Does one always prime his parts?

Generally, no I don't prime everything. Some things I do, some I don't. If there is any question about the paint adhering properly I'll prime the parts. Resin parts always get primed, ditto for metal parts. Styrene, it just depends. If there was a lot of assembly involved I'll usually prime the parts group to make sure there aren't any areas that need some more sanding or filling.

G'day,

priming...well, I'm a bit anal, I have the following habits:

1.wash all sprues in warm soapy water
2. rinse all sprues
3. rinse all sprues

from this stage, i wear gloves

4. spray with a light grey primer...tamiya sky grey acrylic(xf17?) or more recently, alclads grey primer

I dont know if all this is worth the effort, but it adds to my enjoyment of the hobby!


Smokey

Priming is an important part of the build. No you dont have to prime every single part but some paints that are very transparent like silvers, whites and yellows need a primer to look good. Make sure your primer is suited to what your shooting over it as it will effect the value of the color.

Does it matter what color you use as your primer? And what exactly does priming do in terms of final appearance? I've always been under the impression that the more paint you use, the better chance you have of losing surface detail.

after washing my parts i usually just prime the bigger parts and/or everything that would be seen on the outside, because it helps the paint stick to the model, and smokeyr67 your not the only one.

QUOTE: Originally posted by nicevillescott Does it matter what color you use as your primer? And what exactly does priming do in terms of final appearance? I've always been under the impression that the more paint you use, the better chance you have of losing surface detail.

True primer paint is usually has very fine pigment particles that don't close up a lot of surface detail. Some, perhaps, but unless you put a bunch of coats not very much.

The advantages of priming are generally twofold:
1) It allows subsequent coats of paint to adhere better. Primer usually sticks better to styrene than base paints, and the base paints generally stick to the primer better than they do to plastic.

2) You can see surface imperfections much easier after a thin coat of primer than you could before priming. Seams that look perfect before priming will stick out like a sore thumb afterwards.

In some cases, mainly with paints that are the least bit transparent or translucent, the color of the primer will affect the overall shade of the final paint. Painting yellow, for example, over a dark surface is next to impossible. Painting it over a white coat of primer is pretty easy.

Are there any particular brands of primer paint anyone recommends?

QUOTE: Originally posted by nicevillescott Are there any particular brands of primer paint anyone recommends?

I've recently tried Tamiya's Fine Surface Primer in both grey and white. I saw no loss of surface detail. I used the grey to help show any flaws I needed to fix, and then the white to give a good base for my color coat. I have no trouble recommending them.

-Dan

The only one I use is Floquil's primer from their Railroad line of paints.
I thin it with mineral spirits and it works great.

Mike

I use Tamiya as well. I don't have a spray booth and I hate getting a basement full of enamel fumes so I like to use rattle cans for primer. The Tamiya Fine Surface Primer is great stuff.

i read an article today and the guy did alot of WWII birds for a museum and he says in his modelling tips section that he primes with future floor polish as this will level well and cover any surface defects. i was surprised for sure, it would seem that the next layer wouldnt adhere well, but i dont have a job modelling for a museum either. i may have to try it. later.