Stynylrez equivalents in the U.K.

[Axineton]

So I’ve been using Vallejo black primer with my airbrush but the 24hr curing time is killing my mojo for painting. I’ve heard of stynylrez (think that’s the spelling) and heard only good things and it dries in minutes. But it looks like it’s like rocking horse doo doo to find in the U.K. in a decent quantity or price. Is there another decent airbrush primer that dries quickly in the U.K. that is worth picking up or am I stuck with the 24hr option or the fork out a kidney option for stynylrez?

[Evil Eye]

If you're airbrush priming (I assume you are) I'd recommend using Mr. Surfacer instead. They do it in grey, white, black (and uh, mahogany) and it's very easy to use- with a bit of their Mr. Levelling Thinner it basically becomes "Easy Mode". It is lacquer based though so don't breathe it in!

[Arkhanist]

So I’ve been using Vallejo black primer with my airbrush but the 24hr curing time is killing my mojo for painting. I’ve heard of stynylrez (think that’s the spelling) and heard only good things and it dries in minutes. But it looks like it’s like rocking horse doo doo to find in the U.K. in a decent quantity or price. Is there another decent airbrush primer that dries quickly in the U.K. that is worth picking up or am I stuck with the 24hr option or the fork out a kidney option for stynylrez?

 

You can get stynylrez in the UK fairly easily - and it's definitely a big improvement over vallejo IMO. Substantially less clogging, and can be sanded far easier. You can paint over it in 10 mins no problem, less with a heat source; and sand it after 20-30 minutes. It doesn't reach full strength for 24-48 hours though (it continues to harden fine if painted over) so bear that in mind if say, doing chipping fluid + scraping. And no airbrush primer is quite as tough as car body primer (halfords et al) as they don't have the same etching solvents that you can't (or shouldn't) spray inside, but I've been really happy with the flexibility and finish of airbrushing stynylrez.

 

 I can also recommend the white, it's the best airbrush white I have hands down, not just for priming. Gloss black is good as a primer for metallics, and grey is my go to primer for most projects, though I do use black for dark minis.

 

Barwell bodyworks are an official badger distributor; I've bought off them a few times now for parts too; Steve was very helpful when I borked one paypal order (echeque instead of card). 60ml bottles are £4.50, and 120ml for £8 - cheaper than vallejo primer!

 

scalemodelshop are an alternative seller at a slightly higher price, but slightly cheaper shipping - useful if you need non-badger stuff too, as they sell a bunch of brands and they've been fine for the handful of orders I've done.

 

Last option I've seen (I've ordered from them fine, but not this) is emodels - their 'ultimate' primer is literally relabelled stynylrez, it's the same paint in a different bottle, but smaller colour range. Handy if the other two are out of stock, but I've not needed to so far.

 

Mr Surfacer does have a very good reputation, but I've not tried it as I'm not going to spray a lacquer paint in my living room! (not least as I have young children)

[Axineton]

Only place I could get it was barwells after a long old search mate managed to get 2x 60ml bottles. The other two shops I think are out of stock.

 

Cheers for your help peeps. Are we really only limited to a few airbrush primers then or are there some that I have no clue about?

[Bung]

You can look for MIG One Shot Primer. Its rebranded Stynylrez Primer.

[Arkhanist]

Airbrush primers are a bit of a niche product, as airbrush users are a niche market (though growing). It's also a hard chemistry problem, as you need to both grip to the plastic, and provide a smooth visual finish filling in minor scratches, and yet have enough tooth for subsequent layers to grip.

 

Polyurethane primers solve the latter two problems, but tend to fall down on the first - which is why they need ages to dry, and also tend to peel off when sanded.

 

Rattlecans solve the first problem with included solvent(s) that microetch the plastic surface, giving the primer something to grip to, not an option available to non-toxic airbrush primers for use indoors - you know the stink from rattle cans. They can also be used to primer a whole ton of other things, which is why rattle can primers are far more widely available, from car repairs to craft projects to modelling specific ones such as GW or Army Painter. You can get spraygun primers designed for spraying real cars, but they're designed for much bigger nozzles and use with proper safety equipment in a vented environment.

 

Lacquer-based primers, such as Mr Surfacer are another approach, but again are more toxic than a water-based primer though less so than the industrial-scale spray primers. If you have a garage and an organic-solvent mask, then that's an option.

 

The water-based primers I know of:

Mig

Mig one-shot

AK interactive

vallejo

stynylrez

 

Mig primer does work, but you need to do multiple thin layers, and let it fully dry between each layer. Does peel off if sanded - very similar to vallejo apparently.

Mig one-shot is rebranded stynlrez, but limited colours.

AK uses IPA, but also scratches off very easily.

Vallejo you know. Very nice finish, but long dry time, cloggy, and not very strong grip unless used in multiple thin layers fully dried between each.

and stylnylrez is the new kid on the block. Gives a great finish, easy to spray, dries quickly, and sticks much better to plastic, so sands properly. It isn't as strong as car body primer (that stuff survives paint strippers!) but I've found it easily strong enough for normal use.

 

Xmas week probably isn't the best week for stock levels, to be honest - I've not found stynylrez to be hard to get the rest of the year. It is a US import, compared to vallejo from the EU. If we end up with crash-out Brexit in March I think both will be harder to get and more expensive, but then again lack of stock of primer is likely to be small potatoes when it comes to shortages.

[Axineton]

My order from barwell came today and had a quick go while I had time with this new primer. Wow it’s brilliant! Doesn’t lay on to thick and it does indeed dry in about 10 mins! This should speed me up a bit!

 

Cheers guys for the recommendations