Vallejo.

2.  It's ready to roll right out of the bottle, in Black, White, and Grey.

3.  Get hospital masks or filtered mask for any airbrush:  think safely.  If you wouldnt drink the paints, why would one thing breathing it would be safer?

 

Prep work:

1.  One must must wash the mini's before use.  Especially the resin ones.   Some dishsoap (like Dawn) that has a touch of anti-grease agent to lift off the release agent.   Old toothbrush is a must.   I use old sonic toothbrush and it's awesome and more fun.  Sonic not recommended on resins:  too violent.

2.  Primers must cure.   You are looking at a 12-24 drying time.   No seriously... the agents in the bottle that make them "primer" ... and/or Createx Bond-All additives need alot alot of time to dry up and become a solid.   Same for vanishes of any sort.    Anything less of this time, and a mini will not pass the fingernail scrape test.  One day to prep, and next day is painting.

3.  Full mixing in bottle.   Forget shaking.   Get a squizzle stick that one stirs coffee with.   Open the bottle, remove the eyedropper cap, and get in there and mix mix mix.   Break up the seperation stuff at the bottom.  Then one is ready to shake it up.  Most of my fails were weak-shaking, using up the liquid medium and not enough pigment.   It's also why primers seem to degrade over use:   I was using up the medium faster than the base pigments, and turning the whole primer thicker and thicker.  In the end, i was throwing out 1/5 of the bottle approx for unusability and lack of bonding.

 

Thinning:

Anyone try the Windex trick for thinning paints?  I love it.   I've gone thru many many thinning agents:   ether-based, Createx Medium, water, water+floor wax, distilled water, etc etc.   Best by far is Windex window cleaner.   Can even mix it 50/50 and not have running splats. 

 

Black Primer:

Sorry.. I hate it and I've always hated the "black primer cult" that GW started.   It just takes MORE paint and time to cover the black, and thus sells alot more paints for GW.   Sure sure... it gives a painter instant shadowing, if not painting into the recesses.  It's a speed trick that actually costs more in the long run.  I'd rather prime white or grey, then give the miniature a glaze of inks and define the shadows.

Here is a problem:  most black paints arent all black.  They are either purple or green, in deepest shades.   Only truest black one can get is India Ink.  What happens is that adding a mid-to-light color has a color shift.   Thus need MORE coats to counter the shift.   Now the paint is becoming a layer of icing on a cake, and not painted on.   Sometimes, black is what is needed.  However, I then come back with a black+grey+Windex mix and respray at 45 degree angle to regain the highlights and SEE my details that need painting.  I call it "dusting" the mini.   It also photographs better.

http://www.gotnurbs.com/ironheaded/ghazghkull.jpg

If I was a better photographer with a better camera.. I'd show you all my white primed + India Ink Glazed Space marine Chaplain figure.  That combo almost pre-highlights the figure naturally.   If I had used Vallejo Grey Primer, it would have been even better.

 

 

(( By the way.. white is a blue base due to the bleaching agents. Unbleached white paints are like "bleached bone" in tone.  That's why adding white to lighten browns is instant blue-ish mud... counter with pin-drop of orange ink.) 

 

If one has an airbrush, and alot of models to paint... yeah.   SPEED from airbrush priming, and maybe the basecoats for much of it.

[Ironheaded]

I had the same issue with vallejo grey primer.  I tried cleaning the models beforehand, different PSI's and thickness of coats, drying times of 24 hours to a week, varnishing after priming, a new bottle from a different seller, everything you could think of and it still came off with a very light scratch (fingernail test, like you did).

 

A whole lot of people swear by the stuff, but I haven't a clue how/why they don't have the same problem.  I had to switch to lacquer eventually, which is really serious stuff all things considered.

 

How about doing the primer.  Then a light coat of lacquer over it?   Your curing times of 24hours+ is perfect.

 

I really just want my primers on for a surface for paint to grab onto.  It doesnt have to be perfect coverage for me, but has to be even.   I'm used to scuffing off some of the high spots in general handling.   But in the end, I'd be painting then giving the figure a topcoat of varnish/lacquer/Dull Cote anyway?