Why?
- Well...Have you ever walked on a sheet of ice? Your feet are slipping on the ice because you don't have traction with the
ground...Friction isn't there to give you that traction. The ice is smooth...much like the surface of your model...whether that model is plastic or metal it is
pretty smooth.
- Priming your model first is like throwing salt or sand on
a sheet of ice. Primer gives a slightly rougher surface and helps the
paint adhere better. If you don't use primer then your paint has a much greater
chance of rubbing off at the slightest touch.
How?
- There are lots of different methods and colors you can
use that work effectively. These
break down into 2 main camps...Brush-on or Spray-on.
- Brush
on. Here you use a brush to apply your
primer. There are many different types of brush on primers
"specifically" formatted to be a primer and to stick to bare plastic/metal. They also help make a surface that is "rougher" than plain paint so your follow-on
coats will stick better to the model. It is easier to get it on too thick and clog
detail, but you can be more precise on where the paint goes and get better
coverage. Thinning the primer helps...but too much and you can run into trouble
and not get the benefits you are looking for. Can you use "regular", paint that
is not a specific primer as a primer? Yep, in fact that is what I do. A TRUE primer does make a better bond with the metal/plastic of the
model and a good surface for the paint to adhere. A regular paint adheres OK, and will survive normal handling once varnished and sealed.
- Spray on. This is where your airbrushes and spray cans fit. Airbrush offers more control than a spray can. You need good ventilation for the spray cans and special equipment for the airbrush. You also don't leave brush marks when you use a spray on primer. This is important if you want a smooth finish on vehicles where you have large flat areas where brush strokes cant hide. Both take a little more prep time than using the brush on method but require much less drying time. I use an airbrush for bulk priming...things like vehicles, infantry mounted as teams on a base, etc... This justifies the additional set up time in my mind.
-
Compromise. For my infantry that I base
individually for painting, I use a mix of the 2 methods. I brush on black Vallejo thinned to 1:2 (paint:water) and get good coverage...and then I blow off
the excess paint. This forces the paint into the deeper recesses of the
model. and leaves a nice thin coat of the paint on the model and acts as a
primer for the next coat. I came up
with this technique when I was watching a history of airbrushes somewhere and saw that the first airbrush was
some guy blowing paint off of a stick onto the canvas. This hit me at a time my airbrush was acting up and...VIOLA!
The rest is history. The first
ever posted video in the Painting Miniatures Declassified series is HERE
and it covers this priming technique.
- Colors. This is
a touchy subject and there are many diehards in 4 main camps supporting their favorite. The main color choices are basecoat, black, white, or grey. The key is what effect do you want
to acheive with the primer....do you want it to be your basecoat? Help in shading/shadows?
Make colors brighter?- Basecoat. Here, you use a color that will be your base coat and you shade/hi-lite from there. The benefit here is that you save a step in the painting process by combining your prime and basecoat. Slight downside in that your shadows/shades don't show up as well.
- Black. If you use black as your primer, your colors
appear darker and you have to build up additional layers of paint to get
that "brighter" color. This is
very helpful if you have shadows or deep folds that need to be darker. I tend
to use black primer for the vast majority of my work.
- White. A white background will make colors
brighter...it does tend to make it more difficult to create shadows and shades in
the folds/deeper sections of the model.
I will use white if the force will have brighter colors and where I need shade/shadows I will paint that
area black first and then build up colors from there.
- Grey. Not my favorite. Its in between black and white and, in my opinion, it doesn't have the benefits of both. Sort of like drinking luke warm water...bleh.
Experiment with the effects of the different primer
colors and methods. One great thing about our hobby is we ALWAYS have some extra
models lying around that we can play with and experiment on. Have fun and Happy Painting.
Again the link for the video on Priming : Priming Video
***********EDIT************
Based on a conversation in the WWPD Forums, I wanted to make it clear to the reader, especially new/inexperienced painters, that a TRUE primer, as I mentioned above, does make a stronger bond with the model and is preferable. I have been using regular paint as a "poor man's" substitute because I didn't like what was available to me at the the time when I came up with the "compromise method" of brush-on/blow off excess I described above and in the video (close to 10 years ago now) . The conversation in the WWPD forum got me to thinking about looking for a TRUE Primer that will fit my needs. It has been 10 years afterall.
What are "my" needs in a true primer...first and foremost is what I discussed above regarding the needs for a primer...something that bonds to the model and gives a base from which to build paint from (any TRUE primer will do this) but something that still gives me control and preserves detail. Finding a primer that I can use the "compromise method" of brush-on/blow off excess method should give me that. 10 years ago I didn't get that from spray can TRUE primers and the available brush-on TRUE primers were a pain. Not sure why I didn't see and try this earlier, but Vallejo makes primers, in different colors as well, in their handy-dandy-easy-to-use dropper bottles. Going to try these out and will give a report back.
As I say in almost every tutorial...EXPERIMENT and don't be afraid to try something new. Everything is has its costs and benefits. Its weighing what you get out of it to what you lose and the only way you know for sure is to experiment.
Again the link for the video on Priming : Priming Video
***********EDIT************
Based on a conversation in the WWPD Forums, I wanted to make it clear to the reader, especially new/inexperienced painters, that a TRUE primer, as I mentioned above, does make a stronger bond with the model and is preferable. I have been using regular paint as a "poor man's" substitute because I didn't like what was available to me at the the time when I came up with the "compromise method" of brush-on/blow off excess I described above and in the video (close to 10 years ago now) . The conversation in the WWPD forum got me to thinking about looking for a TRUE Primer that will fit my needs. It has been 10 years afterall.
What are "my" needs in a true primer...first and foremost is what I discussed above regarding the needs for a primer...something that bonds to the model and gives a base from which to build paint from (any TRUE primer will do this) but something that still gives me control and preserves detail. Finding a primer that I can use the "compromise method" of brush-on/blow off excess method should give me that. 10 years ago I didn't get that from spray can TRUE primers and the available brush-on TRUE primers were a pain. Not sure why I didn't see and try this earlier, but Vallejo makes primers, in different colors as well, in their handy-dandy-easy-to-use dropper bottles. Going to try these out and will give a report back.
As I say in almost every tutorial...EXPERIMENT and don't be afraid to try something new. Everything is has its costs and benefits. Its weighing what you get out of it to what you lose and the only way you know for sure is to experiment.
