MIXING TESTOR'S MM PRIMER

I had the same problem with the Model Master Acryl Primer. One of the guys at my LHS told me that any light gray paint would do just fine as a primer. It's worked fine for me so far.

I have also been told that any light gray would do as a primer but the only thing that kind of makes me leary of that is if it is normal paint then what causes it to adhere to the metal surface. Primer is suppose to be a base for it to grip to the metal. How does regular paint do that? Just a thought and I hope somebody has a good answer for me.

Snoopy you are right in that one of the primary reasons for priming is to provide a good surface for paint to adhere to. This is most important when using acrylics because they don't adhere to plastic as strongly as enamels or laquers.

However, there are other reasons for priming as well. Providing a contrast so that you can see flaws in the surface prior to the final paint coats, providing a base color for translucent or semi-opaque paints, etc. In these cases basically any opaque paint will work even though it doesn't provide the grip that true primers do.

I personally prefer Tamiya Fine Surface enamel primer, but that is just personal preference. I spray mostly acrylics and like to have a good primer base for them to grip. I don't prime everything, but areas that will see a good bit of wear and tear during assembly, painting, or decaling I do try and prime.

MusicCity,

Does Tamiya Fine Surface Enamel Primer work okay for appling acrylics over them? I heard once then acrylic is okay over enamel but not enamel over acrylic and oil based okay over both. at least that is what I heard.

When I used the Testors MM Primer as a flaw catcher I am not so concerned with tis milky (did I mention that it is a white milky look) sustance look. It is just strange that I mix for so long and it is still there. My concern is when I used it for the metal figures I am putting together. I just don't want the paint to fall off.

QUOTE: Does Tamiya Fine Surface Enamel Primer work okay for appling acrylics over them? I heard once then acrylic is okay over enamel but not enamel over acrylic and oil based okay over both. at least that is what I heard.

Yes, it works just fine. Most of what I spray is acrylic and I use the Tamiya primer a lot. As long as the enamel primer is fully cured you can spray acrylic over it with no problems at all. Actually, as long as the base coat is thoroughly cured you can spray anything over anything if you are careful. I've sprayed enamel over acrylic and it worked fine, but I gave the acrylic several days to thoroughly cure.

Laquer is the tough one, and many of the gloss and dull coats are actually laquer. If you spray laquer over acrylic (or to a lesser degree over enamel) you have to be very careful. The first couple of coats need to be no more than a mist or they can affect the acrylic underneath.

QUOTE: When I used the Testors MM Primer as a flaw catcher I am not so concerned with tis milky (did I mention that it is a white milky look) sustance look. It is just strange that I mix for so long and it is still there. My concern is when I used it for the metal figures I am putting together. I just don't want the paint to fall off.

I can understand that. The color of primer is not as important to me either. I use either white or gray, whichever the LHS has unless I'm painting yellow (I HATE yellow!).

Check the primer you are using and see if it is made for plastic and metal. Some styrene primers don't adhere to metal worth a hoot. For metal figures I'd think your best bet would be some sort of automotive primer since it is designed to stick to metal.

Snoopy, don't worry about the milky-white substance, it doesn't seem to affect the finish at all. I just sprayed MM Flat Gull Gray on a model last night and the coat was even and smooth, even though I saw the milky swirl in the color cup before I did that. No amount of stirring would blend it with the paint, but I guess atomization took care of that and so I didn't end up with a blotchy job. I don't always see that white substance, though, on the MM enamels that I have -- must depend only on the color formula used. Hope this helps.

Thanks guys for all the help.