Not gonna use testors spray primer again (if I can help it)

Well, since I started this thread, i wanted to jump in here and say that the Flat Black Spray turned out well for my Wappen Von Hamburg ship. I used the Spray Flat Black to spray the hull halves and I am pleased with it. However, the Flat Red spray and the Flat Gray Spray are not good. I did not like the red and the gray. Especially the gray. It took like forever for the gray to dry. The Red seemed tacky forever too. However, the Flat Black spray dried completely ready to work with I guess within like one hour !

So, I do not want to dog out Testors Spray, it was two (red and gray) that were bad and the one (Black) that was great !

Donnie

Grymm wrote:

The primer I use is the same used for Game's Workshop miniatures.   Citidel if I remember the name right.  Most hobby stores that deal in  Warhammer 40K will carry it.  It dries very nicely and sands like a dream.  It's also available in about a dozen different colors, so there will always be a color to fit your needs.   Also, I might be a bit of an oddball, but apart from the primer, I prefer to use Acrylics, for both my airbrush and hand painting.  Citidel once again makes a very pigment heavy line of paint that flows great and is incredibly vibrant.  And there are literally a boatload of colors to choose from in every shade you can think of.  They even carry "inks" which are essentially pre-mixed washes that come in very handy.  I swear by it.

 

Citadel metallic paints are the best acrylics on the market IMHO, but the entire line is pretty pricey especially the primers if my memory serves from the last time I had to pick some up.  I just started using Krylon black or white with no problem, especially in the pocketbook. 

Another weird thing about that Testors gray primer, when I used it on a 1/72 jeep, I noticed that I was not getting good coverage with the Model Master enamels I was applying over it. In some spots I've had to go back and touch up the second coat because the paint just rubbed off, even from very light and careful handling. A PITA and it has me thinking I'll just chuck this primer and go with something non-shiny (and undoubtely cheaper) from the local department store.

The primer I use is the same used for Game's Workshop miniatures.   Citidel if I remember the name right.  Most hobby stores that deal in  Warhammer 40K will carry it.  It dries very nicely and sands like a dream.  It's also available in about a dozen different colors, so there will always be a color to fit your needs.  

Also, I might be a bit of an oddball, but apart from the primer, I prefer to use Acrylics, for both my airbrush and hand painting.  Citidel once again makes a very pigment heavy line of paint that flows great and is incredibly vibrant.  And there are literally a boatload of colors to choose from in every shade you can think of.  They even carry "inks" which are essentially pre-mixed washes that come in very handy.  I swear by it.

thanks everyone for your support here.  Yes, did use the Testors Spray primer gray. It seems now after 3 days that the surface of the gray paint seems to have cured like it should.

I would have thought from the beginning that the spray primer would be great to use since it would start off with a good painting surface.

It was mentioned that over painting destroys the fine woodgrain details and in fact, it has !!!
But, I am committed to continue with working with what I have at the moment, as for one thing, I kinda hate to go back and try to strip it off.
The kit did not cost me much luckily since my wife works for Hobby Lobby. I can always just go buy another for less than $10.00 and start my hull over again.

I know that this posting could have been in my Wappen Von Hamburg thread, but the empahsis is on the Testor Spray Primer usage not the boat itself.  The paint issue is not model specific, this problem is paint usage specific. ok, sorry, I will stop justifing myself 
Thanks again for everyone here - I really appreciate everybody stopping by.

Steve and Jesse, you both are right about enamel spray paints.  I suspect my can was stored in a garage where it was exposed to cold.  Also, I didn't do the warm water technique which is a procedure that should be done whenever using these paints.

Scott

If you're using a rattle can, try placing the can in warm  (not hot!!!!) water few a minutes.  It helps to thin out the spray mist.

Jesse

The only time I have had this problem with the Testors spray primer was it wasvery cold and the primer came out very uneven in terms of the amount of primer to propellant that came out and ended up on the surface. Some areas dried almost instantly and other areas took several days to dry away from the tackiness. I had to bring it inside and put it into the bathroom closest to the heater to help it dry.

Steve

The unpleasant thing I discovered about Testor's primer in the rattle can, when I was starting with 1/700 ships and thinking, Great, it's already gray so that'll save a step, is that the darn stuff is shiny. Quite shiny, in fact!

As a last resort before you give up completely, you might try giving the offending parts a thin coat of Testor's Dullcoat (or something similar).  That may - may - take care of the problem of the tacky primer coat underneath.  No guarantees, but that's the trick Shep Paine recommends in his book on military miniatures for hurrying the drying of oil paints.  Art supply stores also sell clear flat finish sprays that are specifically advertised to "dry tacky surfaces."

As you slather additional coats of various substances onto the model you are, of course, in danger of obscuring the details.  But it sounds like at this point things aren't likely to get worse.

When working on a relatively low-priced kit like this it isn't a bad idea to buy an extra one.  I wouldn't recommend that approach to the Heller Victory, but if the bankbook can handle it there's a certain serenity to be gained from having all those extra parts available in the event of mistakes.

Good luck.

  Yep, a Krylon fan here also...available everywhere, in two different tones, too !  Bummer about that testor's stuff.

 

                    greg

Sorry about your experience.  I had a can given to me a few months ago so I thought I'd use it.  It went on thick and looked like a candy coating when it dried.

I had the same experience with Testor's spray cans as a kid twenty years ago and it looks like it has never improved.  All I use for spray primer is either Krylon, Plasticoat (good stuff BTW), and Dupont.

Scott

or go to the local WalMart and buy a jumbo economy-sized rattlecan of Plasticote Gray Primer for the same price or less than the 1/2 oz bottle of paint. 

Plasticote covers well and dries quickly.  It doesn't seem to harm the plastic if applied in thin coats (which is what you want to do anyway).  A heavy coat tends to cover detail

(Edit efg

-- By the way.  Plasticote is one of the Valspar paint companies, so their stuff is pretty good.   It is not a fly-by-night operation with little quality control

)

If the primer comes in a small bottle, mix a little acetone with it and it will dry fast, due to the evaporation rate of the acetone.

Or you can use Floquil Primer.

Jake