Questions regarding the uses of coloured Primers and Satin Varnishes:

Personally i use Panzer Gray as my primer . I like a dark color for primer because it shows up imperfections better than a lighter color . Think about painting a car black versus white . The black is going to show every ripple where as they wont show up as well in white .Thats probably why Bill uses a dark brown .

As far as satin it might be better than a flat . For me a flat paint causes a rough surface and has to be glossed over anyway for decals . So a satin could make a smoother surface . I agree with using a gloss coat for a base before decals . I use Future now ..dont know what you call it over there .

Thats about all i can offer Ben . See you back at the Cats .

I've found that if the main color is going to be dark yellow or a green other than drab then a dark primer like brown or a hull red will give you a warmer tone if you airbrush and build up thin layers of the base color also you can add some liq. mask to some spots that will show a lot of wear then after the base coat is on rub it off to show the primer under it. I seen a Stug B. that was primed with german grey then liq. mask applied using a sponge to make scratches and larger areas of wear then very thin dark yellow painted over and rubbed off to show the factory german grey under

Ben,

Carl's right...the choice of primer color is influenced by 2 factors mainly. The first is what you're using the primer for and the second is the colors that will go on after the primer. I work with kits that are molded in light gray plastic usually so the darker color helps ensure I don't have any bare plastic surfaces and it also happens to be a durable paint that's excellent over metal parts, so I kill two birds with one stone there.

Others will use the primer coat to "pre-shade" for monotone schemes, so they will lay down a light colored primer, then apply a dark 'pre-shade' color such as black or dark brown or even dark green depending, and they use the lighter primer color to contast with the pre-shade lines when they apply the base coat color over it.

As with many things in the hobby, it all boils down to what you're aiming for and there's no one magic single answer for the 'why' things are done. HTH!

Cheers guys - very helpful answers as usual!

Any more thoughts re the Satin Varnish?

Ben

Satin , i was thinking that  It would probably be a good scale finish for glossy 1/48th aircraft .......... but we are talking about armor here so other than what i mentioned in my first post i cant think of any more uses .

Cheers Carl,

I'll have a Google around on the old 'interweb and see what I can learn about it's uses.

Cheers buddy,

Ben