Questions About Brush On Primer

[The Praetorian of Inwit]

Hi B&C.

 

I am looking to start priming my Imperial Fists. I will be doing brush on priming so I am looking for advice on;

 

a) what brushes to use 

b) what brush on primer to use that will work well with Imperial Fist Contrast

c) any potential issues I should be aware of

 

Any help is appreciated. 

Edited November 7, 2023 by The Praetorian of Inwit

[LameBeard]

So I am not the expert, but here’s a few thoughts.

 

Imperial Fist contrast is likely designed to go over wraithbone spray (rattlecan). So you are looking for something that is ideally:

warm off-white in colour

smoother than an ordinary primer

 

i think smoothness here is the priority. If you wanted you could start with lilac or pink primer then highlight up to white before the yellow contrast. Or get away with a cooler off-white.

 

I once tried Army Painter brush-on primer, a sort of light beige. I didn’t think it was anything special. I  preferred my Vallejo primers. Although they are intended for Airbrush (and are amazingly smooth when they go through it), I think a decent result can be achieved with the ordinary brush; it may just be worth “two thin coats” to avoid brush marks as much as possible.  They also come in many possible colours. I have a Bad Moon ork that is waiting for the treatment …

 

You might find synthetic brushes are just as good as sable for this purpose. I can’t really give much advice except avoid anything too small (one long brush stroke is smoother than many small strokes) or so cheap the bristles fall out.

Edited November 7, 2023 by LameBeard
Clarity

[Firedrake Cordova]

In terms of colour, the Mecha Colour Ivory would probably be a good match, and is available in 17ml and 60ml bottles. I've found Vallejo's Polyurethane Surface Primer range can be a bit variable in terms of consistency - the black applies via brush very easily, whereas the grey was rather watery and was a bit difficult to ensure it stayed on the raised areas - although I can't remember how the ivory is, as I use an airbrush now.

 

For brushes, you probably want a large synthetic brush - something around a size 6 or 8 will give you the ability to cover large areas quite quickly whilst also retaining a reasonable degree of control, have a large enough "belly" to hold a reasonable amount of paint, and won't break the bank ("cheap sable" isn't really a thing any more).

[Grotsmasha]

I have brushed on both Grey Seer and Wraithbone as primers. The only thing I solidly recommend is too make absolutely sure they are set and dry before proceding with Contrast. I've found I can't paint over them a quick as I can with the sprayed on versions of the same colour.

As already recommended, smooth coats to assist the Contrast in doing it's best work.

However, I've slap/chopped (which includes drybrushing, which isn't neccesarily a smooth finish) with both Imperial Fist and Iyanden Yellow with great results too.

For brushes, my go-to for Base coating (priming in this instance), and Contrast is Citadel's Shade brush, holds a decent volume, whilst maintaining somewhat of a point assisting accuracy.

[WrathOfTheLion]

The shade brush is my favorite for base coating as well. It works surprisingly well for that task. It's the main brush I get from citadel/gw.

[Grotsmasha]

35 minutes ago, WrathOfTheLion said:

The shade brush is my favorite for base coating as well. It works surprisingly well for that task. It's the main brush I get from citadel/gw.

Agree, the Shade and M Layer are my work horses

[The Praetorian of Inwit]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'll take it all on board. I hope to start in a few days!

[Imren]

If you're going to use the GW rattlecan for base coating before contrast paint, then I suggest you brush on a dark primer. If you're painting fists then I suggest this one as a beush on primer:

 

https://acrylicosvallejo.com/en/product/hobby/primers-en/german-red-brown-70605/

 

After brushing on that primer you go over with your GW rattle cans (wraithbone?) as a zenithal highlight and the red brown primer will give you a beautiful shading of the yellow contrast layer.